London Bay Homes cut the ceremonial ribbon Wednesday on its newest completed project, Grandview at Bay Beach condo tower on the southern end of Fort Myers Beach, a project it developed before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and after Hurricane Ian.
At 4142 Bay Beach Lane, Grandview has 58 units with three floor plans spread across 11 stories.
The condo tower is 70% sold out with the fewer than 20 remaining units ranging from $1.3 million to $3 million.
The project was supposed to cost $50 million and take 18 months to build. Instead, it cost closer to $60 million and took 45 months to complete, including a gap during which construction was paused when the pandemic shut down the site in March 2020.
Mark Wilson, CEO of London Bay, pushed the pause button at the time.
“We weren’t knowing where the market was going,” Wilson said. “We didn’t know if we were looking at another 2008. Or was this something totally different? Fortunately, this was something totally different.”
By the time Wilson’s contractor, Suffolk Construction, restarted construction, it ran into the challenge of overcoming supply-chain issues.
Supplies, many relating to electrical issues, that took six, eight or 12 weeks to obtain before the pandemic were taking six to nine months to obtain during the supply-chain chaos, said Pete Tuffo, president of the south region for Suffolk Construction.
“Basically, you reschedule and resequence the project to make sure you limit the impact to the products that weren’t here,” Tuffo said. “Put as much work in place as you can. And then you just have to fall back and pick back up again with the materials when you show up.”
All of the delays increased the construction costs from an estimated $50 million to closer to $60 million, Wilson said. But one thing London Bay didn’t have to worry about was rising interest rates.
Mark Wilson
“Fortunately, we built this with cash,” Wilson said. “We’re one of the few companies in Southwest Florida where we’ve got the financial strength where we do not have to use banks. With 2020 in hindsight, it was an excellent decision. It was an excellent decision then, and it was an excellent decision now.”
Asked whether Grandview would have been better off breaking ground now instead of February 2020, Wilson had trouble answering.
“I think that’s a tough question,” Wilson said. “Today, you’re post-Ian. Then we had Ian hit us. With Ian, it was another six-month delay. Obviously, Fort Myers Beach is going to be coming back. Who knows what’s in the future?”
Celebrating the milestone Wednesday, however, felt extremely gratifying, he said.
“It’s good for the island,” Wilson said. “It’s good for the psychology of the island, having something finished and completed. We can look back today on the fruits of our labor.”
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers and Lee County Commissioner Ray Sandelli attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and were pleased with the end result.
“It’s gorgeous,” Sandelli said. “The community knows what they want. They’re realistic about what can be built.”
Allers called London Bay a great developer for the island.
“It’s nice to have a corporate partner that’s willing to come in and listen to the community and work with the community and put something in place that everybody can smile [at],” Allers said. “You walk around and you see smiles. People are happy to see something new and exciting.”
