I don't mind this proposal, if they had a back up plan for all of the traffic???


State opens door to slower U.S. 41
By ROGER DROUIN

roger.drouin@heraldtribune.com
SARASOTA -- U.S. 41 seemed like an impassable obstacle dividing Main Street from the city's bayfront. Ideas for connecting downtown with the water included building a huge $7 million "Sky Plaza" over the roadway.

But that was back when the Florida Department of Transportation said the speed limit could not be reduced on U.S. 41 and other state roads because it would further clog them.

Now the DOT says it is willing to consider a change, and that Sarasota could become the first city in a 13-county region to convert a section of a state thoroughfare into a slower, narrower and more pedestrian-friendly roadway.

"That area is very important to the city," said DOT District Secretary Stanley Cann. "FDOT needs to be sensitive to the wants of the people who live in the community."

Cann said high-speed roadways destroy urban centers, and it is in the city's best interest to slow traffic that cuts through downtown. A group of downtown residents is mobilizing in support of the project.

The city is considering options that would force drivers to slow down, including adding parallel parking along U.S. 41 and narrowing traffic lanes. Another option is a pair of roundabouts where the highway crosses Fruitville Road and Gulf Stream Avenue.

Reducing the speed of cars on the bayfront would cause some drivers to use U.S. 301, which will have a higher capacity after it is widened to six lanes by 2012.

This afternoon, city commissioners will ask Cann how open state officials are to change in the speed limit on U.S. 41.

"We are willing to listen to the City Commission and city staff's recommendations," Cann said. "They might not get everything they want. But we are definitely open to considering it."

Making it easier and safer for people to walk from the waterfront to downtown is one of the biggest issues for downtown condo residents, said John Moran, president of the Downtown Condominium Association. Moran formed a committee that meets weekly, gearing up for a fight against residents who spoke out against changes to U.S. 41 in 2005.

"We want to help the city to do the foremost thing in the downtown master plan -- which is connecting the bayfront to the downtown," Moran said.

The cost to design the bayfront project and the costs of some of the options are unknown at this time, said John Burg, the city's chief planner.

State funding for roadway projects is sparse, and the city would likely be on its own, Cann said.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080204/NEWS/802040360

Some oppose hotel's height for Sarasota

Five-story Plaza is set for Burns Square
By ROGER DROUIN

roger.drouin@heraldtribune.com
Al Hochstadt sees his proposed 173-room hotel as "a little piece of Europe" that will become a destination here.

Hochstadt began buying up a block of land between Palm and Orange avenues more than 20 years ago, and he is almost ready to break ground on the Plaza Hotel, which he hopes will be finished by 2010.

The hotel already has the support of nearby merchants, who see it as a way to boost foot traffic in the Burns Square area.

And since the project meets the standards of the city's new downtown code it can be approved by city staff and does not need to go before the City Commission.

Yet there is one potential stumbling block -- area residents, who say that at nearly 80 feet tall, the five-story hotel is too big and will generate too much traffic, clogging two narrow side streets.

"We're a little surprised that it is going to take up that whole block," said Gil Sharell, whose condo at the Essex House on Palm Avenue would face the back side of the hotel.

"There is a planter at the entrance to the parking garage, and other than that, the entire thing is concrete," Sharell said.

If built, the hotel will be the tallest building among a slice of homes and businesses shoehorned between the edge of downtown and U.S. 41. Plans call for a restaurant facing Orange Avenue and two pools and a sauna on the rooftop.

It is an inevitable change in an area zoned Downtown Edge, where buildings up to 80 feet tall are allowed under a downtown master plan adopted in 2004.

Under this code, the Plaza Hotel is in line for a fast-track approval. The City Commission will not vote on it, because the developer is not asking for increased density or height.

But eight owner associations of Palm Avenue condominiums have banded together and started expressing their concerns to city commissioners. The group said it is considering hiring a land-use attorney to help fight its case.

Adding another potential obstacle, Hochstadt finds himself in a race against 13 other developers who have similar visions and are fighting for valuable downtown turf.

As developers shift away from building expensive condos in a stalled real estate market, hotels have become the buzzword in Sarasota. There are 14 projects planned -- for a total of 2,267 rooms.

But there is not enough demand for all these hotel rooms, and those projects completed first have a distinct advantage.

"The demand is there in the downtown area," said Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Is there demand for 15 hotels? absolutely not. Part of it is which projects come out of the ground first."

Haley said two or three hotels with 100 rooms or more downtown "would be reasonable."

Owners of restaurants and shops in Burns Square hope the Plaza Hotel has a head start on the rest of the projects.

"It would be fabulous," said Denise Kowal, president of the Burns Square Property Owners Association, of the project.

Kowal said property owners have been working with Hochstadt on the details on the hotel for a year and a half. Kowal added that the hotel is a well-designed project in a perfect location.

"I was at a meeting where someone said 'the developer is going to take down all the trees'," Kowal said. "Well yeah, it is a piece of property downtown. Having vacant property there is the worst kind of blight in an area like this."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080207/NEWS/802070425

http://shimg.ny.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20080207&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=802070425&Ref=AR&MaxW=580&title=1

But eight owner associations of Palm Avenue condominiums have banded together and started expressing their concerns to city commissioners. The group said it is considering hiring a land-use attorney to help fight its case.

Good looking project, hopefully the residents aren't able to block a 5-story project.

Under this code, the Plaza Hotel is in line for a fast-track approval. The City Commission will not vote on it, because the developer is not asking for increased density or height.

Sounds like the residents don't have a prayer. I really don't see the problem, it's in the middle of the city.

Trendy, industrial-looking hotel coming soon
... to Palm Avenue

By Rick Barry
The rooms cultivate a loft-like, high-tech feel, and the hotel chain promises happening public spaces with pool tables, hip music, lounges geared for the young, hard-charging professional, all designed to generate a strong local buzz.

aloft hotels (small "a"): stripped-down, less pricey offspring of the successful W boutique hotel chain, are going in everywhere. Nearly 500 units are planned coast to coast and in Canada, Asia and Europe, by 2012.

W and aloft are the newer additions to the giant Starwood Hotels Inc. group, which also owns the Sheraton, Le Meridien, St. Regis, Westin and other chains, with 900 properties worldwide and 145,000 employees.

aloft exteriors have an industrial feel: a rectangular box with individual wall-unit air conditioner/heating vents beneath each room's windows. The bare-bones design concept allows lower price points for rooms, maybe $150 or even less out of season, to just under $200 a night in Sarasota.

With similar templates, these boxes are coming soon to six other Florida cities, including Orlando, Miami and Tallahassee, where the company agreed to modify its façade to use bricks for its downtown capital location.

The historic city of Lexington, Mass., is getting an aloft - but it's going in out by Route 128, the teeming, 12-lane highway circling Boston.

