Tidemark sales brisk, project on 'fast track'
By Rick Catlin. Islander Reporter
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Tide piling up
Equipment began arriving at Tidemark last week for installation of the pilings that will provide the framework and support for the main building at the resort. Islander Photo: Rick Catlin |
If anyone's interested in purchasing a unit at Nick Eastlering's planned 40-unit Tidemark hotel and condominium in Holmes Beach at today's prices, they'd better act fast.
Only five of the 20 units offered at pre-construction prices are still available, said Easterling, and he doesn't expect those to stay on the market much longer. The remaining 20 units will be offered for sale "once the buildings are substantially in the ground," he said.
Considering the Island's rising real estate values, where prices could double in a week, reserving a unit now could turn out to be a bargain.
Easterling, the managing director of Tidemark, is keeping the second 20 units off the market because he understands some people might still be "skeptical" about the project.
"Once people see the buildings under construction, they'll understand we are for real," he said.
Installation of the pilings for the building frame began last week and Easterling anticipates at 15-month buildout. The resort should open in the first half of 2007.
While Easterling struggled for a few years to get the project off the ground after receiving Holmes Beach City Commission approval in August 2001, the project is now on the fast track. Easterling credited a financing plan by new partner Ken Dardis of Reliance Property Group with pushing Tidemark in the right direction.
Easterling also noted that the prestigious Orvis Company Inc. of Vermont, an international catalogue and guide for hunting and fishing equipment and lodging business, is interested in endorsing the lodge once it's completed. Orvis has only two approved destinations in the United States and wants Tidemark as its third, he said.
Tidemark's sales office is on site at the intersection of Marina Drive and Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach by the Wachovia Bank. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. |
