Seven years after construction began on Metro Orlando’s tallest residential tower, the interior space is almost complete on the unfinished top floors of 55 West.
The 33-story high-rise on Church Street in the center of downtown Orlando became a visible symbol of the region’s condominium craze, which led to an overbuilding as the real estate market crashed starting in about 2007.
The structure, built starting in early 2006, was converted from condominiums to apartments in 2009, after the Great Recession scattered the project’s would-be condo buyers, and the incomplete building was acquired in 2011 by Boston-based TA Associates Realty.
This week, 55 West expects to launch the first phase of its loft units on the top floors of the building. The owner and ZRS Management, which manages the property, are leasing the first 24 units to open on the 29th floor. Rents are expected to start at $1,300 a month.
The remaining units will open throughout the remainder of the year, with a second phase of 24 units ready for occupancy in July. Units on floors 31-33 are in the city’s approval process and are expected to include two-story, three-bedroom floor plans with two-story windows and wrap-around balconies. Those units are projected to open in the fall.
