It’s a wonder how all these new, downtown luxury condos are getting filled, yet here they are—and more are coming. Located on the empty lot on the corner of Fruitville Road and Cocoanut Avenue, The Edge is the latest project to join them. Slated to break ground in the summer of 2022, it will add 27 residences to Sarasota's  unprecedented real estate market of rock-bottom housing inventory and sky-high prices. In fact, sales kicked off on Monday and four residences have already sold. 

"The demand in downtown Sarasota is similar to all of Sarasota. It's very brisk. In 23 years, I don't think I've seen inventory this low in the area," says Dyrk Dahl, a realtor with Coldwell Banker who's representing sales. "The number of listings is well below half of where they were pre-pandemic."

The Edge will reach 10 stories high and feature large outdoor living spaces, private en suite elevators, and penthouse roof gardens. Roughly a block north of the Art Ovation Hotel, the building at 290 Cocoanut Ave. will be move-in ready towards the end of 2023.

For the local development firm JEBCO Ventures, which is spearheading the project, the purchase of the roughly half-acre lot was a pearl investment. It was purchased in 2013 for $1.04 million. The starting price for a single 2,084-square-foot unit at The Edge is $1.2 million.

Six floorplans range from 2,084 to 3,566 square feet, and each comes with a 500-square-foot terrace with glass railings. The four penthouses, all with three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, come with 600 square feet of private rooftop space. Other than the two smallest residences that each have two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, the remaining units range from 2,992 to 3,566 square feet and are priced from $2,154,000 to $2,992,000. The penthouses range from $3.51 to $3.67 million–one has already sold.

Who's coming to the neighborhood?

"There's a new segment moving in here. Inquiries are surpassing the old Midwest market. Now inquiries are coming in from Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Boston," says Christine del Monte, another realtor with Coldwell Banker managing sales. Locally she's also hearing from residents who live on the nearby barrier islands, like Siesta and Longboat keys, who want to be closer to restaurants, theaters, parks and people.

The first three floors are for parking and each residence gets two spaces, while the penthouses come with a private three-car, climate-controlled car garage.

The bottom floor will house a 10,000-square-foot amenity area with a social lounge, pool table, two bars, personal bottle wine vaults, a private dining room and a resort-style pool. Also included are grilling spaces, a fitness center, steam room and a covered and uncovered pet lawn with a separate grooming area.

Every unit includes an open concept great room featuring 12-foot or 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, waterfall islands and a morning bar in the master suite. (A morning bar is a space that includes a small refrigerator, sink and counter space for a coffee maker and microwave).

Sarasota-based Parker Walter Group, Inc., which designed the DeMarcay, is the architectural firm behind the project. 

"We imagine being sold out by groundbreaking," del Monte says.

In a partnership with Property Markets Group (PMG,) JEBCO Ventures is also spearheading One Park, an 18-story luxury condo project a couple of blocks west of The Edge, overlooking Sarasota Bay. 

Interested? Call Christine del Monte at (941) 263-8233.