Weston vs. west sunrise (Plantation, Sawgrass: rent, HOA, YMCA)

[Marsha123]

I just moved from Tao and would advise looking in Weston. Tao is overpriced and the buildings stick up like two sore thumbs. The Tao webpage looks nice but you need to see it in person. The bulidings block the sun from the pool until the afternoon and the view from your balconey is of the Sawgrass Mills Parking lot. The Tao condos were completed over 2 and 1/2 years ago and it is still about 60% vacant. Not worth the money.

[ChristineNic]

We chose to rent a single family house in a very nice community in Sunrise instead of a smaller place in Weston. People are friendlier. I love living here, everything is so close and convenient.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by vr2

Right now we are heavily favoring towards dumping the beach. The Tao condo is far superior in every way other than the beach view, though we do enjoy the Bank Atlantic Center and Everglades view as it's very quiet and peaceful, and a little hidden treasure that we didn't realize when we signed the papers, is that the sun sets in the west so we get a killer sunset from the balcony every night over the everglades. And the pool area at Tao is much more pleasant than the beach anyways.

We'll keep the beach condo for another 6 months at least just to make sure we are 100% sure, but it's definitely looking like we'll get rid of it... neither of us like Pompano at all.

I have to say that I find the location of Tao to be pretty unpleasant. It features views of a busy highway, mall parking lots and a busy arena. I am not saying that you should dislike it for those reasons but you should certainly take it into account.

[Marsha123]

I relocated from Maryland to Florida on very short notice a little over a year ago. I had almost no time to research neighborhoods at the time and moved to Tao, which seemed like a good idea at that time. I can tell you that these so called luxary condos are anything but luxurious. The buildings are surrounded by busy and noisy highways and the view of Sawgrass Mills Mall is nothing to brag about. The pool gets no morning sun. One of the other Tao residents told me that his building had sunk by about 6 inches since completion. Don't know if that is true or not. I now live in a much nicer neighborhood in Plantation and at a much better price.

[vr2]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I have to say that I find the location of Tao to be pretty unpleasant. It features views of a busy highway, mall parking lots and a busy arena. I am not saying that you should dislike it for those reasons but you should certainly take it into account.

It's not for everyone, but what are the views from most highrises? We have a penthouse at Pompano Beach club (27th and 28th floors) and though you have the beach and the airpark, there is a lot of loud traffic and noise and the view of the beach is really overrated.

To me, the Tao view is more pleasant, it's NOT a view of the sawgrass parking lot, well, not much at all. You can barely make out the highway, let alone hear it. In fact, here is a panorama view from my Tao balcony. View image: pano view

That little spec on the left is the Sawgrass parking lot near Oasis. It's nice because you can quickly see when it's busy. The arena is kind of fun to watch when there are events and things going on, and most of the view is really quite pleasant, mostly untouched nature and everglades.

The building is 60% vacant but that is changing quick now that they started actively leasing on a few weeks ago.

I thought it was odd when they first built it too, but the building has certainly grown on me to the point we decided to live there.

[Marsha123]

vr2 - I was in the South Tower and had a direct view of the Sawgrass Mills parking lot. Your view is much nicer. The mall itself is not as upscale as I was lead to believe. The Oasis is nothing more than a hangout for teens at night. You mentioned that they are now leasing. Does this mean the units are no longer for sale. If they are in fact leasing, I wonder how the people feel who bought a condo there as there home and not for the purpose of renting.

[vr2]

A company bought out something like 260 units and is leasing them out. They are moving quite fast actually. I'm not sure how the owners feel, I don't think it necessarily matters to them other than they overpaid for their units - considering the new leasing company bought the units for an average of $209,000 each.

You can still buy in the towers though.

The view is really quite nice. I knew the mall wasn't that upscale, other than the colonnades. But it does have a few great restaurants and it's right next to my office. I prefer it out west and I love high rises, so it's kind of the best of both worlds for me. I've lived in the area for 15 years so nothing was a surprise for me, heck I even worked at places in the mall years ago.

For me, the location is great. Friends, family, business, safer, and most of the things I like to do are near me. But I guess it's not for everyone.

P.S. I think you meant you were in the north tower, I'm in the South tower.

[Marsha123]

It is a very unusual sight to see towers of this size with no other high rises anywhere else in the area. I believe the new Sunrise Mayor said that the Tao Condos should never have been built, so I doubt any more high rises will be built in Sunrise. We'll have to wait and see what happens once the economy improves.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by vr2

It's not for everyone, but what are the views from most highrises? We have a penthouse at Pompano Beach club (27th and 28th floors) and though you have the beach and the airpark, there is a lot of loud traffic and noise and the view of the beach is really overrated.

To me, the Tao view is more pleasant, it's NOT a view of the sawgrass parking lot, well, not much at all. You can barely make out the highway, let alone hear it. In fact, here is a panorama view from my Tao balcony. View image: pano view

That little spec on the left is the Sawgrass parking lot near Oasis. It's nice because you can quickly see when it's busy. The arena is kind of fun to watch when there are events and things going on, and most of the view is really quite pleasant, mostly untouched nature and everglades.

The building is 60% vacant but that is changing quick now that they started actively leasing on a few weeks ago.

I thought it was odd when they first built it too, but the building has certainly grown on me to the point we decided to live there.

I am glad you like your new home!

[vr2]

Originally Posted by Marsha123

It is a very unusual sight to see towers of this size with no other high rises anywhere else in the area. I believe the new Sunrise Mayor said that the Tao Condos should never have been built, so I doubt any more high rises will be built in Sunrise. We'll have to wait and see what happens once the economy improves.

I hope they don't build any more of them. They would jack up the view.

Tao didn't work out initially because it was just too expensive, and they finished it right when the downturn in the market was happening. But saying there should be no high rises is a different story.

I think West Sunrise would be ideal for some taller buildings, large corporate towers, etc. Just like other downtown areas. It's just that these things don't happen when the construction industry and the economy is taking a dive.

I read that Tao is the tallest building west of I-95 in Broward.