Philadelphia's aloft is almost identical to the one planned for Sarasota. It's going in by the city's airport. The Rogers, Ark., aloft is similar, according to city officials. It's going in by Interstate 540, just down the road from Wal-Mart international headquarters.

But, Palm Avenue?

The new hotel is one element of a major project that includes a condominium tower, rows of shops along its Palm and Cocoanut avenues frontages and the hotel. And, most important for the city, a 400-space public parking garage in the center of the complex.

The whole thing is being built on 2.5 acres of city-owned land along Palm northwest of Sarasota News and Books, behind the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre and the Sarasota Opera House, where the city now has a somewhat seedy public parking lot.

The attempt to add a parking structure to the busy lower Main Street area goes back at least 10 years. There were differences, many of them aesthetic, among the city planning staff, the citizens' advisory board to the Community Redevelopment Agency, and the agency board itself -- which is the Sarasota City Commission.

The developer, a partnership between The John Buck Company of Chicago and The Leiter Group LLC, with offices in Peoria, Ill., and Sarasota, and its Chicago architects, have acceded to many minor requests from city planners regarding the project, many involving the aesthetics of the hotel façade. The insistence on individual room air conditioners, which saves the hotel builders a lot of money, has been a focal point.

At first they were to be hidden by colored glass panels, offset one foot from the intake/exhaust grates. But the manufacturer, GE, said that wouldn't work; three feet of clearance was minimum. Now the functional horizontal grates are to be hidden by decorative grates.

But in the end, according to city Project Manager Steve Stancel, it may be the financials that green light or doom the project. "Four or five of the project's objectives have been met," he said, referring to the city's request for proposals.

But now the questions zero in on the garage, and whether the project remains viable given the city's requirements that the developer absorb most of the costs of building the public parking garage - in exchange for millions of dollars worth of city land.

Other than the financials, the only differences remaining are architectural, or aesthetic, Stancel said. Beyond minor tweaking, the developer has said that there will be no major changes to the hotel's signature façade; central heat and air conditioning is not an option.

Dale Parks, the designated designer/architect member of the CRA Advisor Board, contends the off-the-shelf, bare-bones aloft design is perfectly fine for an interstate area or many suburban locations, but that it is not appropriate for downtown Sarasota, especially not for the intersection of Palm and Cocoanut avenues, an area whose shopkeepers and residents are attempting to preserve and celebrate the area's historic character.

The city often doesn't have much to say about design in a private project, but in this public-private partnership, on city-owned land, Parks said the city had a good deal of leverage. "And now is the time to do something," he said.

Thus far, neighbors' resistance has been minimal.

"So the question remains,' Stancel said: "Do you accept the architecture pretty much as is, or do we go back to Square One?" - a position to which the project has already returned, multiple times.

The city commission, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, will consider the question March 3.

http://pelicanpress.org/main.asp?SectionID=130&SubSectionID=225&ArticleID=4770

http://pelicanpress.org/SiteImages/Article/4770a.jpg

It looks like these smaller projects are what will define Sarasota for the next few years. Both Sarasota Bayside and the Proscenium are on the rocks, not likely to be canceled but both will see significant delays and possible reduction in size, especially Bayside which I believe will produce new plans any day now.

http://pelicanpress.org/SiteImages/Article/4770a.jpg

A little plain looking but not bad...

Condominium builders face hard choices
By Roger Drouin
Published Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — The Bank of America project on Main Street is one example of how developers of some of the biggest concepts conceived during Sarasota's real estate boom are now making big changes to save their projects.

Benderson Development once envisioned 168 condo units, but Larry Fineberg, the firm's vice president of leasing, says the condominium portion of the project will shrink significantly because "it just doesn't make any sense for us to be putting up condos at the current state of the market."
Picture

A total of 350 condo units downtown are for sale, and at the current rate of eight of those units selling a month, it will take more than three years to move that inventory.

In total, 20 projects and 2,400 condos have been approved by the city. Most of those remain unbuilt.

Most are waiting for financing, or waiting to be redesigned, and there is no telling when or even if they will get built.
Picture

Developers now have three options.

They have to decide whether they they want to take a chance and go back to City Hall asking for time extensions.

Some are reworking the projects so that building them is not dependent on preselling 50 percent of the condominiums they hope to build.

Other developers are pulling the plug on their projects and listing the land on the market.
Picture

The developers of City Place at Pineapple Square are marketing overseas as they try to sell units.

Earlier this month, Marquee on the Bay developer Sam Hamad reduced the price of units up to 20 percent.
Picture

That trims $900,000 off the cost of the most expensive bayview penthouse units and $250,000 from the cost of smaller units.

"That's a big chunk of change," Hamad said. "We can sit there forever, or we can try to stimulate some sales. If I can sell two or three, I'll be able to get the financing."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080221/NEWS/802210816

Its a done deal!!!!!!! I'm so glad at least one of the big developments in Sarasota is still going forward. I never thought I would see the day in which we had two 5-star hotels just blocks away from each other.


Deal for Waldorf-Astoria done
Developers of Proscenium finalize 20-year agreement with luxury hotel
By KEVIN L. McQUAID
Published Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — After pursuing one of the world's top hotel brands for more than a year, the developer of downtown Sarasota's Proscenium project has cemented a deal for a 225-room Waldorf-Astoria that will be the centerpiece of the $1 billion complex.

As part of Lion's Gate Development Group Inc.'s deal with the Hilton Hotels luxury brand, Waldorf-Astoria also will provide concierge services to 67 condominiums, operate a 12,000-square-foot spa and manage a 59-unit hotel annex planned for Lido Beach.

"We considered many prestigious locations, but the scope and quality of the Proscenium truly complemented the characteristics of a Waldorf-Astoria hotel and vice versa," said Ernest Wooden Jr., Hilton Hotels' executive vice president of brand management.

With the finalization of the 20-year agreement comes renewed speculation over whether Sarasota and the region can support -- together with the 266-room Ritz-Carlton -- a pair of five-star hotels.

Lion's Gate partner Allen Ostroff, president of New York-based Hotel Dynamics, believes new business that will be generated will sustain both properties.

"Sarasota is under-hoteled to start with, and regional business and meetings have had a hard time booking in Sarasota as a result," Ostroff said. "The reality is both properties can work together to attract more business. On top of that, I believe Waldorf-Astoria will take the lead in defining what five star means in Sarasota."

Edward Russo, senior director of marketing with Hilton's Waldorf-Astoria collection, said Sarasota's cultural amenities, Florida's demographics, the Proscenium's many elements and the strength of the Waldorf-Astoria brand will make the hotel successful.

Lion's Gate and Waldorf-Astoria representatives are not the only ones who believe the planned hotel can co-exist with competitor Ritz-Carlton.

"I think there will be a synergy with Sarasota Bayside, the Ritz-Carlton, the arts, and eventually, they will reach critical mass," said John Balliett, chairman and chief executive of Charter One Hotels and Resorts Inc., a Sarasota company that owns or operates a dozen hotels in New York and Florida.

