SkY230: Fort Lauderdale’s Northern Town Landscape is Changing with New Luxury Home Projects

SkY230: Fort Lauderdale’s Northern Town Landscape is Changing with New Luxury Home Projects

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, the small beach town embraces the big uptown wave

by Wayne Koss | FloridaysUSA.com

• SkY 230 townhomes offer 2,500 sq. ft. and up of luxury living space along an intracoastal canal in the town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, just north of Fort Lauderdale.

SkY230 is a big part of a new era of fine living in the coveted town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea

With a bustling beachside downtown square area that boasts numerous restaurant offerings of vast choices of notable food and entertainment—this small town of just over 6,000 residents has gone more uptown aesthetically in the last few years and continues to do so in a big way.      

The drawbridge of Commercial Boulevard welcomes all here from Fort Lauderdale on the west side and the narrow road of A1A to the north resides Pompano Beach and North Fort Lauderdale Beach to the south. No highway here—it’s more akin to life in the slow lane of days gone by and people all about seem to like it that way. With restrictions of a 4 story building in height in the town—high risers are only above and below the town area.  Yet that has not stopped big projects to work within these parameters in the last decade including major builder Mintos have built multiple phases of the Villas By The Sea along A1A and the ocean side El Mar Drive.  A few other significant developers over the last decade are making their mark in this highly desired and still quite exclusive area too. Perhaps the most notable recent home project is SkY230, a few streets in from the beach on the south side of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea where the scene is quieter in tone alongside the beautiful tree aligned Sea Grape Drive. The thoroughfare is also pedestrian, dog, and bike-friendly with its enchanting small-town feel.      

Within this serene setting, a big change is taking place with a beautiful small living community of 29 upscale SkY230  homes replacing several single-family homes that have faded in beauty, health and certainly safety standards like so many of these older dwellings that were built as winter homes for seasonal residents many years ago.     

Spectacular Land, Sea & Sky Views 

You don’t have to be a devout naturalist to enjoy nature’s beauty at your feet in this locale. On the west, backside boats are docked in a peaceful water canal that leads to the Intracoastal waterway within a very short distance.  

A simple climb up the SkY230 stairwell or elevator here and you are immersed in exquisite ocean views to the east.  A rooftop terrace allows a vast view of both worlds. The flow of tropical wonderment dances about with the change of tide and rising and setting of the sun alongside tropical breezes.  No matter what direction you gaze upon its universally astounding and certainly paradise found. This all arrives without taking any stock in the likelihood that your boat will be docked below to lead you to more pleasure zones.    

If you opt for a terrestrial walk, town square and the quaint downtown amenities are a short enjoyable picturesque walk and the beach is even less of a short trek from SkY230.  A free area town shuttle bus is also a popular choice of residents among visitors.  
 

“I’m a big fan of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea; That’s why I like to live and work here—this project is my first choice among projects to pursue because I’m passionate about this town. Within a one mile radius I have my home, my project SkY230, my office, my favorite restaurants, and my beach: For my family this is paradise, and the new owners of our finished SkY230 units feel the same…” Developer and Managing Partner of SkY230, Kai Stadler expresses with a verve of enthusiasm.  

“I also like that we don’t build 20-plus story tall hi-rises like Fort Lauderdale does (Southside) and Pompano Beach (Northside).  The big attraction here is the smaller 6000 people community—it’s very enjoyable.  Fort Lauderdale is building too fast in my opinion. They are over-stressing the infrastructure which can’t keep up comfortably with the growth. Downtown Fort Lauderdale has the same size streets it had 25 years ago, yet there are many times more people living there, and all are leaving to and coming home from work at the same time—it’s very difficult to deal with from a city planning aspect…  
  

With our more restrictive building requirements in place here in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, we will never have to deal with the traffic problems of those overbuilt areas.  With the footprint in place, this town has streets and an infrastructure that can handle the future developments within the permissible parameters our very capable and forth seeing town management has set.,” Kai Stadler expresses.  

He now shares his excitement of living the good life of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea with others in the length of each day.” 

SkY 230: THE SKY’S THE LIMIT—IT’S AS HIGH AS YOU CAN GET!

