New Homes Bring Host Of Retail Projects
Five years ago, no one shopped on a lonely block of First Street between Lemon and Central avenues in downtown Sarasota.

Customers visiting the florist across the street would have seen a parking lot and a closed drive-through bank window on that stretch behind Main Street.

Now, it's a Whole Foods Market, a Starbucks, a tower of condominiums and a collection of stores selling European lotions and leather satchels.

The transformation is one of the first signs of dramatic change that could be repeated in downtown Sarasota and across Southwest Florida as new retail projects take shape.

The Sarasota-Manatee area, famous for its beaches, the arts and the St. Armands Circle shopping district, is about to get a jolt of development that could change where you shop, eat, live and entertain.

If developers' plans become reality:

A chunk of downtown Sarasota would become Pineapple Square, a mixed-use development gunning to bring in Asian phenomenon P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Morton's steakhouse. The new development replaces closed restaurants and a former church parking lot.

The Sarasota Quay, a landmark salmon-colored building notorious a few years ago for nighttime brawls at a nightclub it housed, will be demolished to make way for luxury condominiums and luxury goods in stores like Ralph Lauren.

The grassy expanse that is home to grazing cows at University Parkway and Interstate 75 will become the University Town Center, an outdoor shopping district with enough retail space to hold Westfield Southgate mall -- three times.

Why is Southwest Florida suddenly a retail magnet?

One factor is pure numbers.

Where the shoppers live.

As the old real estate adage goes, retail follows rooftops.

In the past three years, roughly 900 residential units have been added around downtown, in projects such as the Renaissance; the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and adjacent Tower Residences; Beau Ciel; Courthouse Centre; One Hundred Central and Plaza at Five Points.

"Retailers, I think, really look to the development of residential housing in a downtown area in being one of the real catalysts to them wanting to deploy in that area," said Dave Huntoon, director of client services for MapInfo, a company that helps retailers decide where to put their stores.

More development is expected by the end of the year.

Condo projects at 1350 Main St., Alinari and Rosemary Place, Rivo at Ringling, Broadway Promenade, Savoy on Palm and others will add roughly another 700 upscale units to the city's mix.

Even more energizing for potential retailers, a plethora of projects are planned with numbers that, if completed, would make the development of the past five years seem like a warm-up.

More than 700 condos and town homes are planned at the Sarasota Quay -- renamed Sarasota Bayside; the Grande Sarasotan has 144 on tap; and Pineapple Square is being designed to include 210 residences. Avalon, on the former Hibbs Farm & Garden property; CityPointe just north of downtown; Michael Saunders & Co.'s future headquarters; Premiere at Main Plaza; and The Atrium on Ringling could add another 730 units.

If Benderson Development Co.'s Bank of America expansion occurs as planned, and development at the Gold Bank Plaza, the former DeMarcay Hotel and at 1740 Main St. take place, downtown would grow by another 500 units.

If every project on the drawing board were to reach fruition, by 2009 Sarasota would be home to a whopping 2,400 more condominiums, based on city statistics.

Not all of the projects may be completed, though. As interest rates continue to rise and real estate speculation nationwide cools, some developments may falter and decrease their number of units. Others, unable to secure investors or lender financing amid the heightened competition, could fail to ever break ground.

Residential development outside the city limits could be just as active.

Benderson's University Town Center project also includes 750 residences, and multiple projects from Bradenton to Punta Gorda will add to the residential base that could be shopping at the stores that open their doors in Sarasota.

That's a good thing even for the prospect of downtown retail, because the amount that developers can cluster in the city likely won't be enough on their own to convince retailers that Sarasota, a tertiary market in size compared with the likes of Miami and Orlando, is the place to be. ....By Lauren Mayk and Kevin Mcquaid.


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