"To a degree, yes, any new hotel cannibalizes the neighborhood," Balliett said. "But if that were the only factor to consider, then no new hotels would ever be built."

"There's a lot of bad economic news out there, but we haven't seen a great impact on the luxury end of the hotel spectrum," said Daniel Lesser, senior managing director-industry leader of real estate firm CB Richard Ellis' hospitality and gaming group. "It remains very strong."

Balliett said that the Proscenium's mix of uses -- including high-end shopping, upscale office space, an 800-seat theater and a movie theater -- will add to the draw.

"Any amenities within walking distance create a significant advantage," Balliett said. "Because it makes it more of a destination."

Even the head of the Waldorf-Astoria's direct competitor thinks the market here is deep enough to absorb another high-end hotel.

"I think there's still a luxury market that is thirsting to come here," said Jim McManemon, the Ritz-Carlton's general manager. "This January was the best we've ever had. Our occupancy and rates continue to increase."

"And generally, the market least affected by the volatile economy is the luxury market," McManemon added. "So is there room for additional luxury supply here? I think there is."

"This is obviously the cornerstone of the project; it lays a foundation for cache and should attract similar caliber interest," said Gary Moyer, Lion's Gate's president. "It intentionally sets the tone, and the bar, very high."

But at least one aspect of the Proscenium's impact on supply has some local experts puzzled.

In addition to the hotel, condos and theaters, Lion's Gate intends to develop 300,000 square feet of office space at Proscenium -- some 60,000 square feet more than originally planned.

At that figure, the 18-story Proscenium tower would contain the largest amount of office space in the city. By comparison, the 13-story Sarasota City Center on Main Street currently tops out at 245,000 square feet.

Moreover, Lion's Gate will have to charge per square footage prices that are at least 15 percent higher than competing Class A office space when the Proscenium debuts, as anticipated, in late 2010.

"Even with the wow factor of a new building and the proximity to the Waldorf-Astoria, based on market demand for new, Class A downtown office space, I think it will be a challenge to fill up -- or sell -- that much space at prices they'll have to command," said John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co. Inc., a leading Sarasota commercial real estate brokerage firm.

If completed, Proscenium would be only the second Waldorf-Astoria built outside New York. Hilton is developing a Waldorf-Astoria in Orlando and planning another in Beverly Hills, Calif., where the company is based.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080227/REALESTATE/802270705

If completed, Proscenium would be only the second Waldorf-Astoria built outside New York. Hilton is developing a Waldorf-Astoria in Orlando and planning another in Beverly Hills, Calif., where the company is based.
And a 386m scraper in Chicago is also in the works as a new Waldorf.


Wow. Amazing that Lion's Gate is moving forward on this. Fabulous news.
A true victory for Sarasota. :banana::banana:

Great news. This is world class.

Lakewood Ranch announces expansion
Monday, March 3, 2008

MANATEE COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Lakewood Ranch residents may soon have a place to call downtown.


The Manatee County development is expanding with a residential and a retail center that is being planned for the area.

The new Lakewood Centre is expected to have more than 3,000 houses and 300 hotel rooms. No store names have been announced yet for the retail part of the development, expected to create a downtown-type destination for area residents.

A north-south road will bisect the area, east of Interstate 75 and State Road 70. Centre Ice Parkway would be the main east-west route.

A bowling alley is expected to be the first official tenant, with construction slated to begin in the next few months. Construction on the residential units is expected to follow, with about 10 percent of those dwellings being reserved for workforce housing.

"We'll have certain percentage that will be workforce priced housing,' said Lakewood Ranch spokesperson Sondra Guffey. "So we can accommodate some of the people who work in the stores.'

The project will be staggered, with completion taking place over 10 years.

There are additional plans for more shops at the intersection of State Road 70 and Lorraine Road. That development, which already has a new post office under construction, will be called Lorraine Corners.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2008/3/3/329444.html?title=Lakewood+Ranch+announces+expansion

Renovated Rossi Park pier could serve as boating dock

Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008

http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2008/02/29/10/472-0229_N_palace_1_TAT.standalone.prod_affiliate.69.jpg
TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE
A pier just east of the railroad bridge on the Manatee River is closed but may be put back into use for the Pink Palace.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/ttompkins@bradenton.comBy GRACE AGOSTIN
gagostin@bradenton.com


BRADENTON --Boat rentals, dinner cruises and charter fishing could come to the Manatee River as part of redevelopment plans for the Pink Palace.

A Miami-based group wants to make boating recreation available as part of luxury-hotel plans for the landmark at 301 10th St. W.

"This is just another venue of attraction for the hotel itself," said Tom Cookingham, the city of Bradenton's assistant director of planning and community development. "It's another method of bringing people to the downtown area."

The 140-room hotel proposal that will be considered by the Bradenton City Council on March 12 would require a docking facility to support a list of proposed boating amenities.

According to the proposal, that will require a boat dock for a 50- to 75-foot vessel, two slips for 17- to 24-foot rental boats, two slips for charter fishing boats and a floating dock for six jet skis.

City officials said an existing pier at Rossi Park could be an option.

The pier east of the railroad tracks has been closed for several years due to deterioration, but state money and a partnership with the hotel could change that.

Jeana Winterbottom, grants and assistance manager, said the city could apply for a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission showing the pier's restoration as a public-private project.

In October, the city sought $451,230 from the commission's Boating Infrastructure Grant Program to expand the pier and add a floating dock.

However, the program wasn't awarded any money for fiscal year 2007-08.

"Typically, we should have heard - it looks like they're revising the program," Winterbottom said.

She added that the commission's Florida Boating Improvement Program gives higher consideration to public-private projects.

"That's the one we'll consider if we have a private partnership," Winterbottom said.

Sheila DiCarlo, co-owner of Rivers Boaten & Stuff, on Manatee Avenue East, said she is concerned the hotel's use of the dock would limit public access.

"There's not too many areas on the south side of the river to fish," DiCarlo said. "That was a nice area to go that you could fish off of because it's close to the railroad, which is a good area to fish."

Mayor Wayne Poston said if the pier is set up as a docking facility for the hotel, there would still be public access.

Cookingham added the planning commission would examine the hotel's use to find a balance between the hotel and the public.

"I'm assuming we'll look at the various types of activities, and we wouldn't permit more than we could handle," he said. "I think this is just creating another amenity for the downtown area."

Plans to develop the Pink Palace into a luxury hotel were introduced in January by Darrell Reha, owner of the landmark, and Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash, a potential purchaser of the property.

Reha said a Miami-based group is interested in developing the building into a hotel of Ritz-Carlton caliber while preserving its Mediterranean look.

Reha said the hotel developer won't be named until the the city gives approval.

Condominiums were previously planned for the Pink Palace, however, Reha said that was scrapped when condo sales came to a halt last year.

