Apartments no longer planned for kennel club site

The nearly yearlong battle between Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and the city over a proposed apartment complex at the former Sarasota Kennel Club site has ended without either party having its day in court.

With the cancellation of the purchase agreement of the property with Aventon Holdings of Raleigh, North Carolina, the airport and the property owner, the Jack G. Collins Revocable Trust, are seeking to reset the zoning to its prior use and dismiss all pending legal action. 

The Collins trust is looking for a buyer for the 25-acre property that would develop it under the prior zoning of the site, which allows for high-intensity commercial.

Aventon had proposed a 372-unit apartment community there, a plan embroiled in controversy over its close proximity to the airport across University Parkway and its positioning beneath the noise contour, which the airport cited as a health and safety issue. The airport also said the approval of apartments there was a violation of a 2018 agreement between the city and the airport, one that prohibits residential development beneath the noise contour. 

The City Commission gave final approval for the project in November 2022.

The purchase agreement between Aventon and the Collins Trust was extended until Feb. 2, 2023 in hopes of allowing time to reach a compromise with the airport. The close did not occur by that date and the contract to purchase was automatically terminated.

This week, the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority and the city both approved a settlement agreement with Collins Trust, under which the city will rescind the comprehensive plan change approval. The City Commission will officially vote to rescind that change at its April 3 meeting, and its certain approval will automatically negate the zoning changes and site plan approval for the apartments.

Those approvals were contingent upon the comprehensive plan change, which was being challenged in court by the airport. That and other legal proceedings remain pending, so once the recision is official, all lawsuits will be dropped.

Along with them, claims for legal expenses.

“Very significantly, all parties would waive any claims they have against the other for attorneys’ fees,” City Attorney Robert Fournier told commissioners Monday. “When the City Commission approved the rezone and site plan ordinance with finality on second reading back in November, it required the authority within 30 days to file these two suits, so they were seeking reimbursement of their attorneys’ fees in that regard, but they've agreed to waive that if this is approved.”

During the approval proceedings last year, a representative of Aventon Holdings told city commissioners the company had already invested $1.5 million in site plan development for the apartments.