Signature Place luxury condos will be put on the auction block
Developer Joel Cantor proclaims it his “jihad mission” to sell out his Signature Place condominium tower, the 36-story skyscraper that strikes a sail-shaped profile on the St. Petersburg waterfront.
But the latest plan to light a fire under condo sales in the high-rise is giving even Cantor the jitters. His lender, Fifth Third Bank, is putting 35 units up for auction next month at starting prices that are two-thirds less than what Cantor had been asking.
Cantor is trying to put a happy face on a hurry-up sales strategy forced by the most hostile real estate climate in decades. He’s among a select few Florida condo developers still standing. But he clearly thinks Fifth Third is jumping the gun.
Since the first Signature Place residents moved in last summer, he has closed on the sale of 100 of 242 units. Given the rest of this year, he could sell out 80 percent of the glass tower at First Avenue S and Second Street, he said.
“We really didn’t have a choice,” Cantor said of the auction scheduled for 1 p.m. March 7 at the Hilton St. Petersburg. “I’m going to look like I’ve gone under. It’s a good idea but it’s not the proper time.”
Jon Gollinger, president of auctioneer Accelerated Marketing Partners, insists the auction will benefit Cantor by re-calibrating real estate prices and uniting buyers and sellers.
“This is a campaign to establish value,” Gollinger said Tuesday as he flew to St. Petersburg to help organize the sale. “How long can you sit there and fight the market? It becomes an act of folly after a while to be so sanctimonious and self-righteous to force the market to go to your number. The consumer rules.”
via Signature Place luxury condos will be put on the auction block – St. Petersburg Times.