Mike Kennedy, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, said a luxury hotel with boating recreation could encourage more people to visit downtown.

"It gives people a reason and a means to visit the shops and restaurants," Kennedy said. "Any way we can encourage the boating community to visit downtown is a plus."

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/437955.html

Anyone know what the Pink Palace project mentioned in the article is? Is it this building?

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o236/JordanA_015/Bradenton2-2-08/Bradenton2-2-08030.jpg

Yes that is the building. It used to be a pretty famous hotel back in the day, movie stars and athletes like Babe Ruth stayed there. Then it was converted to a retirement community many years ago and then cleared out a couple of years ago.

^This is good news then. Whenever I walk by this building I see floorplans and such taped to the sides of the building advertising it. It's a nice building and has that Florida flair to it.

Downtown lacks good hotel space.

Developer wants density; city wants more details
Time line sought for affordable housingBy Roger Drouin
Published Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

http://shimg.ny.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20080304&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=803040363&Ref=V2&Profile=1417&MaxW=580&title=1

SARASOTA — The developer of a high-rise apartment complex near Whole Foods Market Centre downtown is asking for a density increase — from 42 apartments to 168.

In exchange for the density increase, developer Leonard Garner says he would make the complex affordable, with the units ranging from $530 a month for a 400-square-foot studio to $1,800 for a three-bedroom apartment.


The City Commission on Monday delayed final approval of the project until they hear more details about the length of time the apartments will remain priced in an affordable range. Commissioners will vote next month, giving the developer time to provide more details.

A draft agreement stipulates that at least half of the apartments will remain "attainable" for 15 years, but commissioners talked about increasing the number of affordable units or extending the time period.

The city defines attainable as homes available to households earning from 60 percent to 120 percent of the area median income. For a family of four, the median income in Sarasota is $54,000.

In addition to the apartments, the developer intends to include parking and retail and office space in his planned 10-story tower. Garner is also asking for an unspecified amount of city funding from a fund set aside to stimulate redevelopment.

Last modified: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 2:02 a.m.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080304/NEWS/803040363

Check the article link for the rendering. (it doesn't allow the picture to be posted) I don't find this slab a very attractive project. :ohno:

Neither do I, too many building already look alike. Though I do want the project to pass because it would bring another building DT and more people.

Developer closes land deal
Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 2:58 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Business Journal

An urban village planned for Sarasota moved a step closer to reality.

Lindvest Communities Inc. paid roughly $20 million for 400 acres at the corner of Fruitville and Dog Kennel roads, about three miles east of Interstate 75. That's about $50,300 per acre.

Planning for the urban community, which will preserve half of the acreage as an open area, will begin later this year, according to a statement.

Lindvest Communities, a part of Lindvest Properties Ltd., is a real estate development company that specializes in master-planned communities with an emphasis on urban design, responsible planning and sustainable land management, according to a statement. It's based in Toronto.

The developer intends to integrate plans from its Toronto communities into its new Sarasota development, representative Fabian Bianchi said in a statement.

"Sarasota's future-forward 2050 plan has motivated us to focus on this beautiful area," said LCI founder George Hofstedter in the release.

The county's 50-year land use plan is intended to manage and shape future growth in Sarasota County.

"We want to work closely with all parties to ensure that we make the best choices so we may serve as a successful prototype for future similar developments both by LCI and others," Bianchi said.

LCI must now perform engineering studies and plans.

As far as the land acquisitions, LCI bought 156 acres from Mercantile Bank for $6.1 million and the other 289 acres from Fruitville Acquisitions LLC for $14.5 million.

The purchase "holds a significant place in the overall growth extending into the Lakewood Ranch plan to the north of Fruitville Road, as well as the extension and commercial success of the entire Fruitville corridor to date," said Dan Argenas, marketing representative for LCI Sarasota.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/03/10/daily48.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Downtown luxury hotel one step closer
Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008
By GRACE AGOSTIN
gagostin@bradenton.com

BRADENTON --A luxury hotel and senior apartments are expected for downtown Bradenton as part of two projects approved by the Bradenton City Council on Wednesday.

A hotel project of the Ritz-Carlton caliber for the Pink Palace, 309 10th St. W., is set to make use of the historic building that has sat vacant for about four years.

Meanwhile, developers of the the Promenade project east of Ninth Street West are planning a 5-story senior apartment instead of a 15-story condominium.

Both projects are the result of adjustments made due to struggling condominium sales.

Darrell Reha, owner of the Riverpark Grande, said two major hotel operations are under contract for the $15 million project.

"Both hotels, whoever (commits), are very high quality," Reha said.

Reha said a hotel group in Miami is under contract for the project, as well as a company up north.

Reha wouldn't further reveal the location of the second group, and added the hotel group's name would be revealed by the end of the month when one is selected.

Either way, Reha said, the hotel will have about 140 rooms and will include retail, restaurant and boating recreation amenities.

The boating recreation will include dinner cruises and boat rentals that will be accessible with the redevelopment of the city pier at Rossi Park.

Councilman Gene Gallo said he was concerned what the future might hold for the building if the hotel operation struggled.

"What happens if the hotel development doesn't work as a hotel and they decide to start leasing rooms and all of sudden it turns into a senior center?" Gallo said.

Councilman Bemis Smith agreed.

But Mayor Wayne Poston said the city needed to move forward with a hotel for downtown.

"We've been looking at a hotel operation development for a long time," Poston said. "It looks to me, in every aspect, to be a viable project."

At the Promenade, Bradenton Riverfront Partners had to change plans for a 15-story condominium building because the project became "a victim of the market," said Ed Vogler, a partner in the project. The first phase of the project included an 8-story condo tower that opened last year.

The 5-story senior apartment building, Vogler said, will be of the luxury scale and will include 148 units that rent for about $3,000 a month.

While the senior apartments decrease the project's residential commitment, Vogler said a beer garden is planned for the Promenade in hopes of attracting more people downtown.

Vogler said the beer garden would be similar to the Navy Pier Beer Garden in Chicago.

"One hundred percent, the goal is to draw people from the (beer garden) into the project," Vogler said. "That will be the epicenter of the project."

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/464126.html

Meanwhile, developers of the the Promenade project east of Ninth Street West are planning a 5-story senior apartment instead of a 15-story condominium.

Both projects are the result of adjustments made due to struggling condominium sales.

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/464126.html

The new Promenade phase "adjustment" is one of the most depressing project downsizings I've seen. That is without the project/phase being cancelled or put on hold all together. :( The hotel project sounds great though. :)

Good luck to these guys. But I can't see another luxury hotel being that competitive in a market that already has a Ritz Carlton and in a few years will have a Waldorf Astoria!

Sarasota OKs Benderson project
Posted on Thursday, March 20, 2008
Florida Department of Community Affairs has 30 days to approve Town Center settlement
By STACEY EIDSON
seidson@bradenton.com

SARASOTA --For the last several months, the main question Randy Benderson, president of Benderson Development Company, has asked his attorneys about the University Town Center project has been simply, "When?"

