| Unique condo community
welcomes its first residents By Pete Skiba |
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| People lined up at least 800 strong to buy into Cape Coral's Marina South at Cape Harbour in March 2005 — the lucky ones selected by drawing started moving in Friday.
The building sold out immediately, and so did its twin, Marina South II. Kraft Construction completed Marina South in 17 months, and the second high-rise is to open May 2007. The high-rise projects may be the first development in the city with many social amenities built right in, including the marina, restaurants, a coffee shop and artisan stores. Marina South has the criteria that Florida author Ray Oldenburg calls a "third place." Oldenburg writes in his book, "The Great Good Place," that home and work are the first two places, and a third place should be the heart of a community where people gather with friends. That is exactly what attracted at least two couples to the project on part of the 150-acre Cape Harbor development built by Will Stout and his Realmark Group. "I can't wait to move in because it is going to be the kind of place where we'll get to know our neighbors," said Ed Schultz, 62, a Cape Coral resident and condominium owner at Marina South. "It also means giving up all the household chores of living in a single-family house." Another plus to Schultz and another buyer, Gary Barton, 50, of Staten Island, N.Y., is that the section of Cape Harbour housing their condominiums is open to the public. "I love to vacation in the area, and it is where I'll retire," Barton said. "The great thing is that it will be a place to meet people from all over the country and Europe, too." Plans call for restaurants such as The Joint, which will feature a wood-burning pizza oven. A delicatessen called Pignoli and a coffee shop, Run Agrounds, also will join the already thriving Rumrunners restaurant. The restaurants and other shops are in the building stages and could be finished by the end of November. The two-story buildings sit across a one-lane alley designated for walking.
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Considering the neighborhood, the alley could easily be named a promenade. Stores for artisans — such as those working in pottery, ceramics and sculpture as well as painters — are planned to line the promenade sides when construction is completed. In addition to construction of the shops and Marina South II, other projects are planned for the development, which already houses a three-story, 58-condominium building, an indoor boat storage facility and two gated communities. A possible condominium and townhouse project, named Portofino, after the Italian seaside city, is planned. Other projects include the 19-home single-family resort rental unit project that developers have called "Funky Fish Houses." The 500- to 750-square-foot homes would take up less than an acre on the $750 million Cape Harbor development. The rentals would be used by people visiting residents in the complex or as a place for wedding guests to stay, Stout said. The homes will be painted pink, azure and other pastel colors and will sit along the development's waterfront. Schultz and his wife, Janet, also 62, said the entire area — with its earth-tone and pastel coloring on stucco with tile roofing — seems first class. "This building is on the level of the Four Seasons (a New York City hotel) and other four-star places in the world," Ed Schultz said. Considering that the cheapest rooms at the Four Seasons go for $625 a night, the condominiums, which sold for $350,000 to about $700,000, are right in that league. Unlike elite hotels, the community at Cape Harbor is open to people who do not live there. "It has always been my philosophy that people from all walks of life be they residents or visitors, should have access to the waterfront and all the enjoyment it brings," Stout said. "People can live, work, dine, shop and be entertained without ever needing a car." Closings are scheduled for five a day through next week, said Maura E. Colon, a Realtor with Realmark Realty Group. "This is just a great place to live," Colon said. "It is becoming a destination."
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