Longboat’s Infinity condo sets $3.6 million housing pricing record

An 11-unit condo building with an average buy-in of $3.6 million has made it, on average, the most expensive new housing development ever sold in the county.

Last week, the new Infinity Longboat Key registered its final new unit sale, closing out the building with $39.2 million in total transactions. All the unit transactions in the five-story, beachfront low rise closed between April 15 and April 26.

Michael Saunders, whose Sarasota real estate company did the initial marketing for Infinity, said the sales at the building set a the highest average price ever in Manatee County for a new housing development. Its pricing was based, in part, on the “unique, private living with direct access to the beach” that it offers, she said. The building sits on its own section of Gulf of Mexico beachfront.

Two Infinity penthouse units that sold for over $5 million each are the two priciest single residential transactions this year in Manatee County.

Georgia development company Crossgate Partners built Infinity on 3.1 acres at 4765 Gulf of Mexico Drive, which it bought in 2004 for $11.8 million. The Great Recession delayed construction for several years until 2014.

The last recorded sale at Infinity went to a buyer who has previously invested in Sarasota County real estate. Mark Levey of Tampa paid $3.28 million for his condo unit. Levey is active in area real estate, having purchased a two-story restaurant building on St. Armands Circle along with his brother in 2013.

Amenities at Infinity include private-access elevators to each unit. Units also come with at least 1,360 square feet of balcony space.

On the ground floor and outdoors, Infinity features a swimming pool, a tennis court, a clubhouse, a fitness center and common beach front.

Crossgate is spending more money locally. On May 5, a company managed by Crossgate paid $5.6 million for a 3-acre waterfront property at 3975 Shell Road on North Siesta Key.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 1:49 PM with the headline "Longboat’s Infinity condo sets $3.6 million housing pricing record."