With all of the time and effort that has gone into the plans for the 235-acre megamall and mixed-use project off University Parkway, Benderson has been eager to begin construction as soon as possible, according to Nancy Linnan, a Tallahassee attorney representing the company.

But last year, the Florida Department of Community Affairs found the development's Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which has already been approved by the Sarasota County Commission, in noncompliance due to a "lack of predictable mixed-use standards."

The DCA stated the plan did not establish a predictable standard for the development of nonresidential uses on the entire 276-acre property near Interstate 75.

As a result, the DCA and the county planning staff worked together to create a settlement agreement that included explicit capping of nonresidential development levels. The maximum development allowed for nonresidential uses on Benderson Development's property south of University Parkway is capped at 1.9 million square feet of gross leasable space.

Within that criteria, a maximum of 1.68 million square feet can be retail and 220,000 square feet can be office.

The new settlement agreement also added information regarding the development's impact on road transportation in the area.

While the county commission unanimously supported the settlement agreement Wednesday, the plan faced objections from Benderson Development's competition.

Christopher Torres, an attorney representing Westfield Corp., which owns Sarasota Square Mall and Westfield Southgate, told the board Benderson Development's traffic analysis is not "professionally acceptable."

Despite the criticism from Westfield, Sarasota County Commissioner Paul Mercier said he was pleased to see the agreement fully supported by the board.

"I will be happy to see that project move forward," he said.

All that Benderson must wait for now is DCA's review and approval of the final agreement, said Linnan.

"Technically, the DCA has 30 days to make sure it's exactly what was in the settlement agreement. And, of course, it is, so we hope they do it a little quicker," she said.

Until the DCA's final approval, construction on the University Town Center will be on hold.

"We can't really set a time line until the comprehensive-plan amendment is approved," Linnan said. "If it was just between us and the county, it would be an easy answer."

After the meeting, Benderson said he was thrilled with the commission's unanimous support and looks forward to beginning work on the project.

"We hope to start immediately," he said.

Stacey Eidson, Herald reporter, can be reached at 708-7908.

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/478028.html

Site work and new construction of a multi-residential development in Bradenton. Plans call for the construction of an art center, a hotel, retail stores, condominium buildings, and a five-story senior apartment building.

This project is currently awaiting municipal approval. No further inquiries are requested at this time.

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.472307.html

Site work and new construction of a mixed-use development in Bradenton. Design plans call for a four-story commercial building and two condominium towers. The roof of the commercial building, also serving as the "ground floor" for the condo towers, calls for a swimming pool, jacuzzis, a jogging / walking path, a gazebo, and extensive landscaping.

This project is currently on hold.

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.248680.html

Site work and new construction of a mixed-use development in Sarasota. Design plans call for the construction of a 140-room hotel, 150 condos, 16,000 square feet of retail space and 700-space parking garage.

This project is slated to commence in phases, with the initial phase, consisting solely of the hotel, tentatively scheduled for September of 2008. No inquiries are requested at this time.

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.576950.html

Site work and new construction of a residential development in Bradenton. Plans call for the construction of 179 dwelling units, a combination of 25 townhouse units and 154 condominium units in two 17-story towers, underground parking, and a 198-slip marina.

A firm timeline for construction has yet to be established. Interested parties may direct inquiries to the architect.

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.436669.html

Site work and new construction of a mixed-use development in Sarasota. Design plans call for the construction of a 140-room hotel, 150 condos, 16,000 square feet of retail space and 700-space parking garage.

This project is slated to commence in phases, with the initial phase, consisting solely of the hotel, tentatively scheduled for September of 2008. No inquiries are requested at this time.

http://www.bidclerk.com/project.576950.html

hmm... that map has to be off. I can't imagine this project being on the corner of bliss and proctor, let alone a 700 space parking garage being there! :lol:

Yeah no way, I think this is the plan is for the John Buck development downtown, not on Proctor Road.

Siesta Point project renewed

By Toni Whitt
Published Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY — After being stalled for more than a year, Benderson Development Co. is moving ahead with plans for Siesta Point, a proposed high-density, mixed-use development at U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road.

Neighbors have been complaining for months that the former mobile home park has become an eyesore at one of the most prominent gateways to Siesta Key.

Today, Paul Blackketter, a project manager with Benderson, is scheduled to meet with homeowners in the Siesta Key Association to detail plans for the 25-acre site, which could include retail, residential, hotel and office development.

Developers and county planners say Siesta Point could become a trend-setter for intensive "new urbanism" redevelopments which are likely to crop up all over the region.

As a first step, Blackketter intends to lay out details for a planning meeting that would include residents, county officials, architects, planners and Benderson representatives. The session -- known as a "charrette" -- would allow input from all the players as far as design and density.

That meeting would take place in late spring or early summer.

"I want to develop a good, positive relationship with the people in the neighborhood," Blackketter said.

Benderson officials say Siesta Point has been stalled as they awaited changes to the comprehensive plan, the county's blueprint for growth.

The plan has to be amended before the developers could do the kind of urban infill they want, said Blackketter and Mark Chait, Benderson's director of Florida leasing.

In the meantime, Benderson has hired security and fenced off the site and put up opaque panels to try to quell residents' frustration.

"We can't clear it until we know what we can do with it," Blackketter said. "And we can't know until the county develops the tools and methods to be able to develop it."

Sylvia Weiss, a Midnight Pass Road resident who has voiced her concerns to both the county and to Benderson, is looking forward to today's meeting.

"The county has been touting Siesta Beach and Turtle Beach, and to have visitors pass that trailer park is just a disgrace," Weiss said. "Until there's movement, I would rather see an empty lot there. I can't see how difficult is is to get permits to get rid of those trailers."

Weiss embraces the idea of improvements to the area, but she fears that Benderson has been so busy with its University Town Center project that the company has all but forgotten about the 25 acres leading to Siesta Key.

But from the beginning Benderson officials said they wanted to use the tools of "new urbanism," which calls for developments to include places where people can live, work and shop, without ever having to own a car.

Matt Lewis, a county planning manager, said a public hearing on the changes is expected for May.

Then the specifics would be sent to the state and, if approved, would come back to the county.

The new zoning could be approved and included in the comprehensive plan in the fall. Each new development would then have to go through a separate rezoning, including public hearings.

It is an undertaking that has been two years in the making with Siesta Point as the first real project in the works.

In that time, Southwest Florida's economy has been in a downturn largely because of the real estate slump. But Benderson, a private company with deep pockets, has continued with projects along University Parkway and now Siesta Point, something the company says is evidence of its faith in the region's long-term housing and retail prospects.

It also demonstrates a belief that Siesta Point fits in with the community's need for "new urbanism" projects, Benderson officials said. Such projects can be highly profitable because increased density and diversity of uses allows developers to maximize the land they buy.

