Neighbor News
Ringling Shopping Center owners reach agreement with City of Sarasota
Louis Doyle and other co-owners of the Ringling Shopping Center are moving forward under the settlement agreement with City of Sarasota.
After a lengthy mediation process, Louis Doyle and other co-owners of the Ringling Shopping Center, located at Ringling Boulevard and Lime Avenue in Sarasota, Fla., are moving forward under the settlement agreement with City of Sarasota regarding the future of the center.
The owners have selected an option provided by the city to maintain or redevelop the center after the city amends its comprehensive plan and zoning for the site, using the Downtown Mixed Use future land use category and Downtown Edge (“DTE”) and Downtown Neighborhood Edge (“DTNE”) zoning.
This future designation will allow many possibilities for the owners to redevelop the site, including a mixed-use design and potentially incorporating residential and commercial uses.
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“After listening to community concerns and city leaders, we are pleased to have reached this conclusion for the center,” said Louis Doyle, an owner of the site. “The new zoning will align with the downtown Sarasota form-based code and design principles while allowing us to provide a much wider range of uses for the community. Furthermore, we feel that the new urbanist principles that this zoning will call for will have a nice reaction from the market, meaning we will be able to provide the center with some great new retail options that the neighbors will welcome,” said Doyle.
All of the current tenants have short-term leases, and the owners have not reached any agreements for new long-term leases or anchor tenants for the center. Once the City of Sarasota begins the rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment process, the property will be marketed to prospective tenants and buyers and long-term tenants can be put into place.
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“These changes will make the center more marketable while also providing the community with what they have told us they want,” said Doyle. “It is a great compromise that we are pleased with, and we consider this a win-win for the community.”
Additionally, the owners hope to engage local design students to explore ways to integrate mixed uses, provide walkability and consider connectivity to the park.
The zoning and comprehensive plan amendment should be finalized within the next six months.
