Downtown Sarasota apartment complex moves forward

The building boom in downtown Sarasota will continue into the fall, with the groundbreaking for a five-story residential project slated for September. 

Jones Development Co. President Brian Jones, who partnered with entrepreneur Jesse Biter on the project, said they have secured financing the HuB Lofts. The complex, which will feature 97 apartments and 8,000 square feet of office space at the corner of Second Street and Adelia Avenue, will sit next to the HuB business incubator.

“This will be what we call ‘attainable housing’,” Jones said. Rents for studio apartments will start at around $1,000 while other layouts could be more than $2,000 monthly.

Jones said his team is nearly finished with the design for the project, and plans to apply for permits in May. The city is currently conducting an initial traffic review for the development.

Keeping pace

The HuB Lofts, along with a 10-story unnamed project also on Second Street near Whole Foods, will ultimately add more than 275 residential units to the city, which Jones said will help further improve the downtown area. The project would bring the number of apartments under development to more than 1,800, according to estimates compiled by Downtown Economic Development Coordinator Norm Gollub.

The influx of new residential development applications mirrors data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau that confirms the Sarasota metropolitan area is the 11th fastest growing region in the country. Population in Sarasota and Manatee counties grew 2.7% between July 2014 and the following year.

While Biter’s project and the Second Street apartments may be adding more attainable housing, and Harvey Vengroff’s 393-unit Vengroff Village will bring more affordable housing into the downtown mix, luxury building remains attractive in Sarasota.

West Palm Beach-based Kolter Urban this month bought two lots west of the State Street Garage for $5.5 million in anticipation of an 11-story, 157-condo mixed-use luxury building. The Mark, as it is called, will feature residences starting at $700,000, according to marketing materials.

Consider all types of residential units, the downtown area is expected to add as many as 5,700 new residents in the next several years.

“This is what we need,” Jones said. “We need people who live here.”

Building Buzz

Read more about Sarasota’s building boom in the recent articles below:

• Development squeezes space on Golden Gate Point
• Rosemary District development steamrolls ahead
• Vengroff questions officials’ interest in housing project
• Downtown land swap highlights divide on growth
• Laurel Park project highlights affordable housing deficiencies
• As city considers development fees, builders brace for impact