Under Benderson's proposal, the 25-acre project would include a 220-room hotel, 265,000 square feet of retail and 575 homes, along with office space and parking. That would all be near public transportation and include affordable housing for people who want to work within the district.

Under the proposed zoning, Siesta Point would have to include interconnected streets and routes for pedestrians and bicyclists, tree-lined streets, a neighborhood park, architectural diversity and space.

The idea is to create a sort of self-contained downtown or a center of commerce.

"It gives you a sense of place," Blackketter said. "Instead of driving to get goods and materials you can walk. You can bike, walk or catch the bus for anything you want."

But nothing is final. The new zoning requires the charrette so that neighbors have an opportunity to help design a project that has less impact on them.

For Weiss, the Midnight Pass resident, that means no high-rise buildings, though she likes the idea of apartments and a hotel: "Something that makes it nice."

Lewis, the planning manager, said Siesta Point-like redevelopments are likely to happen in many areas of Sarasota County during the next several decades.

"What we're looking at is making it possible for all major commercial centers to rebuild in this manner," he said. "In the next 20 or 30 years, all of them will rebuild."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080403/REALESTATE/804030322/1537/BUSINESS

Guests at Sarasota's Ranola enjoy an urban experience in a '20s setting

By Aaron Kessler
Published Monday, March 31, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — With a wave of big-time hotel projects potentially poised to come to downtown Sarasota, it may be a case where the race will be on to be the first to break ground.

Those in first could run the table, while those that lag may never get off the ground to begin with.

The Proscenium project is hoping to build a Waldorf-Astoria, while the Sarasota Bayside project across the street is looking to land an ultra-luxury hotel as well.

A number of business traveler-focused hotels also are in the works, and will likely be duking it out over the next several years.

Meanwhile, there is one small hotel that has already quietly laid its own claim to the downtown core.

And its backers are hoping that its unique blend of urban style and boutique sensibilities will help it continue to succeed no matter what larger and more elaborate competition may appear on the horizon.

The nine-room Hotel Ranola sits quietly between Main Street and Ringling Boulevard, one block from the downtown post office.

The boutique hotel has been in existence for about a year, and caters to those looking for more of a distinctive, urban experience. The building itself is a historic 1926 apartment hotel that in its heyday catered to snowbirds coming for the season.

It was completely refurbished and rewired in the 1990s as an apartment building, and then in 2007 a local couple, Kim and Robert Livengood, decided to lease the entire first and second floors of the building and convert it into a hotel. (The top floor is still apartments).

The Ranola has been running since January 2007, and its owners have so far successfully tapped into a niche market they hope will continue to expand in the coming years.

"People finding us are looking for a small boutique property," Robert Livengood said. "They want to stay where they can walk, eat, drink and shop all within a few blocks."

Mix of old and new

The Ranola features bright, airy rooms with an abundance of natural light, and is well appointed with urban-style furniture that brings a modern flair to the historic setting.

1920s' ambience? Check. Plasma television and wireless Internet? Also check. A Web site? www.hotelranola.com.

The hotel truly is a mom-and-pop operation -- the Livengoods run the place themselves though they do have an on-site manager as well, bringing the total staff to three.

There is no room service or other fancy amenities that a traditional full-service hotel provides.

If you need to call the front desk after hours, you usually contact one of the Livengoods -- who alternate nights being on call -- directly via their cell phones.

But with full kitchens, patrons of the Ranola do not tend to go hungry. Those who have been gravitating to the boutique hotel are not usually looking to stay inside.

"We get people who really want to explore the city, who like being on their own a little more and enjoy experiencing what it's like to live here," Kim Livengood said. "We're not competing with the Ritz. We're offering something different, we hope."

She said the hotel has been sold out nearly every night this season, and that guests have come from as far away as England and Australia looking to experience a little bit of what Sarasota has to offer.

It did not hurt when a few months ago a New York Times travel article listed the Ranola as a recommended place to stay in Sarasota.

"We had people calling after that ran, looking to book a whole week with us," she said.

Rates during the season are about $175 a night for a studio and $220 a night for one of the suites. But off-season rates drop as low as $99 per night during certain periods. Robert Livengood said the hotel had a good first year and has been profitable. He thinks more hotel projects in downtown would be a positive development.

"I think it's a good thing for all of us if more people start staying right here downtown," he said.

The Livengoods say they got into the hotel game because they were both looking for a career change. The challenges and excitement of running a small hotel seemed right up their alley.

Neither of them has been in the hotel business before. Kim Livengood had run a clothing store and a small publishing company, and her husband had worked in the film industry in Hollywood before moving to Sarasota when they got married, working for a local manufacturing company.

Their lives are definitely not 9-to-5 anymore.

"There are certainly plenty of challenges every day now," she said.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080331/REALESTATE/803310337/1448/BUSINESS

This is just horrible. I don't know why I ever thought this project was ever going to go forward after the collapse of the condo market. I just pray that the Proscenium project goes forward because it is backed by such a big name in Waldorf Astoria. Otherwise Sarasota is going to be in ruins if we lose both projects.

Quay in quagmire
Lawsuit over loans delays redevelopment
By Tom Bayles and KEVIN MCQUAID STAFF WRITERS
Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

It has been a wild, undulating four years since the Sarasota Quay was snapped up by an Irish investment group led by developer Patrick Kelly.

FRIEND? FOE?

THE PLAYERS: Patrick Kelly and Irish American Management Services Ltd., the developers of the proposed $1 billion Sarasota Bayside.

Bussoleno Ltd., a Virgin Islands-based company that is suing Kelly and Irish American, claiming Irish American is delinquent on $7.7 million in loans and seeking to foreclose on the former Quay property.

WHAT'S AT STAKE: It is difficult to say because the details of the suit and the identity of the players involved are murky, but the legal action has the potential to complicate the development of one of the premier projects in Southwest Florida.

There have been $1 billion worth of plans drawn and redrawn, players in and players out, a spectacular collapse of the area's condominium market, an attempt by a single condo owner to block the entire project, and truckloads of scrap from a noisy metal-on-concrete demolition.

But few of the twists have matched the complexity -- or caused the bewilderment -- of the case involving Bussoleno Ltd.

On its surface, the Virgin Islands company's lawsuit against Quay owner Irish American Management Services Ltd., Kelly and partners reads like any of the hundreds of foreclosure suits snaking their way through Sarasota circuit court.

Behind the court records, though, is a tale of a three-decade-old friendship now fractured, and the peculiar relationship of a father claiming millions of dollars, his son and the offspring's employer, who happens to be the Quay's Irish owner.

While it is too early to tell what impact Bussoleno's claim that Irish American is delinquent on $7.7 million in loans will have on plans to build on one of Florida's premier development sites, it is clear that the litigation has left Kelly shaken.

