Temple Beth Sholom apartment plan rejected

If Gilbane Properties is to develop an apartment complex on land it would acquire from Temple Beth Sholom, it will have to find another way. 

During its Aug. 4 meeting, the Sarasota City Commission declined a proposed amendment to the city’s Comprehensive Plan that would allow Gilbane and the temple to pursue rezoning and site plan approval to build a 275-unit apartment development with 32 attainable-priced units at the northwest corner of the intersection of Bahia Vista Street and Tuttle Avenue. 

Since being recommended for denial by the Planning Board in June, Gilbane added 12 attainable units — the city’s affordable housing ordinance requires only seven — and made other enhancements to the plan.

As an alternative to selling the entire property and moving to a more affordable suburban location, the temple had planned to sell six of its 10 acres to Gilbane for development, which leaders told commissioners it must do in order to remain viable on that property. Gilbane would in turn demolish two buildings on the property with the temple remaining in place and make drainage and parking improvements over the entire 10-acre property.

First, though, the site would require an amendment to change its future land use classification from Community Office/Institutional to Multiple Family-High Density. That would need a supermajority of four commissioners, the motion to approve made by Mayor Liz Alpert failing 3-2 with Alpert joined by Commissioner Kyle Battle. 

That rendered moot a scheduled quasi-judicial public hearing to rezone the property.

The sticking point for Vice Mayor Debbie Trice was that Gilbane’s application was for the entire 10 acres even though it was planning to acquire only the southern six acres, and that the density calculations were based on the entire site. For commissioners Jen Ahearn-Koch and Kathy Kelley Ohlrich, it was more about establishing further precedent for high-density development in the area, with the 250-unit Bahia Vista Apartments already under development at the southwest corner of the intersection.

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In making her motion, Alpert warned something will be built on that property, and that by right it can be an even higher intensive use. Under its current zoning, it could be as up to 360,000 square feet of office space with 900 parking spaces.

“This property is going to be developed one way or another, and the proposal before us is a well thought-out proposal to probably make the least intensive use of the property,” Alpert said. "It helps the affordable housing issue in that we add 32 more attainable units. It helps the affordable housing because we add (275 apartments) to the stock of property that we have in our community, which also helps lower the market rate prices. It’s being put in a location here you would want more infill.”

Gilbane Senior Vice President Alastair Jenkin told commissioners if the quest to rezone the property failed, the company will consider developing the site under Florida’s Live Local act, which removes local control for residential developments that include qualifying affordable housing in any area zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use. It may also consider the state’s newest law to facilitate affordable housing development on properties owned by religious institutions, providing 10% of the units are priced at 120% of area median income or less.