The groundbreaking for a development of seaside condominiums next week brings the latest sign that luxury condominiums in the region seem once again to be a hot asset. A groundbreaking for Infinity Longboat Key will be held Tuesday at 10am, following up on movement from Aria Longboat Key a little down the road on the same island. 

The 11 beachfront residences in the Infinity development start at $2.975 million, and five of them have already been sold, according to Infinity spokeswoman Alisa Bennett. It's one of numerous condominium projects in the region whose history dates back before the Great Recession but whose plans were put on the shelf for years when the economy went south. Crossgate Partners, the owner of the property, have decided now is the time to move ahead. 

"There is not a lot of new construction available directly on the beach," Bennett said, noting the presales give developers tremendous reason for optimism the project will sell quickly. The beachside condos immediate proximity to shore make a good selling point, and the market seems ripe. 

While the project was purchased by Crossgate in 2004, Managing Partner Randy Moore met with a new design team two years ago to explore what consumers in the market wanted post-recession. This led the company toward a plan for a Coastal Contemporary design and large, flexible floor plans.

The motion on the project is happening as Ascentia Development pours the concrete on its first moving level for Aria, a 16-unit condominium project on a five-acre parcel of Longboat Key. Amy Drake, director of sales and marketing for Ascentia, said she figures both condo projects going up the island, while very different, will both find success in this market.

"We have a lot of confidence in the luxury market," Drake said. "There has been no new development on Longboat Key for the last six or seven years, and the demand for new construction is high." Indeed the project has sold 13 of the 16 planned units at Aria, with the remaining units priced between $3.6 million and $3.85 million. 

A low amount of inventory has only fed interest in the properties, Drake said. With the low number of available resales on the island, demand has only increased for all properties being listed on the Key.