City staff recommends affordable housing plan

A local entrepreneur’s plan to build hundreds of affordable apartments in the city of Sarasota has received planning staff members’ blessing, according to a Feb. 29 report. 

The Planning Board this week will consider an amendment to the Sarasota City Plan to allow up to 393 apartments on about eight acres of land northeast of downtown. Harvey Vengroff’s currently-named VW Village, slated for the intersection of Fruitville Road and Audubon Place, will also include a car-sharing system similar to Zipcar, maintain the Sarasota Boxing Gym as a clubhouse and continue operations of Bob’s Train restaurant.

“I think (the city) has almost run out options,” said Vengroff, who acquired the property for $1.9 million in 2002. “Every day you pick up the paper and it says there’s no affordable housing.”

The size of those apartments would be between 350 square feet and 800 square feet, with rents between $600 and $950. 

The proposal will still require a supermajority vote for approval from the City Commission in the coming months and a formal rezoning of the property to move forward.

“Staff recommends, on balance, approval of the proposed change to the Future Land Use Map and text based upon the analysis of the amendment’s consistency with the goals, objectives and action strategies contained in the Sarasota City Plan,” according to the report.

Vengroff is seeking to change the future land use classification of the property to Downtown Core to accommodate the density the project needs. He has voluntarily agreed to keep buildings at six stories — 10 stories are allowed under the proposed designation— and cease operations of a call center on the site.

“Without the maximum height proffer of 6 stories, staff would not be able to support the proposed amendment as the potential of 10 story buildings would be out of the scale for this location,” the report states.

Vengroff said he has spent more than $100,000 so far on the VW Village concept, including a $10,000 traffic study.

The Planning Board will consider the project during a meeting starting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, at City Hall.