Contact: Karen Scott
727-446-0020
Karen@triangledevelopment.com

Triangle Development’s Large, Luxury Condominium Complex
To Be First Of Its Kind In The Downtown Clearwater Area

Project is part of an international “New Urban” movement creating pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use communities in previously neglected areas of many cities

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA – JULY 7, 2005 – The face of downtown Clearwater is changing. Considered by some to have been in a steady decline for decades, the area has recently been attracting an increasing number of small and medium-size businesses and several developers with big ideas, spurred in part by rising real estate values.

With its recent acquisition of two acres of prime waterfront property, and a final 2-acre parcel under contract to close on August 17, 2005, Triangle’s Development’s 6.5 acre project is on target to become the first, large residential development in the downtown Clearwater area.

The project comprises “Island View” and “ Harrison Village.” Island View will consist of two 15-story towers containing 277 luxury condominium units, 80% of which have a water view, and the low-rise 5-story Garden Building with its 18 units, half with water views and half with city views. Plans for the individual units include high ceilings, Corian or stone countertops in the kitchens, top brand name appliances, superior grade wood cabinets and hurricane-proof, “low-E,” high-performance acoustical glass windows.

Harrison Village’s three-story 20,000 sq. ft. building will feature 47 residential units, street-level specialty shops, alfresco dining, antique-styled gas lamps, brick pavers, bookstore, coffee shop and deli, waist-high garden fences, graced by a clock tower and walkway colonnade

Located on waterfront property between Jones & Georgia Streets, and bounded on the east by N. Ft. Harrison Avenue, the complex’s amenities will include lush landscaping, white sand beach, robotic parking (automated valet), Olympic-size pool, grilling area, children’s play area, spa, residents’ lounges, exercise facility and 24-hour security.

The company recently contracted with CMD Construction Management & Development, Inc., to act as owner’s representative and construction management consultants. CMD is one of the leading companies of its kind in the U.S. with a client list that includes Liberty Mutual Insurance, Technical Instruments, Stanford University, Apple Computer and Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa.

Triangle Development Company, LLC, is the brainchild of Ben Kugler and Ron Pollack, two businessmen who are long-time friends and Clearwater residents.

“Triangle’s new development is perhaps the best thing, real estate-wise, to happen to downtown Clearwater in a very long time,” said Kugler, Triangle’s CEO. “We saw a need and had a desire to change a large section of downtown Clearwater in a way that would greatly enhance and upgrade the area.”

Other Downtown Clearwater Development Prospects

Three other developers have large designs on the downtown Clearwater vicinity. Opus South, a member of the Minnesota-based Opus Group, would like to build high-end condominiums and several new storefronts on properties located north and south of Clearwater’s City Hall, and on a portion of the city’s property to connect its investments.

Before Opus can purchase city property, however, the company must receive voter approval at a referendum, now tentatively scheduled for March 2006, which puts its prospective schedule well behind that of Triangle Development’s.

Elias Jafif of Mexico City heads up an investment group with hopes of putting retail and residential buildings and a movie theatre in the downtown area. The group purchased the 9-story AmSouth building on the corner of N. Osceola and Cleveland Streets and two surrounding properties more than two years ago.

Station Square’s plans call for a 13-story condominium with 126 units and 10,000 sq. ft. of retail space along Cleveland Street next to the Post Office. Plans include parking for the condos and retail spaces as well as 100 public parking spaces.

According to Kugler, Triangle’s Island View/Harrison Village development is progressing smoothly along its targeted timeline and is expected to begin construction well ahead of the others.  

It is also the only one of the four whose condominiums will be situated on waterfront property.

The Bigger Picture – New Urbanism

“New Urbanism” is a movement dedicated to countering urban sprawl and deteriorating urban cores. The movement consists of architects, planners and developers who want to create aesthetic, “mixed-use communities” in which there are pedestrian-friendly venues, shops and residences.

According to an article on newurbannews.com, a website devoted exclusively to New Urbanism, “on the regional scale, the New Urbanism is having a growing influence on how and where metropolitan regions choose to grow. At least 14 large-scale planning initiatives are based on the principles of linking transportation and land-use policies and using the neighborhood as the fundamental building block of a region. In Maryland and several other states, new urbanist principles are an integral part of smart growth legislation.”

Although some new urban communities cater to a mix of income levels, Island View, with its waterfront property, luxury condominium units, spacious stylish interiors, state-of-the-art sound attenuation technology and sophisticated amenities, is definitely geared toward a more affluent segment of the population. The new units will be priced in consultation with Marvin Rose of Rose Residential Reports which monitors the home building industry, including condo projects, in Florida’s Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco Counties. Triangle expects the units to start at approximately $285,000, with larger units topping out in the neighborhood of $1,000,000.

Kugler says that when he and Pollack decided they were going to take on this project, they wanted to do it the right way from day one. That meant using the latest building technologies, installing high-quality indoor and outdoor lighting, creating elegant landscapes, and engaging top-rated companies to oversee the construction and design the interiors.

“Most of all, we want to create a community,” says Kugler, “a community in which industrious, affluent individuals and families who share similar valuescan enjoy all the amenities associated with luxurious living, in a terrific location on the waterfront, yet away from the Gulf beaches with their highly-inflated prices, and increasing congestion and noise levels.”

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