"We couldn't believe it when it came up," Kelly said in a recent phone interview. "We were very disappointed and surprised. I was very upset."

The primary object of Kelly's disappointment is Rene Gareau, a friend of 30 years with whom the Dublin developer had vacationed in exotic locales like the Italian island of Sardinia.

Depending on the source, Gareau is either Bussoleno's agent and creator or an uninvolved third party.

Kelly said Gareau created Bussoleno years ago, as a trust for his children. Gareau's son Jeffrey is an Irish American Management Services executive vice president.

Jeffrey Gareau declined to comment on the dispute.

"It's Rene's company, he set it up," said Kelly, who along with Irish American partners John McCabe and John Walsh guaranteed the loans from Bussoleno. "It's a trust for his kids. That's my understanding."

Rene Gareau, however, maintains he has no involvement in Bussoleno.

"I am not a registered agent for Bussoleno," he said. "That is totally, totally incorrect. If they said that, that is incorrect."

Gareau said Kelly -- "Paddy" to those who know him well -- has a habit of getting things wrong.

"Paddy is a very confusing individual," Gareau said. "He makes a lot of comments that are totally incorrect."

Adding to the confusion, Kelly and partners contend in a countersuit that Gareau, too, signed on and provided an "unconditional guaranty" of the outstanding promissory notes owed to Bussoleno.

Mystery loan

What neither party disputes is that beginning in August 2003, Irish American and its members borrowed millions of dollars from Bussoleno.

Last December, Bussoleno "accelerated" payment of $5.43 million that remained outstanding on the notes after Bussoleno claimed Irish American missed required payments, according to the court filing.

Much of the rest of the case, though, remains murky, including why Irish American borrowed from Bussoleno to begin with.

The lawsuit states the loans were accelerated because Irish American failed "to prevent waste, impairment or deterioration of the mortgaged property," the Quay. Irish American has spent an estimated $100 million to acquire the former Quay and surrounding properties and raze the derelict buildings there.

Payment on another promissory note was sped up because Irish American had taken out another loan on the property from Anglo Irish Bank of Dublin, one of Kelly's primary lenders.

"The court record will show he is delinquent," Gareau said of Kelly.

"There is no question about it. He was delinquent on Dec. 1 and delinquent on March 1," added Gareau, while declining to specify how he is aware of the delinquency since he says he is not part of Bussoleno.

Kelly maintains that payments on the notes are current, though payments were made to Gareau directly, not Bussoleno. Any "technical defaults" were the result of "bona fide errors," Kelly's court response states.

As to the Anglo Irish loan, Kelly and his partners said Bussoleno was aware of the mortgage, but "never previously asserted that such a mortgage created a default."

They maintain it is Gareau who is now acting in bad faith, and that foreclosure is not possible because Bussoleno failed to officially record the mortgage with Sarasota County.

The Bussoleno lawsuit marks the second time litigation has threatened to hold up Irish American's plans. In 2005, when Kelly and partners were buying up four dozen small condos adjacent to the Quay, a lone holdout threatening to block Bayside development demanded millions of dollars in exchange for her deed.

In November 2006, holdout Sonia Hamouda sold her aging, 782-square-foot unit -- purchased in May 1998 for $74,900 -- to Irish American for $1.5 million, property records show.

Bayside revamp

Meanwhile, Kelly and Irish American are moving forward with their plans for a revamped quay, which will be known as Sarasota Bayside.

Though plans originally called for a trio of 18-story residential towers on the 15-acre property, together with a mix of upscale hotel rooms, shops and restaurants, office space and parking, Kelly's architects have reworked Bayside's designs.

Originally designed to contain 700 condominiums, Bayside will likely contain a few hundred less. In their place, the number of hotel rooms and office space will be increased, Kelly said.

At the same time, an expensive underground parking level is being eliminated, and Kelly has brought on a trio of former WCI Communities Inc. executives to develop Bayside's residential space.

Redquartz USA, led by former WCI executive Christopher Hanlan, is a partnership between Kelly and the trio. It joins Casto Lifestyle Properties, a Sarasota company that is Bayside's retail development partner. Redquartz also is the name of the Kelly family's holding company based in Dublin, Ireland.

"We have a strong local team now," Kelly said. "If interest rates continue to stay down and other factors go in our favor, we could begin marketing blocks just after Christmas 2008."

As to Bussoleno and Gareau, whom Kelly bailed out of a public relations nightmare in 2003 with a $1.3 million check to shutter the notorious In Extremis nightclub that had become a nuisance to neighbors, the Irish developer is cool.

"We're dumbfounded this has happened," he said of the Bussoleno lawsuit. "This wouldn't have happened in Ireland."

Gareau, meanwhile, said his relationship with Kelly remains intact. He claims that regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, he is "probably not interested" in becoming a part owner of the Bayside project.

"We are not fighting or anything. We just all have our liabilities and we are going to have to live up to them," he said. "Personally, we are not fighting."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080410/BUSINESS/804100532/1661

Officials tour new judicial center
Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2008

http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2008/04/14/15/986-0414_N_Courthouse_1_BAB.standalone.prod_affiliate.69.JPG
BRIAN BLANCO
The new Manatee County Judicial Center in downtown Bradenton is set to open next month. BRIAN BLANCO/bblanco@bradenton.com
Photo Gallery- Officials tour new judicial center (http://www.bradenton.com/666/gallery/531457.html)
By NATALIE NEYSA ALUND
nalund@bradenton.com

BRADENTON --The smell of fresh paint and cleaning products filled the air inside the new Manatee County Judicial Center as workers continued to prepare for its anticipated opening downtown.

Starting May 12, court cases will be heard at the $77.3 million building at 1051 Manatee Avenue, deputy county administrator Dan Schlandt said as he led about two dozen county officials and courthouse employees through their first tour of the building Monday.

Construction began in November 2005 on the nine-story, 268,000-square-foot building at the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue West and 10th Street West.

The new judicial center, designed by architectural firm HOK, has 19 courtrooms and five hearing rooms. Courtrooms are located on the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth floors.

Judge's chambers, complete with balconies overlooking downtown Bradenton, and hearing rooms are on the ninth floor. The seventh floor is unoccupied.

Lt. Daryl Brown, who oversees bailiffs at the courthouse, said the building's security system will be installed April 22. He said courthouse employees and the public will enter through separate metal detectors inside the building's main entrance off Manatee Avenue West.

Just past the metal detectors will be the lobby, law library, media room, vending area and cafe.

Negotiations are underway to put a Quiznos in the cafe area, said Lori Tolksdorf, Manatee County director of courts.

"We should have an answer on that by the end of the month," Tolksdorf said Monday.

At the top of a set of escalators that connects the first and second floors, courthouse visitors can check the day's court docket on six large screens, similar to those at airports.

"People can look for their names and see what is scheduled in each courtroom," said Dennis Menendez, 12th Judicial Circuit courthouse spokesman.

