by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
After five years of anticipation, The Strand is finally open.
Developers of the 28-story Southbank condominium that overlooks the St. Johns River in downtown Jacksonville held a four-hour, invitation-only reception last month that was attended by nearly 700.
Invitations went out to roughly 500 individuals who previously expressed interest in possibly purchasing a condo there and viewing the furnished models, but the number of actual attendees far exceeded the number that registered, according Strand spokeswoman Cheryl Abbott.
“We didn’t announce the event as a ‘public event’ but, of course, everyone was welcomed,” said Abbott. “We had a feeling more people were going to show up, especially since we had to cut off reservations over a week ago.”
The reception allowed attendees to tour a number of the building’s units, both furnished and unfurnished, and provided interested parties with an opportunity to purchase units as well.
The Miami-based real estate development firm American Land started construction on The Strand in 2002.
Tammy Britton, marketing director for American Land Ventures, said the high attendance of the grand opening mirrors the demand for the condos.
Construction on The Peninsula – The Strand’s sister project also built by American Land Ventures – should be completed in mid-2008 and will reach 37 floors and is already sold out.
“One of our goals for the opening was to illustrate what that downtown living experience was like,” said Abbott, adding that everything from the music to the food was selected to help reach that goal.
Music was provided by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and food was catered by a number of Downtown restaurants including Bistro Aix, The Corner Brasserie and bb’s.
A virtual tour created by American Land Ventures and designed to illustrate a “day in the life” of a Strand resident was available at www.thestrandsouthbank.com/video.htm to those who wanted to view the facilities from home.