The last few years have seen many people wanting to move downtown. Is it because of time lost in commuting? Increased gas prices? Children grown and off? Yes, all of these, but more. Many ages are moving downtown - from young professionals to retired. The real desire is to be surrounded by life and vibrancy - to walk to restaurants, shops, museums, festivals, music, the theater, and more. In downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, you also get to walk in parks with water views, and see marinas, and look at harbors and open Tampa Bay; you can watch the walkers, the joggers, the bicyclists, the boat races, the Segway tours, the trolleys. You can find early morning coffee and late night snacks. Downtown St Pete also has the annual Grand Prix in some of the streets, and baseball, and art shows in the park, and food festivals, and music festivals.
Downtowns have very little land, and what there is, is expensive - so homes are generally vertical, meaning highrise condos (and surrounding city homes and townhouses). This allows hundreds of homes to have a waterfront view. Vertical living has become very popular. Smaller (usually but not always) than a home, but generally with many facilities right in the building to compensate for this - exercise rooms, billiard rooms, pool, spa, grilling areas, party rooms, tv rooms, card rooms, libraries. Secured garages, generally a concierge.
Many of these downtown condos in St Pete are full time owners - others are seasonal, with some owners coming for the winter, and others coming several times during the year. Some from Tampa or Orlando come just for weekends. Some living on the Gulf Beaches come to stay for events downtown. And yes, some are investors and flippers as well. It's the lifestyle - and developers are competing with luxurious features, European cabinetry and appliances, and unique architectural design. There are many to choose from, already built, under construction, or still in the pre-construction stage.
For more information contact The Simms Team, RE/MAX Metro, Saint Petersburg, Florida. Phone 888-746-6788 or e-mail.