Kai Stadler arrived here from Germany 28 years ago and has been an area resident since. “I owned 2 units of Marina Village townhomes during the market recession in 2007.  I started to rent the units out short-term to vacationers to be able to pay for the mortgages that were considered excessive based on the mass devaluation of the property back then.  I saw the land around it sitting vacant since the owner, discouraged by the recession, ceased its development and left behind a cement shell with no windows that reminded one more of war-torn ruins than of a tranquil and picturesque beach town.  I had been watching that land for a long time because my business that I started was growing for vacationers, creating a demand for new and safe homes in this market. With that aspect, I sought out to find the person who owned this land and, through an attorney in Fort Lauderdale, reached out to China where he is from.  He owned the land along with grandfathered-in permits, allowing to build 3 story’s vertical plus adding an elaborate rooftop terrace where you can see the ocean and feel close to the sky with unrestricted surround views, hence the name SkY230 (the number being the original street address); With more height restrictive changes in place nowadays which were imposed some years ago, building a SkY230 alike structure is no longer possible, making our project even more valuable.  

In May of 2013, the seller and I struck a deal where I contracted for the property and the rights to build per his grandfathered permits.  I then reached out to find partners to join me in the swing for development; I had to manage a purchase price of nearly $6 million for the land and permits alone, but that was just the beginning of the financial challenge: With three construction phases in planning requiring up to $10 Million each, I needed help! And help I found in my friend and real estate guru Goran Dragoslavic from Serbia, who was instrumental in making available his expertise and banking relations to make SkY230 a reality.  After completing 19 units in two construction phases, we now are in the midst of constructing the third phase with 12 units under the watch of our very capable builder Stephan Hausmann from Germany who has a profound understanding of engineering and the gift to build complex structures in his mind just by looking at architectural plans, avoiding conflicts before they become expensive and time-consuming mistakes,” Kai Stadler said. 

SkY 230: Safety and Environmentally Friendly… Taking it to the Max

”Homes at Sky230 range from 2,500 sq. ft. up to 3,500 (A/C space) with lofty 10-foot ceilings, bathrooms occupying each floor with 3 and 4-bedroom units.  An elevator and elegant stairway are both available to traverse the 4 storeys of substantive elegance.  Prices range from $1 to $2.5 million in this sea of luxury.  

“We can’t build any more luxurious than the quality we are building—it’s maxed out in construction cost. Today $100 a square foot is considered the low end. $150 you can do some nice stuff, $200 is considered a luxury, we are at $275.  We have frameless glass stairway rails, floating stairs, stainless steel everything, private elevators and 36 x 36 quartz plates that are of the highest standards used.  What we have considered doing is building some smaller units. On the average we are building 3000 thru 5000 square feet with 2 outdoor spaces,” Kai Stadler said.  Needless to say, there are a lot of different environments in these spaces.

   
“Sky230 is built to sustain intense hurricanes—It’s a safe haven. That is the purpose and intention of building the way we built it. It’s also environmentally friendly where we have attained significantly lower energy consumption in the space than standard buildings.  A big feature is the windows which are UV light repellent where they do not let the sunlight heat up the rooms or let the cool air out. The whole SkY230 building is solid concrete and steel so there is no point of attack for wind to possibly lift up a roof or removes shingles because there are none. There is zero wood used other than for decorative purposes and the windows have the highest impact rating available on the market.  Also, with the lack of wooden trusses, there’s no way for the cool air to escape from the top or warm air to come in so energy consumption is very low.  We brought in natural gas to SkY230 so we can cook and heat with it. The rainwater is collected from the entire roof area and drains to the southeast corner of the property where we have drilled a 250-foot deep hole to return the valuable rain back into the ground level water. It does not flow off into the canal or street. We take out what we need for the sprinklers and the rest is recycled back to the ground so the rainwater is preserved—that’s as good as it gets.  

   
We raised the entire ground level at SkY230 above flood level so flood insurance becomes obsolete. The ground floor of the garage is raised by another 1 foot before you walk into the ground level of the building.     

