The world of real estate is littered with failed developments, places where builders got the timing or concept wrong and left half-built, decaying projects as monuments to their failure.

Then there is Surfsedge in Indian River Shores, where the Lutgert Companies have transformed a vacant lot into a field of dreams.

The 24-home luxury development, built during the pandemic, has been a huge success for all concerned – especially those who bought houses in 2021, who have seen their net worth increase by a million dollars or more.

But it also has worked out great for the town, which originally owned the vacant lot; the developer; and real estate agents.

“It was life changing for me,” said Megan Raasveldt, the Dale Sorensen real estate agent who managed sales in the boutique subdivision, sharing in the developer’s good fortune.

“Sometimes you just hit the timing right,” said Lutgert vice president Mike Hoyt. “We couldn’t be prouder of what we were able to execute there, and we display the project prominently in our general marketing.”

Indian River Shores reaped an immediate payout of approximately $4.5 million when it auctioned off the wooded lot in April 2017, and the town now collects a rich stream of property tax revenue that helps fund municipal services and keep millage rates low.

But it was the initial group of buyers who won the lotto on the project, making small fortunes quickly by having faith in the future.

Single-family homes in Surfsedge that sold for less than $2 million in 2021 were going for $3 million by 2024, and two residences in the community are currently listed for $4 million, with a third offered for $3.9 million.

Case in point, the original buyer at 915 Surfsedge Way paid $1,778,200 for a 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 3,000-square-foot house in March 2021 and resold it in June 2024 for $3,075,000, netting a 70-percent, $1.2-million profit in 41 months.

Looked at another way, that means that the buyers made a thousand dollars a day the entire time they owned their luxurious dwelling by simply waking up each morning and breathing the sea air.

Two doors down, at 927 Surfsedge Way, the initial buyers paid a little over $2 million in a deal that closed in April 2022, and resold the house for $2,825,000 19 months later, in November 2023, netting an effortless profit of $40,000 per month while residing in the seaside enclave. The house has since sold a third time, for over $3 million.

Price appreciation was so rapid in the 12-unit condo building that two people made more than a million just flipping their contracts, without ever moving a piece of furniture or box of books, according to Raasveldt.

The project began as a faint glimmer on the horizon when The Shores town council decided the town didn’t need a 5.4-acre lot across from Pebble Bay that it got from the county in a land swap and that residents had been using as a beach access route for years.

Some in the community wanted the land preserved as a park but a pro-revenue faction prevailed, and the land was auctioned off by Wesley Davis, now the county’s property appraiser, for $4.4 million.

Lutgert was the buyer, motivated by Vero native Hoyt, who joined the Naples-based company out of college and had been trying for years to get his bosses to consider a project in Vero Beach.

The town used some of the auction proceeds, which amounted to $4.5 million, including part of the buyer’s premium, to bolster its pension trust fund, according to Town Manager James Harpring. It allocated the rest of the money to the general fund and reserves, allowing a reduction in the millage rate.

Lutgert designed the enclave, which consists of 12 houses and the one 12-unit condo building, got permits and started construction, despite the onset of the pandemic.

“The summer and fall of 2020 were tough,” said Raasveldt, who helped Hoyt find the land and stayed on to handle sales. “There were weeks when we saw only one or two prospective buyers,” she said, making for long, lonely days in the sales trailer.

Despite the doldrums, Lutgert kept stacking concrete blocks and hanging drywall and the company’s perseverance paid off when the real estate market rebounded from pandemic paralysis in late 2020, just about the time the first model home in the community was complete.

“I could feel the energy change,” said Raasveldt, who put all the available homes under contract between mid-January and mid-April 2021.

Developers usually wait for a substantial number of sales before starting a multifamily building, but the explosion of house sales gave Lutgert and its bankers confidence to break ground on the 12-unit condo with only one sale on the books. The burst in sales was due to the community’s design and quality as well as market conditions, according to Douglas Elliman broker associate Michael Merrill, who brought three condo buyers to the project.

Lutgert has an extensive portfolio of impressive residential and commercial projects on the west coast of Florida, and Merrill said the company’s reputation along with the design and quality of the Surfsedge project attracted his clients.

“They were so impressed with the quality of what Lutgert was doing,” Merrill said. “I was in that building on a regular basis from block to finish and it was all professionally done, with great craftsmanship and top-level amenities.”

Merrill said the small size and boutique feel of the community had a lot of appeal to his buyers, too, along with the location, close to Ocean Drive shopping and dining, The Village Shops and the Shores city hall and services.

“Lutgert was accessible throughout the process, and the foreman was spectacular to deal with,” said Merrill who kept a close eye on the project for his buyers. “They hit the nail on the head with this one. I hope to see them do more projects in Vero.”

Early condo buyers included longtime Vero Beach residents, a couple from Chicago, a Surfsedge single-family homebuyer who decided to purchase a condo, too, for overflow space when lots of visitors show up, and a renowned aviation litigation lawyer from Naples.

“Lutgert is the premier developer in Naples,” attorney Bob Clifford told Vero Beach 32963 after buying his Surfsedge condo. “I bought my first condo from them in the 1980s and have purchased a number of others. They have always exceeded expectations. They are wonderful people to work with.”

“We have a number of clients who have followed us from building to building in Naples,” said Hoyt, who grew up riding his bike across the 17th Street Bridge to surf at South Beach Park. “But this is the first time one has followed us this far!”

“Vero today is like Naples was in the 1980s, before it got so congested and that has some appeal,” Clifford said. “I think it is a good place to invest.”

Surfsedge condos range from 2,802 to 3,307 square feet of air-conditioned space with between 290 and 780 square feet of outdoor patio or balcony space. Prices started at $2.5 million, preconstruction. By 2024, units were selling for $4.8 and $.4.9 million, with buyers paying as much as $1,559 per square foot.

A highlight of the property is a unique-in-Vero, expansive rooftop club area available to all community residents, single-family and condo, which includes a hot tub, fire pit, grill and catering area, pet walk section and sweeping sea views.

“The rooftop amenity helped us sell the houses as well as the condos,” said Raasveldt, who has one condo left for sale, offered for $4 million with a $200,000 decorator’s allowance.

She also has the final new home for sale, which was built after the rest of the houses were finished, on a lot that was used as a construction staging area during development. It, too, is offered at $4 million with a $200,000 decorator’s allowance.

If those prices hold and the rest of community keeps pace, Surfsedge will be a $100 million enclave in coming years, generating more than $100,000 a year in property taxes for the town.

Complete behind its ornate metal gate, Surfsedge is receding now into the background of the built environment. In coming decades busy islanders will drive past without noticing it. But it is worth remembering that it was a triumph for builder and buyers alike, with spillover benefits for enterprising real estate agents and Indian River Shores.