Kolter says labor scarcity will delay condo opening

Palm Beach Gardens-based Kolter Group says a labor shortage will stall completion of an 18-story waterfront condominium in downtown Sarasota until the second quarter of this year.

Construction crews topped off the structure of the 18-story VUE Sarasota Bay last August.

Kolter had expected to open the 144-unit condominium in the first quarter of this year, part of a $200 million development that will include a Westin Hotel with 255 rooms.  Its waterfront location on Gulfstream Avenue, at the gateway to St. Armands Circle and Lido Key, is adjacent to the Westin Sarasota and Ritz-Carlton hotels in downtown Sarasota.

But Kolter reportedly told buyers of Vue condos in a letter that it hadn’t secured enough qualified labor to finish construction by March, and the labor shortage would delay completion of the condominium until the April-June period.

VUE units range in price from $1.5 million to $3.4 million. Coral Gables-based architectural firm Nichols Brosch Wurst Wolfe & Associates (NBWW) designed the building

The condo units will have two to four bedrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows. The property’s private amenities will include a fitness center, club lounge, resort-style swimming pool and dog park.  [YourObserver.com] – Mike Seemuth