Fruitville housing, office projects take shape

Ron Webber has owned property on Fruitville Road, just northeast of downtown Sarasota, for more than 15 years. Now, he finally thinks the time is right to do something with it.

In March, Webber filed a preliminary development application with the city for a residential and office project at 2039 Fruitville Road. The 1.45-acre parcel is slated to include a four-story, 42,500-square-foot office building and six residential units.

“I think the number of things being done downtown with residential uses, there’s going to be a need for office space, whether it’s medical or attorneys,” Webber said.

He pointed to nearby developments already underway, including the School Avenue Townhomes and a mixed-use building at 2101 Main St., as evidence the market for new projects on the edges of downtown is burgeoning. 

“I think it’s starting to develop,” Webber said. “Once we’re in there, it’ll probably be even further along. It might encourage people to do more.”

Just to the east, another developer is plotting its own residential and office project.

Blue Sky Communities, a Tampa-based firm, has filed plans for a development on a 3.5-acre site at 2901 Fruitville Road. The proposal includes two four-story buildings with 80 residential units and an additional one-story office building. In total, the project would add 13,100 square feet of office space.

Blue Sky works with nonprofit organizations to build and renovate affordable housing, according to the firm’s website. The application with the city does not mention affordable housing, and representatives from the company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The group is working with local designer Hoyt Architects on the project, according to the documents filed with the city.

“In all markets in which Blue Sky operates, they are committed to creating and inspiring affordable housing,” the website states.

BOLD news

On Monday, entrepreneur Jesse Biter addressed a crowd in a parking lot next to his BOLD cowork building. Cradling his youngest son, Lex, in his right arm, and standing in front of a bulls-eye painted on a building slated for demolition, Biter shared his excitement for the housing project on the property that was finally coming to fruition.

“This has been a long work in progress, to say the least,” Biter said.

Biter’s speech was part of a demolition block party held to celebrate construction of the BOLD Lofts. The 97-unit apartment project is yet another residential and office development on a property near Fruitville Road, located just west of Goodrich Avenue.

Biter also sees his project as filling a much-needed gap near downtown. Although his project is not affordable housing, he said he thinks that there is a shortage of space near the core that fits into the budget of a young professional. The BOLD Lofts focus on smaller units — between 650 and 1,200 square feet — to keep costs down.

“This all started because the entrepreneurs that are starting businesses, the people that work for me — they want to live downtown, but they can’t afford it,” Biter said.

If the city wants a better mix of housing, Biter says officials should raise the density limit in the downtown core. He said the current regulations, which come with a cap of 50 units per acre, encourage the proliferation of large luxury condominiums.

“If I built a 10-story building here, which I’m allowed to do, I’d have 4,000-square-foot units,” Biter said. “That’s just not attainable. Nobody can afford that.”

He hopes the city will gradually add to its housing portfolio to make it easier for full-time residents to live near downtown Sarasota. He thinks projects such as BOLD will benefit businesses downtown, encouraging people to not only live downtown, but to also work and shop there.

“I think the most important thing is that when somebody wants to live here, there’s a place they can afford,” Biter said.