Shore’s return to St. Armands underway with gutting of building

Shore Restaurant’s return to St. Armands Circle, as Shore co-founder Tom Leonard describes it, could be the beginning of a much-needed revitalization of the shopping and dining district.

“It’s time for a little love on the Circle,” Leonard said.

Leonard is showing his love with an investment to develop the old Chase Bank building at Madison Drive and North Boulevard of the Presidents. Leonard has not disclosed the price tag of the development yet, but “it’s up there,” he says. A main driver of that high cost is floodproofing measures including water-resistant windows that cost $500 per linear foot to install “that basically makes your building an aquarium.” The floodproofing measures are sufficient to meet FEMA’s 51% rule, Leonard said.

“Could we do it for probably one quarter of the cost if we used regular impact glass? We could. But to protect your asset and protect your product, I think is well worth it,” he said. “FEMA would love to see everybody elevate or try to floodproof buildings. They don’t want these insurance losses that are mounting every time we see storms.”

In November 2024, Shore announced it was closing its restaurant and boutique at 465 John Ringling Blvd. and leaving St. Armands Circle. At the time, Leonard cited damage from the hurricanes and "the lack of urgency from the city in addressing the infrastructure issues" related to stormwater and flooding on the Circle.

In December 2025, Leonard announced Shore's plans to return to the Circle, calling it a “full-circle homecoming moment.”

Demolition is underway on the buildings at 24 and 28 N. Boulevard of the Presidents, with the first and second floors taken down to the concrete and steel. A permit for the demolition at 28 N. Boulevard of the Presidents was issued by the city on March 10, and another demolition permit for 24 N. Boulevard of the Presidents is under review.

Image courtesy of Tom Leonard

The vision of Shore’s return to St. Armands is to construct a three-story, mixed-use building that would include a café and gift shop on the first floor, restaurant on the second and eight hotel units (pending approval by the city) on the third.

There’s been some pushback to the third aspect of those plans. At a recent community meeting where residents were invited to share their vision of St. Armands Circle's future, “no hotels” was a common refrain. Leonard says the introduction of hotels should be decided on a case-by-case basis, starting with the top floor of Shore Restaurant.

“I’m not trying to turn St. Armands into one big, gigantic resort by any stretch of the imagination,” Leonard said. “It would be, in my opinion, not an absolute change to the code. It would be case-by-case and take commission approval every time, and that would go through public scrutiny.”

Lodging in St. Armands is a vital step if the Circle wants to compete with regional destinations such as Fifth Avenue South in Naples and local competition like UTC, Leonard said.

“How can you be a commercial tourism district and not have a hotel?,” he asks. “We’re not trying to overbuild for the area, but we feel like eight rooms with a rooftop pool would be very appropriate and would add some life and character to the Circle.”

Each hotel room would be about 500 to 600 square feet, Leonard said.

Although the hotel has garnered some pushback, the restaurant has brought excitement from the Sarasota, Lido Key and Longboat Key communities. Described as “New American coastal cuisine” anchored by fresh seafood and seasonal ingredients, the restaurant’s Longboat Key location has continued to attract diners.

“I think it’s been a huge success up there on that end of Longboat. Every year we’re breaking through new numbers, so it’s been great,” Leonard said.

As the project moves along, but with questions remaining on details, Leonard emphasized that it could lead to a wider movement of redevelopment in the Circle, and he hopes the community will get behind it.

“I do think we can be a building model for what St. Armands could be. That you don’t need to go over height. You can build a really cool looking building in a two- or three-story, hopefully three-story, capacity, and it’ll be an example,” Leonard said. “All of that could help maybe less T-shirt shops and more higher-end retail. And I think that’s how you’re going to get it. The buildings themselves have to be built to attract those types of tenants.”