More multifamily coming to Sarasota's Main Street

More multifamily residences, including some affordable units, are planned as redevelopment continues its eastward march along Main Street. 

Having its initial appearance before the city’s Development Review Committee on Feb. 5 was High Line, a 142-unit project planned to include 16 attainable-priced residences on the site of former offices of Michael Saunders & Company on the northeast corner of Main Street and Osprey Avenue.

Listed as owners of the site and the project are limited liability corporations MOP North and Jebcore 2. According to state records, the principal of MOP North is the Mark S. Kauffman Revokable Trust. The principal address of Jebcore 2 is that of JBCC Development, headed by co-founders Clinton Conway and Jim Bridges.

With 142 multi-family dwellings, which will be a mix condominiums and rental apartments, the plan for High Line includes approximately 6,660 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor fronting both Main Street and Osprey Avenue. It will utilize the attainable housing bonus density provisions of the Downtown Core Zone District, bringing it to 126 market-rate units. Parking garage access will be off First Street on the north side of the project.

Besides the usual assortment of comments offered by staff that must be addressed prior to DRC sign-off, a conflict arose over the number of attainable units that must be provided per code. Staff’s calculations came to 16.05 units required as a portion of the bonus density, which must be rounded up to 17, while George Scarf of Hoyt Architects countered his number came to 15.97. That issue remained unresolved by the end of the hearing.

Photo by Andrew Warfield

The development will have separate lobbies and elevators for the condos and rental units.

“There are two lobbies, and they're intended as separate entrances, adjacent to each other and having a similar experience,” Scarf said. “They do share that lobby amenity on the ground floor, but because of the podium versus the tower portion, one elevator will go three stories, the other elevator will go 11.”

Required for resubmittal to the DRC, once High Line does clear staff scrutiny, the development will seek two administrative adjustments from the director of development services. One is a to request a reduction in the required 12-foot recess above the fourth story that, proposed at 9 feet, is 25%. The second adjustment is for a 4.68% reduction in the habitable space requirement along Osprey Avenue to accommodate utility-related systems.

For now, the commercial space is planned as a restaurant, according to project consultant Joel Freedman.