Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)

GOING UP / Orchid Beach Club, Sarasota

December 15, 2002
Section: SUNDAY REAL ESTATE
Page: I1
DOROTHY STOCKBRIDGE-PRATT dorothy.pratt@heraldtribune.com

U.S. Assets Group collected nine $25,000 deposits Wednesday for its just-announced Orchid Beach Club, a resort-style condominium to be built on Lido Key.

"Lido has never had anything like this, with the smallest unit offering 2,936 square feet of living area and penthouses to 6,253 square feet," said Linda Page, sales and marketing vice president. She and U.S. Assets principals Jay Tallman and Tom Brown stayed almost three hours after a preferred-client party ended to take reservations. Four other would-be buyers wanted to make reservations on their credit cards, Page said. The amenity list for the 54 Orchid Beach Club units will rival those of The Ritz-Carlton Beach Club condominiums on Lido; plans for those 88 units in one condominium building are not yet finalized.

"Our residences will feel like single-family homes in the sky in a maintained environment, with more than 13,000 square feet of private club amenities," Tallman told guests, who were either owners in their other projects or Realtors who handled the sales.

Instead of one large building, The Orchid Beach Club will have 54 condominiums in two 11-story buildings at the southern end of Lido Key, where the Half Moon Beach Club stands. That will be demolished late next summer, and completion of the building is anticipated in mid-2005.

Tallman said architect Chuck Jones of Curts Gaines Hall spent eight months designing and redesigning the project. The gulf-view building will have two homes on each of the 10 residential levels, above one level of parking. The 34-unit, bay-view building will have ground-level parking and a second level devoted to club amenities. Levels three through 10 will have four residences per floor (so everyone has a corner plan), and the top floor will have two penthouses of 6,000 and 6,253 square feet of living area.

The gulf-view building also has bay views and the bay-view building has gulf views. City views are over the county nature park with its trails and kayaking. Two beachfront residences will have their own private pools. The club pool will be on the beachfront and have a cascading waterfall, cabanas and seaside dining in a private entertaining pavilion. An interior courtyard will have tropical flowers and lush foliage. The fitness center will have locker rooms with steam and sauna rooms, massage rooms and a juice bar.

A long driveway from the manned gate will lead up to the second level plaza, separating the two buildings. Valet parking and concierge services are planned, as well as special services, such as fitness and spa treatments and pool- and beach-side assistance. The club level will have a reception area with concierge desk, lounge with wet bar and fireplace, private dining salon with caterer's kitchen, a billiards room, library, business center and private guest suites.

"Orchid Beach Club will offer enchantment and elegance with a tiki-hut attitude," Linda Page added. "It's a private island oasis blending exotic splendor with laid-back simplicity."

Residences will have private elevator entrances, gourmet kitchens with top appliances and cabinets, marble tops in all baths, morning bars in the master suite and built-in gas grills on private terraces.

Principals Brown and Tallman developed en Provence on Longboat Key, which attracted 44 reservations in three weeks for its 21 units. Tallman also was involved in Vizcaya on Longboat Key. U.S. Assets is currently building Beau Ciel, located on the downtown waterfront at Boulevard of the Arts. U.S. Assets' partners include Daniel and Stanley Kane and Kim and Charles Githler.

In addition, Tallman and Brown have managed and developed such communities as Windsor, a new urbanist seaside village with a world-class Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course, and Orchid Island Golf and Beach Club, a 600-acre community featuring an Arnold Palmer golf course, both north of Vero Beach.

Pre-construction pricing is now available. The sales center on site will open soon.

Orchid Beach Club

What: Two high-rise condominiums with 54 total units at 2050 Benjamin Franklin Drive, Lido Key.

Price/size: From $900,000 to $4.5 million; units range from 2,936 to 4,229 square feet, with penthouses as large as 6,253 square feet.

Amenities: Staffed gatehouse, pool and spa with poolside shade cabanas. Club facilities with bar, social and card rooms, private dining/board room and fitness center with steam, sauna and massage rooms.

Developer: U.S. Assets Group, developer of en Provence and Beau Ciel condominums in Sarasota.

Builder: Boran Craig Barber Engel.

Information: Phone (941) 388-2050 or write P.O. Box 3349, Sarasota, FL 34230. An on-site sales center will open soon.

Caption: COURTESY RENDERING
Architect's rendering of the Orchid Beach Club to be built on Lido Key.