Acros Luxury Apartments Downtown Sarasota

Luxury ApartmentsThe five-story Arcos luxury apartments may still be something of a work in progress, but 40 percent of its 228 units have been leased and 30 percent are occupied, Phillip Smith said during a tour of the property.

“The big idea here is to create an urban oasis right in the middle of downtown where people can escape, feel at home but also feel separated from the city,” said the president of the Tampa-based developer, Framework Group LLC.

The entrance to the West Indies-styled community is at 320 Central Ave.

High demand for luxury

The apartment buildings and six-story parking garage on the 3-acre site surround a large, park-like setting with a resort-style pool, a fenced pet play area (with a fire hydrant), and a social pavilion with a fireplace and statue. That creates an oasis of privacy and peacefulness. “The outdoor space is something we spent a lot of time and energy on,” Smith said.

“Being in downtown Sarasota has been on our radar for a long, long time. I love the city, I love what’s happened here,” he said. “Residents have responded, they love this location.”

Arcos offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, each outfitted with extra-large windows, city and courtyard views, designer finishes and flooring, upgraded kitchens and baths, and lofty ceilings. Currently, units range from $1,375 to $3,000 per month, or about $2 per square foot, Smith said. The floor plans start with a compact 678-square-foot studio and end with a spacious 1,710-square-foot unit with three bedrooms.

The most popular choice to date is the one bedroom on an upper floor. The higher up, the higher the rent.

“This is definitely A-plus luxury rental living,” Smith said. “Most apartment developers have spent a lot of time and effort to really up the game when it comes to finishes and amenities and just the overall apartment living experience. It just isn’t what it used to be.”

National figures reflect that. Yardi Matrix, which compiles statistics and studies in support of the commercial apartment industry, found that in 2017 the development of luxury rental properties had risen to 79 percent of all apartment construction in the nation — up from 75 percent in 2015 and 50 percent in 2012.

The trend is continuing as 2018 is shaping up to be another banner year for high-end apartment construction. Nationally, about 87 percent of all large-scale apartment complexes completed in the first half of this year are high-end.

Yardi Matrix reports that the average occupancy rate in high-end rental properties was 95.8 percent as of the end of 2015.

Downtown Sarasota and the Rosemary District don’t lack for upscale apartments, including Elan Rosemary, One Palm, The DeSota, Bold Lofts and CitySide, to name a few.

Luxury ApartmentsArcos amenities, art

The complex’s central indoor gathering spot has a game room with billiards and a poker/card table, a conversational seating area in the middle, and a television and fireplace on the other side. Down a hallway, there’s shared workspace: a conference room with a television for presentations, couches for laptop work, high-top tables for groups and several private cell phone rooms for privacy.

“We trying to offer as many different work areas as we can,” Smith said.

The other end of the main floor holds more amenities: a fully equipped fitness center outfitted with the latest workout trend — thick “battle ropes” anchored to a wall — and manicure, pedicure and massage rooms as well as a “quiet” room for meditation.

Framework Group, which carries a diverse portfolio of large-scale multi-family projects, and its co-developer, Forge Capital Partners, a commercial real estate investment and management company also based in Tampa, will hold a private grand-opening celebration of Arcos on Nov. 8.

That event will include the unveiling of a sculpture by Daniel Arsham, who has created works for Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton and was described by Smith as “a phenomenally successful, world famous artist.”

“The work is like a piece of fabric rolling over the form of the figure, but the figure has been removed,” said Arsham, describing the sculpture. “Almost as if it were a trace of a moment.”

His piece — and an on-site art gallery called GAZE Modern — pay homage to the Rosemary District’s art-centric background. The gallery will be curated by Tim Jaeger, a graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design and now a painting instructor and the campus and community engagement manager for the school. GAZE will promote emerging artists from Sarasota and Florida.

The gallery’s opening reception, “Color + Contrast,” features the ceramic sculptures of Taylor Robenalt and Polly Johnson and will be held from 5-8 p.m Saturday.

“We wanted to be authentic and thorough in the brand’s connection to the arts,” Smith said. “Arcos’ location in the Rosemary District’s active art community allows us to embrace modern art while offering living spaces unlike anything Sarasota has ever seen.”

Herald Tribune November 2, 2018