Additionally, the power lines are underground providing extended safety and a higher level of beauty too.  “The storms blow above not below so we will be safe in hurricanes; While others may have no electricity we will have A/C, be cooking, and watching TV… so life goes on.  SkY230 will also have major backup generators if the town permits” Kai Stadler said.      

The heavy isolation created throughout the building for heat coolness also creates very low sound levels.  Notable upon my walkthrough I could not even hear the large crane that was radiating a loud noise upon our entry to the building.  I voiced this and Kai Stadler responded, “We built SkY230 this way above what’s required by law.  We build safe, above flood level and environmentally friendly and sustainable. SkY230 is, in essence, a perfect living community.  This way you don’t cause any damage to the environment and you’re in a very safe home.   

A lot of the wall structures in the older homes are not strong enough to hold high-impact windows well.  The roofs will likely blow off as the wood trusses and shingles are weak, and then the house is destroyed.   There is also too much electrical load in most of these buildings with modern appliances and other upgrades, making them not good investments for people who own them.      
They do not fit the usefulness of the land they are placed upon. We need to replace the old outdated structures and build desirable safe and environmentally friendly, efficient buildings. That’s the way to go, that’s what we are doing,”  Kai Stadler expressed.  

    
Even along a well-charted course often comes a new revelation experience that surfaces.  “We’ve noticed that not everyone is needing a 4 bedroom place with a 3000-5000 sq. ft. living area, particularly for snowbirds and empty nesters who are downsizing. We have had many from Weston (Florida) who want to come back to the beach. They are saying: “We love your style at SkY230, we love your design—we love everything that you’ve done, yet we don’t need this many bedrooms or this much space”.     

In the next SkY230 phase we are looking to go smaller. Yet that depends on the density we are going to be allowed to build by the town. This will allow more units per acre. It will be the same style and the same quality, just smaller for those who desire less space. Not everyone is into the multi-level either.  As people get older they tend to want to be on a single level. We have elevators for all floors in each unit and that helps, but nevertheless, if you forget your book in the bedroom you need to go back up there. It’s a trip when you’re older.  We are looking to accommodate everyone in the final phase with a one-level area with about +/- 2000 square foot space—that’s still plenty of space. At SkY230 we have been listening to make it a diverse community so everyone fits in and everyone is happy,” Kai Stadler expressed.     

Notable SkY230 is considered a very desirable location, reasonably priced for what you get, and therefore a good investment. Helping that equation is that you only need to purchase a boat slip if you choose to do so.    

“Every area in the county has only so many dock spaces that they allow for boats and this town is maxed out.  We took the last 24 boat slips and we offer for sale separately.  Their not available to outsiders because we don’t want people coming to SkY230  and using the homeowner’s pool and other amenities.  When we go to phase four we have a contingency of 12 more dock spaces that we hope to have in place.  
   

Working with the town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea is like being part of a good team: They seem to have a lot of respect for what we are doing at SkY230 .  It means a lot to us having their talents guiding us—very much appreciated with this major project.  It’s good for all, for we are building a better community for us and future generations.    
 

Given the positive impact SkY230 has made on its neighborhood, and not just from the beautifying but also from a value-adding aspect, we are considering a fourth phase and will soon pledge to the neighbors and town officials to allow us to do so.  There is a very small sleeve on both sides of Sea Grape Drive south of Commercial Boulevard that is zoned RD 10 (RD 10 allows 2-family duplex structures up to 10 dwellings per acre), while its surroundings on all sides are zoned RM 25 (RM 25 allows for multi-units/apartments up to 25 dwellings per acre).   
  

Making the entire area a unified RM 25 zoning would be highly beneficial aesthetically with the continuity the recent buildings have added.  Besides the fresh and clean look and higher property values it would bring to the area residents,” Kai Stadler said.    
  

Recognizing their significant contribution of SkY230 in substantively providing a tremendous positive change to the living standards and safety for the community, it only seems likely that more of a good thing for the now and extended future will be most welcomed.  
 

SkY230 homes are located at 230 Shore Court (Off Sea Grape Drive) Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida, USA

T. 954 507 3685

| SkY230.com