Developments in Downtown

The winds of change have come to the Gulf Coast and Sarasota is caught blissfully in the center of the storm. As one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Sarasota and the surrounding areas have become a haven to which people all across the country have flocked to. Whether spurred on by the sudden ‘work from home’ environment of the COVID-19 pandemic or the collective realization that life on the Gulf Coast is just plain good living, Sarasota is filling up faster than ever before. Which is why it should come as no surprise that earlier this summer seven parcels of land in downtown Sarasota were sold for $32 million. The land, totaling 3.1 acres, located near the Ringling Boulevard and Orange Avenue intersection in downtown were purchased by the Virginia-based development company Orange Pineapple LLC and are seen as prime real estate in an incredibly competitive market. “Across the board, I feel like everybody just found Florida,” says Jag Grewal, a partner at Ian Black Real Estate who represented the sellers, Capstone Group Holdings LLC, Ringling and Orange 3 LLC, along with fellow partner Steven Horn. “If you go into most downtowns in Florida, you’re going to see an influx into the urban centers. Sarasota’s unique because it’s rare to find a downtown this close to the water. I think we’ll see high quality and high profile developments come to our town in the coming years.” The property, which never made it to the open market, is zoned to build up to 10 stories and 50 residential units per acre. Although the buyers have yet to announce plans for it, Orange Pineapple LLC is expected to develop a mixed-use project on the property. “Just like the deal we closed for the Zenith Insurance Company building in December, this is just a really good piece of real estate,” says Grewal. “These two projects will make two major impacts on the city that’s just going to continue to raise the profile of Sarasota.”