Mixing Old with New at The DeMarcay on Palm Avenue

Greg Kveton, who now commutes back and forth from Chicago to Sarasota, says there are two seasons in Chicago – winter and road construction. With a lengthy background in retail and property management, Greg knows how closing down a street for construction can cripple sales for shop owners and have a devastating effect on a small business. This is why he says the plan is to keep Palm Avenue open continuously throughout construction of the firm’s new residential condominium project coming soon to Sarasota - The DeMarcay.

Greg is a principal of XAC Developers, LLC, an affiliate of GK Development Inc. GK Development, founded by Garo Kholamian, is a firm that owns over 6 million square feet of various property types throughout the country. XAC Developers was attracted to downtown Sarasota because of its charm and proximity to cultural amenities, shopping and nightlife that people want to be close to.

Greg began his career at Sears Roebuck and Company in retail management. He later joined Homart, the property management and real estate development arm of Sears. While there, he managed malls for 10 years primarily in Texas, and met Garo in the early 1990s when he was transferred to Homart’s Chicago headquarters.

“I love to see things get built,” Greg says. “I love to see something that isn’t working turn into something that is working – to benefit the community, our investors and our customers.”

With most residents eager to see The DeMarcay get off the ground, some have reservations about how it may hurt business on the street. It reminds Greg a bit of a project they revived in Ames, Iowa. They purchased a strip center with a long history of failed development, some negative publicity and an anti-project sentiment.

“When I went to city hall and put the rendering up on the screen, one commissioner said it looked like we drew the design on the back on a napkin,” says Greg. “I explained I had just come from the architect’s office, and he looked at me and said, ‘I don’t believe you’. It was brutal. The Commissioner was obviously not appreciating that the architect’s drawing was an early schematic, the initial part of the design process in this redevelopment project. But we pushed forward and gained consensus, and when we finished the project, everyone loved it. It was a great feeling to take this old, vacant and dilapidated area and turn it into something vibrant that gives back to the community. For me it’s more about the positive impact we can have on a region and the people who live there,” he says.

Coming from a very walkable city, Greg also appreciates walkability in a project.

“The fact that you can leave your house and walk to work, restaurants and shopping, that is something exciting about this project,” he says. “The building itself is beautiful, with some fantastic views of the bay. This street needs some life and reinvestment, and we are excited to help facilitate that with this project.”

The DeMarcay was originally approved in 2006 for a different developer. XAC Developers purchased the property in 2014 and is required to keep the core elements from the old site plan in order to get a building permit, which is what they are working on now with the city.

As a part of the original site plan approval and the permitting process XAC Developers is making a $50,000 contribution to the Palm Avenue Merchants Association (PAMA). Group leaders, who are very eager for construction to get started, say they will most likely use the money to attract attention to Palm Avenue retailers with aesthetic street improvements, including lights and flower pots to better brand Palm Avenue as a unique destination.

“The merchants are in favor of the project, and we know it will benefit our street tremendously,” says Eileen Hampshire, owner of Art to Walk On and a member of PAMA. “It will bring more people to the street, and more people means more business for Palm Avenue. I think it should be the most beautiful building we can get someone to build,” she says.

The 18-story building is zoned for 39 units and pricing will be between $500,000 and $3 million.

The contractor for the project is Naples-based BCBE while the architect is Sarasota firm Parker Walker Group. The Sarasota Premier Sotheby’s International Realty office is handling the marketing for the property, and agents are currently on site daily for visitors to stop by.

Kurt Lucas from JKL Design Group, Inc. intends to take some elements from the old hotel and cigar factory and install them in the lobby of the new building. That coupled with keeping two of the original historical facades will be a nice tribute to the building’s past.

“We are hoping that is an area where we can gain agreement with the city,” says Greg. “For some reason, the original site plan showed the facades being moved to a different spot. We want to keep them where they are. Moving them would mean we would have to tear down the originals and rebuild them, which historical preservationists agree is not the correct way to preserve them,” Greg says.

But he notes, XAC Developers is committed to working with city staff to meet their required criteria and move forward with the project. “I think we’ll get there. I really do,” he says.