County receives two hotel proposals for downtown land

In addition to older plans for a Kimpton Hotel, a new proposal calls for the creation of an 8-story mixed use project with a three-floor Starwood Hotel.

By David Conway
| 3:53 p.m. November 24, 2015

The Starwood Hotel proposal comes from HAAD/ARCADD Inc., a New York and Boston-based design and development firm.

Sarasota
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Following a failed deal to build a Kimpton Hotel at U.S. 301 and Main Street, Sarasota County may still end up selling the downtown parcel to a hotel developer.

The county, which owns the .95-acre property at 20 N. Washington Blvd., issued an invitation to negotiate in July in hopes of finding an interested buyer. The county originally placed the property on the market in 2013, but the initial agreement it reached with a developer fell through.

By the end of the bidding period in October, the county had received two proposals — both to develop a hotel on the property.

One proposal comes from SKC SP, which is led by Civix — the development group that spearheaded the original Kimpton Hotel proposal the county agreed to in 2014. The proposal still calls for a Kimpton Hotel with 120 rooms and a 120-seat restaurant.

The Kimpton Hotel concept was originally pitched in 2013 by SHD Partners. Development group Civix is still spearheading the new proposal.

In exchange for the county property, which is currently a parking lot, SKC SP is proposing to construct an 86-space lot at 2051 Main St. The group would then pay the difference between the appraised value of the two sites.

The second submission comes from New York and Boston-based HAAD/ARCAD Inc. The group proposed an eight-story, mixed-use building, with a Starwood Hotel on the top three floors. The plans include 16,400 square feet of retail on the first two floors, 52,500 square feet of office and commercial space on the mid-level floors and 32,500 square feet of underground on-site parking.

HAAD/ARCAD agreed to a purchase price based on the average of two future appraisals of the land.

The county has not yet scheduled a date for the commission to evaluate the proposals. County spokesperson Jason Bartolone said the board would likely examine the issue early next year. Although the county only received two proposals, the commission doesn't necessarily have to commit to either one.

"Whenever this comes before the board for consideration, it’s also possible that they will ask to reopen the bid process with a different scope or criteria for the proposals," Bartolone said.