Progress report

The Sarasota housing market continues to show signs of strength: In November, at least three housing projects totaling more than 400 units have emerged in neighborhoods near the heart of the city .
Currently in various stages of development, the projects have the potential to leave a significant mark on the city’s landscape.

ROSEMARY DISTRICT
1401 Fruitville Road
With the Rosemary Residential Overlay District in place, a second developer is seeking to take advantage of the density bonuses created by the new regulations.

Framework Group LLC, a Tampa-based developer, is proposing a five-story, 228-unit apartment complex along Fruitville Road between Central Avenue and Lemon Avenue. With the project, called Sarasota Flats, the group said it hopes to appeal to a broadening market interested in highly amenitized luxury apartments.

The 3.05-acre site is located within the Rosemary Residential Overlay District, which allows for housing projects with a density of 75 units per acre — three times the previous cap. Philip Smith, president of Framework Group, said the incentive to develop in the area was a significant draw.

“We were very excited to see the city of Sarasota adopt the Rosemary Overlay District,” Smith said. “That’s just the sort of guidance that I look for as a developer.”

The group, which has roughly 1,900 residential units in various stages of development in the Tampa Bay region, focuses on high-end urban infill apartments. Smith said the Rosemary District fit the profile for the type of projects Framework Group likes to pursue.

“This kind of site, this particular location, this kind of circumstance is really exactly what we look for: small, urban infill parcels in redevelopment zones we feel have generally been underserved in the past,” Smith said. “Going forward, we feel like there’s a very specific need for a luxury apartment project.”

DOWNTOWN
711 S. Palm Ave.
On Wednesday, the developer behind a planned five-story development on south Palm Avenue appeared before the city’s Development Review Committee.

The condominium complex would replace a single-family residential home at 711 S. Palm Ave., subject to demolition approval. Patrick DiPinto, principal of Seaward Development, said the group was attracted to the site because of its residential surroundings and its proximity to attractions such as Selby Gardens, Marina Jack, Burns Court and downtown Sarasota.

With 15 units across four residential stories, DiPinto said the development was geared more toward full-time residents.

“We build low-scale, low-density residential,” DiPinto said. “Our goal is to attract the end user who will spend significant time here and live here rather than just spending a couple of weeks in Sarasota.”

Although the project is in its early stages, concern is already brewing among adjacent property owners about how their sightlines might be affected if the building is not set further back from the sidewalk.

DiPinto stressed that the project was still in early stages, and that the group wouldn’t seek exceptions to city regulations.

“We want to be good neighbors,” DiPinto said.

Seaward Development is currently working on plans to bring forward to the city as soon as next month, with a targeted construction date as early as next spring.

DOWNTOWN
1455 Second St.
A site plan has been in place for 1455 Second St. for six years, but the fate of the project has regularly been in question.

On Monday, the City Commission may have helped keep the project afloat, allowing the developer to forgo required payments to an Affordable Housing and Transit Development Fund.

The site plan, approved under the now-expired Downtown Residential Overlay District, calls for a 10-story building with 168 residential units and 16,400 square feet of retail space on the 0.84-acre parcel. Earlier this year, property owner Jesse Biter said he was uncertain whether he could move forward with his plans without another partner coming aboard.

Since then, Carter Acquisitions LLC has agreed to partner with Biter Enterprises in developing the project. Before an agreement is finalized, however, the group sought to avoid the payments to the housing and transit funds as was stipulated following site-plan approval.

Since that approval, the plans have been modified so more than 130 of the apartments are 1,250 square feet or smaller. Bill Merrill, who represented Carter Acquisitions at Monday’s meeting, said the intent of the DROD regulations was to create smaller, more attainable housing units; the required payments to housing and transit were triggered by the number of units larger than 1,250 square feet.

Before the 3-2 vote to forgo the payment, Vice Mayor Susan Chapman questioned whether the smaller apartments qualified as attainable. Jerome Hagley, executive vice president with Carter Acquisitions, said one-bedroom units should range from $1,100 to $1,500, while two-bedroom apartments will be priced from $1,800 to $2,200.

Still — after receiving assurances that any resizing of the apartments would re-trigger the housing and transit payments — the commission signaled its interest in securing the project.

“We need to start moving affordable or moderate housing downtown,” Commissioner Suzanne Atwell said. “We have been saying this for years, to get young professionals to stay here.”