Water's Edge owner sees altruism

Maxwell Drever didn't buy the Water's Edge condominium tower in Clearwater simply because it was a bargain. Instead, the San Francisco-based investor views it as an opportunity to help turn around a faltering downtown district.

Drever, who is also chairman of Houston-based Concierge Asset Management, bought the 25-story structure on Cleveland Street for $31 million and is in the process of reselling the remaining 143 units. A recent sales event attracted 750 people, four times more than was expected to show.

Even at a 56% discount from the two-year-old units' original pricing, Concierge has managed to pay off the mortgage held by Wachovia Bank, which had foreclosed on the property last October. However, Drever says buying the units for roughly $217,000 each and reselling them for a tidy profit wasn't his motivation.

“I'm 69 years old and at the end of the day you have to look in the mirror and think about what you have accomplished,” he tells Coffee Talk.

He wants Water's Edge, Clearwater's biggest building that isn't on the beach, to lead a resurgence of the downtown district where office and retail vacancy are in the 20% range.

Ideally, Drever would like to see buyers move into the tower and create a new residential base downtown. Until lately, Water's Edge took on a ghostly look at night with interior lights showing from only a few units.

“The quicker we can get people in there, I think you're going to see downtown come around,” Drever says. As for current buyers, he adds: “They'll make a much bigger return than we will.”