- April 26, 2024
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On Aug. 27, a group of Sarasota residents gathered at city hall, concerned about how a new development might impact the area in which they worked or lived.
The occasionally fraught relationship between builders and neighborhoods is a recurring theme in the city, but as Sarasota goes through a period of growth — particularly in the downtown core — problems can start before the project is even completed.
The August meeting focused not on the proposed development itself, an 18-story, 180-unit Embassy Suites hotel at 202 N. Tamiami Trail. Instead, the workshop was held to discuss only the staging of the construction process, set to take 15 months once the builders obtain a permit.
That workshop was a special case, as developer Jebco Ventures plans to block a portion of an alley north of Second Street during the construction process. Still, with cranes returning to the Sarasota skyline and more projects in the planning stages, the city has to monitor how the build-out phase of these new developments might affect their surroundings.
For the Embassy Suites project, Jebco CEO Jim Bridges assured the audience that parking wouldn’t be a problem — he owned a nearby property where workers could leave their cars and walk to the site.
Other projects lack such a convenient solution. Residents downtown and in the Rosemary District have expressed concern about the impact a new construction project — or projects — might have on their neighborhood's parking supply.
City Engineer Alex DavisShaw explains that, in the process of submitting plans, developers must include a clear strategy for where employees and other construction-related vehicles will park. Though some parking spaces may be lost to the actual staging area, the city wants to avoid having workers occupy public spots all day.
“We have had developers bus people in if they don’t have any property nearby,” DavisShaw said. “That’s part of their requirements.”
At the Embassy Suites meeting, at least one business owner along Second Street was skeptical that workers would avoid the on-street parking in the area, which is devoid of any time restrictions. City staff offered to reach out to the parking division if a consensus existed that temporary regulations should be in place. DavisShaw said parking enforcement workers look out for problems if they hear any complaints.
“That’s why we have it as part of the staging plan,” DavisShaw said. “We can make sure (developers) are adhering to what they said.”
For residents concerned about rumbling trucks, chattering machinery and clanking equipment waking them up or disturbing their evenings, the city’s rules are hard and fast on construction hours.
Late last year, residents of the 1350 Main condominium registered some displeasure with the noise coming from the nearby Jewel project early in the morning and late at night. The response from the city was that the construction was adhering to the rules, which some residents saw as unnecessarily lax.
During the week, construction activity can begin as early as 6 a.m. and continue until 9 p.m. On the weekends and holidays, the regulations are slightly stricter, as building can only commence at 9 a.m.
DavisShaw said that, as long as construction is limited to those hours and adhering to sound regulations, the developer is in the clear. Tim Litchet, the city’s director of neighborhood and development services, assured people at the Embassy Suites meeting that builders couldn’t take advantage of those rules by preparing the site before hours to kick into full gear at the stroke of 6 a.m.
“That doesn’t mean they can have a bunch of people clinking at 5 o’clock,” Litchet said.
DavisShaw said the city tries to be judicious in deciding when and where to allow street closures, but that sometimes it’s a necessary part of construction — particularly if utility lines are being installed.
When developers express an interest in temporarily closing a street, city engineering and building staff meets with them to determine if there are alternate options. In cases where the street closure is deemed appropriate, there are permitting fees associated with the use of the city right of way. DavisShaw said this discourages construction crews from occupying streets for longer than necessary.
Occasionally — as is the case with the Embassy Suites project — the city is aware that multiple construction efforts will be going on adjacent to one another. In situations like that, DavisShaw said the city requires developers to design or plan with the nearby construction in mind.
Sometimes, however, the city doesn’t know in advance that two projects might spring up next to each other at the same time. The need to obtain permits for major obstructions such as street closures allows the city to try to coordinate construction efforts to the best of its ability, but DavisShaw admits it can be a challenge.
“We try to avoid detouring where one detour runs into another place where there’s another detour,” DavisShaw said. “That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, but we try to manage that the best we can.”
Construction on Jebco Ventures’ Embassy Suites project could begin as soon as September, according to those involved with the project.
At the Aug. 27 meeting, contractor Charles Kimsey said the construction should take about 15 months, though the most intensive structural building will be limited to the first nine months.
Most of the concern from the audience at that workshop focused on the use of an alley near the project site between Second Street and Fruitville Road. As part of the construction effort, Jebco will be using a new temporary alley coming directly off of Fruitville, rather than the existing alley — plans designed to minimize the impact on neighboring commercial and residential properties.
“Our goal is really to build a beautiful building for Jim (Bridges) and for the city, and to be good neighbors in the process of doing that,” Kimsey said.
Further questions related to the long-term use of the alley once construction is completed. Some of the attendees asked if it was possible to restrict the hotel’s use of the alley completely, preserving it solely for existing residential use. DavisShaw ruled out that possibility because the alley is a public road that requires continued public accessibility.
Tim Litchet, the city’s director of neighborhood and development services, said it was possible to include a condition that requires the developer to instruct service vehicles to take a route other than the alleyway. Bridges suggested he would be amenable to that condition, which Litchet said should be an effective tool to avoid congestion on the alley.
“Theoretically, you shouldn’t have any more truck traffic than you already have,” Litchet said.
