Whole Foods, Homesense planned for Sarasota Square redevelopment

With site preparation work underway at the former Sarasota Square Mall, it is becoming clearer what will take shape there. Two key and previously undisclosed tenants: Whole Foods and Homesense. 

Those two chains will anchor the mixed-use redevelopment project, according to Metro Commercial, the New Jersey-based commercial real estate company handling leasing.

Sarasota Square opened in 1977 and closed last year. The redevelopment project, which, including property purchases, will cost well over $50 million, is expected to bring 1,200 apartments and approximately 300,000 square feet of new retail space. The project is one of several former shopping mall sites across the region to get new life as a mixed-use development.

Rod Castan, a principal at Metro Commercial in Miami, says the first phase of the development will be delivered in 2026, according to a LinkedIn post, where he invites tenants to “join Whole Foods and Costco” in a “prime location with excellent visibility and modern development plans.” 

In addition to the high-end grocer, phase one will include 3,000 to 12,000 square feet of retail space near Whole Foods; 2,000 to 2,500-square-foot pad spaces; and 3,000 to 7,500-square-foot restaurant spaces, his post says. Castan did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article.

To make way for redevelopment, demolition of the mall began this winter. Signage went up shortly thereafter around the site promoting “SSQ” coming in 2026. SSQ is the name that Metro Commercial, property owner Torburn Partners and Chicago-based OKW Architects use in the marketing brochure for Sarasota Square on the Metro Commercial website.

A couple of permits have been filed with Sarasota County in August related to the redevelopment.

Project officials have filed for a permit to construct a more than 75,000-square-foot commercial building on the Sarasota Square site, with an address of 8249 S. Tamiami Trail. It will cost $8.4 million to build and stand 32 feet high, according to the permit application, which is under review as of Aug. 15.

The Sarasota Square brochure on the Metro Commercial website shows the building will have Whole Foods on one end, Homesense on the other and retail space between them. Whole Foods will occupy 35,828 square feet, while Homesense will have 24,214 square feet, according to the brochure. 

Whole Foods did not respond to questions from the Business Observer, a sister publication, about its projected opening. The building that will contain Whole Foods and Homsense appears in marketing materials to be off South Beneva Road midway between US 41 and Sarasota Square Boulevard. Homesense is a home furnishings retailer that is part of TJX, which operates chains including TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods. 

Courtesy image

This month, project officials also filed a permit with Sarasota County to install a Homesense sign. It will be 11.5 feet by 11.5 feet and be placed on a local road, according to the sign permit application, which says it will feature channel letters that are illuminated. Channel letters are designed to give a sign a three-dimensional look. The estimated cost of the sign is $13,136, and work will be completed by Anchor Sign of Charleston, South Carolina. The permit is currently being reviewed.

In total, Metro Commercial is marketing the Sarasota Square project as having 585,822 square feet of retail space. In its brochure, it shows that already existing stores Costco and J.C. Penney account for 155,521 square feet and 130,857 square feet, respectively, making up more than 286,000 square feet. That leaves about 300,000 square feet of new retail space to come.

The plans displayed in the Metro Commercial brochure also show 1,200 Class A apartments will be built on the Sarasota Square site as part of the redevelopment. The apartments appear to be off Sarasota Square Boulevard between Beneva and Costco. The brochure also says there will be a two-story building with 36,000 square feet of medical office space.

Illinois-based real estate investment firm Torburn Partners owns the property where most of the Sarasota Square redevelopment is taking place. It has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years buying up Sarasota Square parcels, including the mall structure itself for $19 million in 2021 and JC Penney for $18 million in 2024.

Costco purchased the property where its store is located in March for $10.5 million from an LLC that corresponds to Torburn Partners. Amid the mall's demolition, Costco has undergone some changes as well, related to its entrance and parking lot.

While most of the mall has been demolished, Costco and JC Penney have remained open. AMC Theater, which closed last Halloween, is also to stay, according to previously announced plans.

This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.