Construction Of Two 18-Story Luxury Condo Towers To Begin Soon In Downtown Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — After three years of planning and community feedback, work on the Mira Mar Residences on Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota is expected to begin by early April, Matthew Leake, president of Seaward Development, the project’s developers, told Patch.

The mixed-use project calls for the new construction of 70 bayfront residences across two 18-story luxury condo towers. Plans also include the preservation and redevelopment of the remaining portion of the historic Mira Mar apartments, which dates back to the 1920s, into retail, restaurant and office space.

The Sarasota City Commission approved Seaward’s rezoning request for the 1.2-acre site from downtown core to downtown bayfront zoning in July.

In January, the developer received partial sign-off from the city’s Development Review Committee, “meaning city department reviewers’ comments have been satisfactorily addressed that remaining issues may be resolved individually with staff members,” Seaward said.

That same month, the property’s sales office opened.

Now, the development team, which includes the project architect Nichols Architects and the historic architect REG Architects, led by Rick Gonzalez, is “expecting the building permit [from the city] to start the stabilization and rehabilitation [of the historic building] in the next week,” Leake said.

Once the building permit is in hand, contractors will take the first step in the project, installing foundations to stabilize the existing historic building, he said.

This stabilization work, starting in early April, most likely, will take about six months, according to Leake.

Another six to 12 months of rehabilitation work, including architectural rehabilitation, will follow.

The construction of the condo towers will begin around the same time as the rehabilitation, Leake said.

The project is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2028.

Seaward, a Sarasota-based boutique real estate development firm, was a tenant in the original historic Mira Mar building for seven years.

“So, we’ve been invested in this property for quite some time,” Leake said, adding, “I think having that adaptive reuse of honoring what’s there, freshening it up, and adding to it to create the next chapter is just a special opportunity that we take very seriously.”

The original Mira Mar, a hotel and apartment complex with an auditorium, was built in the 1920s and drew guests like President Calvin Coolidge, New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio, Red Sox Ted Williams, golfer Bobby Jones, humorist Will Rogers, and actors Rudolph Valentino, Mae West, and Greta Garbo, Seaward said.

Much of that original campus was lost over time with just a portion of the Mira Mar apartments - which is being preserved as part of the planned luxury redevelopment project - remaining.

The collection of condos will feature three- and four-bedroom homes with open-concept floor plans, private elevator access, outdoor terraces, designer fixtures, a chef ’s kitchen and custom scullery, quartz countertops, custom-paneled Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances, and a grand island.

Other amenities include private access to a speakeasy lounge with bayfront views, a resort-style lap pool, massage therapy rooms, a yoga and social lawn, infrared saunas, steam rooms, entertaining space with a bar area and sunset terrace, and a dog park.

Seaward’s development team realized how passionate the community was about the historic property as they sought rezoning for the site.

“During the process, what really presented itself is that the community loves and has special memories with this building and the tenants and restaurants,” Leake said.

The property’s storied history also presents a built-in allure for prospective buyers, he noted. “From our perspective, there’s a lot of projects that have been recently developed or are in the process of development, and for a lot of projects, they have to create that story,” he said. “With our project, the location is really the epicenter of walkability in Sarasota, and to have that hundred-year legacy and history that’s the foundation to the project, the unique Mediterranean revival architectural style, and to be part of a project that’s really unique and special, and to incorporate some of that architectural heritage into the new building allows us to do something that’s transformational, and you don’t come across that opportunity very often.”

The project will also replicate the original property’s courtyard space that “invited folks into the center of the development,” Leake said.

Many of the retailers and restaurants, who haven’t been named yet, will open into this 80-foot courtyard, which he hopes will be an inviting space for the public.