Sarasota officials to discuss Rosemary condos

The building boom north of downtown Sarasota is continuing, as the city’s development review committee this week will consider plans for a new five-story development in the Rosemary District.

Rosemary-based architecture firm Halflants + Pichette has designed a 62-unit, mixed-use building at the intersection of Fourth Street and Cocoanut Avenue, which is slated to have townhouses, lofts and three penthouses, along with 2,900 square feet of retail space. City staff will consider plans for the land, which is owned by the Atlanta-based Drapac Group, Wednesday.

The building will feature the firm’s signature modern style, along with a rooftop pool and 12 live-work spaces on the bottom floor, which will each have backyards. 

“I think the city of Sarasota only has one way to expand, and it’s to the north,” said Halflants + Pichette architect Michael Halflants in a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer.

A Hampton Inn and Suites was proposed for the site in 2007, but never materialized following the onset of the Great Recession, according to permitting documents.

The Rosemary Residential Overlay District, which allows developments within its borders as many as 75 units per acre, is a major catalyst for the explosion in new development, Halfants said. As is the city’s plans to make Fruitville Road more attractive for pedestrian activity.

“I think thats really a game changer in terms of stitching the Rosemary District together with downtown,” Halflants said.

Also at the meeting, staff will discuss plans for 135 homes next to Payne Park, the second phase of the CitySide project — which is also in the Rosemary District — and entrepreneur Harvey Vengroff’s proposal to build 368 affordable apartments on Fruitville Road.