Developer shares Boulevard of the Arts condo plans

After Andy Dorr first shared conceptual plans for an 18-story condominium at 1000 Boulevard of the Arts, the reaction he got from neighboring property owners wasn’t exactly positive.

At an October 2017 community workshop, Dorr outlined the potential project, sited next to the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. The proposal called for around 90 residential units. Those in attendance at the meeting expressed concern about the mass of the building, particularly the contiguous frontage along Boulevard of the Arts.

Since that meeting, Dorr said, the development team has been working to address the issues residents raised.

“We did not get a warm, fuzzy feeling from people,” Dorr said. “We said 'fine.' We listened to people, took (their) comments to heart.”

Now, the developers believe they’ve arrived at an agreeable solution. Dorr is a part of Bota Developer LLC, a group that also includes Hyatt owner Kiran Patel and Sarasota developers Jay Tallman and Charles Githler. On Sept. 27, Dorr led another community workshop to discuss updated plans for the project, called Auteur.

The number of units has been reduced from 90 to 54. Perhaps more significantly, portions of the building have been pulled back along Boulevard of the Arts. The main tower of the building now sits on an angle, creating setbacks of up to 80 feet from the street. A lower-level structure continues to front the sidewalk on Boulevard of the Arts.

“We heard the community loud and clear before, that they didn’t like the building right on the street, so we tried to accommodate that,” Dorr said.

Dorr said the project is designed to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. He listed enhanced landscaping, public art and an outdoor café as amenities the developer hoped would encourage human activity at the project site.  

Bota Developer is asking the city to vacate an alley that cuts through the project site. Originally, the developer planned to close the alley permanently, but the revised plans call for an alley to remain open for public pedestrian and vehicular use. A portion of the building would be built in the air above the land in question, but the developer would create a wider alley and strike an agreement with the city guaranteeing continued access.

Those in attendance at the Sept. 27 meeting asked questions about how pedestrians and cyclists could move around the project site, particularly in light of other activity slated to come to the area. South of the project site, a private developer has begun work developing the Quay site as a mixed-use district. To the north, The Bay Sarasota is preparing to implement a master plan for overhauling the bayfront as a public destination.

As part of an agreement with the city, the Quay developer is required to extend two multi-use recreational trails around the project site. Dorr said the Auteur development team is speaking to the Quay group about opportunities for improved and expanded access in the area.

Pamela Mones, a resident of the Rosemary District, was encouraged the developer chose to keep the alley open. She said she was discouraged to see the city agree to give up its control over alleys to facilitate other downtown developments, and she thought the land could be used to create an improved transportation network.

“I see a lot of potential for alleys,” Mones said.

Dorr said the project would also allow the Hyatt to relocate some of its operations from lower levels of the hotel property. Given the building’s proximity to the water, he said concerns about sea level rise and storm surge motivated that change.

“I can’t take the whole hotel and raise it up — that would be a Herculean feat,” Dorr said. “But we can take these key things and raise them up.”

Following the meeting, Dorr said Bota Developer was preparing to file a formal site plan for the project in the near future. Previously, the group has said it doesn’t anticipate construction will begin until 2020.