Also on that floor are the clerk's annex office, deposition rooms and drug court offices.

The jury assembly room, behind a set of elevators on that same floor, comfortably fit 210 potential jurors, Marlene Moran, jury coordinator, told the group touring Monday. The historic courthouse next door only fit 110 potential jurors, she said.

Inside the new jury assembly room, those called to duty have access to wireless internet, and can watch television.

Just outside that room are six public elevators. There are three more in the building, but they are for use by judges, prisoners and court personnel.

When people exit the elevator on each floor, a bailiff will be posted behind a desk, Brown said.

At the historic courthouse next door, prisoners use the same elevators and hallways as judges, jurors, witnesses and the public. But in the new judicial center, they will use their own elevators and hallways.

Courtrooms are equipped with video monitors, and judges and court clerks are protected by bulletproof benches.

Court will be closed the first full week of May to give courthouse employees time to move in, Tolksdorf said.

After the new center opens, the county will hold a dedication ceremony May 22 at 3 p.m.. It is open to the public, she said.

NOW AND THEN

Manatee County Judicial Center

Size: 268,000 square feet, including a 9-story tower, 19 courtrooms and 5 hearing rooms

Building cost: $77.3 million

Opening day: May 12

Dedication ceremony: 3 p.m. May 22

Historic Courthouse

Building cost: $97,445

Year it was built: 1913

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/531342.html

There is some pretty informative videos about the pde study for i75 in sarasota/manatee counties.

http://www.i-75pde.com/sarasota/public-meeting.html - sarasota

http://www.i-75pde.com/manatee/public-meeting.html - manatee

Both videos are pretty similar, just more specific about interchanges for each one.

Economy puts crimp in condo projects

http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2008/04/24/16/420-0424_B_condos_3_TAT.standalone.prod_affiliate.69.jpg
TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE
The Riverpark Grand is reflected in the building across the street. Remodeling construction has halted on the building.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/ttompkins@bradenton.com

http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2008/04/24/16/844-0424_B_condos_2_TAT.standalone.prod_affiliate.69.jpg
A welcome sign in the lobby of the Riverpark Grande sits in the middle of a stripped concrete floor. A once majestic building sits empty.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/ttompkins@bradenton.com

http://media.bradenton.com/smedia/2008/04/24/16/880-0424_B_condos_1_TAT.standalone.prod_affiliate.69.jpg

Graffiti, barriers, and orange cones are left all around the Riverpark Grande on 12th Street in Bradenton. What was to be condos is now just a derelict building.--photo by Tiffany Tompkins-Condie/ttompkins@bradenton.com
Critique this story
By MELISSA FOLLOWELL
mfollowell@bradenton.com

MANATEE --The dust has settled on many sites previously slated for condos and it may stay that way for some time.

Earlier this week, Riviera Southshore received a one-year extension from the City of Bradenton. The riverfront project, which was approved for as many as 691 condominiums, is the latest project to be shelved temporarily.

Riviera Southshore joins the ranks of the Pink Palace, 309 10th St. W., Tarpon Pointe, 234 Sixth St. N.E., Downtown City Central, 15th Street West and Manatee Avenue West and Magnolia Lakes, 48th Street Court East, all of which have postponed or changed development plans.

The median price of existing condos in the Bradenton-Sarasota market fell 32 percent from March 2007 to March 2008, so it's no surprise condo developers are holding off on several proposed projects.

"We're all faced with challenges in a market that's not being very responsive," said Jan Smith, president of Jan Smith and Co.

One of the three proposed buildings at Smith's Promenade at Riverwalk project has been completed but phases two and three are in the process of a redesign to better suit the market.

While still early on in the planning phases, Smith is hoping to fill a particular niche market selling a high-end lifestyle center for healthy seniors at the Promenade.

"We haven't worked out all the details," Smith said.

An overabundance of inventory coupled with the reduced margins builders are settling for has made many sit back and wait before laying the foundation for another condo building.

In 2005 and even into 2006, many renters read the paper carefully every day to make sure their complex wasn't going to be the latest to go condo. As the market started to sink, many saw 'Now Leasing' signs creep back up.

Among those was 210 Watermark, formerly Main Street, which went through a name change and several upgrades before the complex reverted back to its rental status.

Whether new buildings will follow in the footsteps of the conversions remains to be seen.

"Condos are often cyclical kinds of things," said Carol Clarke, planning director for Manatee County.

Due to that cycle and the overall building slowdown throughout the county, Manatee County commissioners extended the length of time project plans are viable after approval. Preliminary site plan approvals have been extended from three years to five years and final site plans from two years to four years.

"I think one of the reasons the commission took the action to extend the dates was because there was a lot of time spent re-upping things that had already been approved," Clarke said.

A developer would most likely be reapproved for a project with little or no changes.

"If something had expired and they had to come back and during that time there were new regulations that came into place, they'd have to meet those regulations," Clarke said.

It's been five years since the City of Bradenton annexed 374 acres straddling Interstate 75 just south of the Manatee River and nearly two years since the land's developer, WCI Communities, received all the necessary permits to start construction on two of its four towers.

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/561082.html

Standing up for a beachfront oasis

By Michael Braga
Published Monday, April 28, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SIESTA KEY — It is best not to mention the word "developer" around Melinda Cook, Patricia Lynch and Rudy and Carol Atilano.

Since 2002, these owners of condo units at the Ebb Tide on Siesta Key have seen a parade of developers invade their oasis by the beach and leave them with nothing but aggravation and unpaid association dues.

First, there was Melissa DeMarco, who bought six units at Ebb Tide, only to lose them after running into financial trouble. Then there was Daniel Prewett, who met his obligations until he was arrested in October 2006 for money laundering in connection with a cocaine deal.

Finally, there was Warren Hickernell, who bought the 10-unit Capri Inn and the 36-unit Siesta Plaza around the corner in 2005, only to default on $9 million in loans from the Bank of Commerce and Orion Bank in 2007.

In each case, these failed developers left Ebb Tide owners with tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid association dues.

"We've all been strained by the financial drain on us," Rudy Atilano said. "We've also had to hire lawyers to help us over the hump, and that adds up real fast."

Now Ebb Tide owners say they are facing a new wave of developers who are trying to take away their control over what is built in their backyard.

They claim the CRP/Triton group, which is building a $100 million, 44-unit Hyatt Hotel on the beach, has been trying to get around association rules. They say the same goes for Larry Starr, who bought Hickernell's 36-unit Siesta Plaza project last month and is planning to replace it with 29 high-end vacation rental units.

As a result, Cook and the Atilanos have determined to fight these developers at every turn unless they get what they want.

"These developers are playing a game that puts financial stress on us, that screws us out of association dues," Cook said. "In the end, what we want is for them to give us an honest offer for our units."

Cook said $700,000 is what she wants for her Ebb Tide abode, and that number is based on a 2007 appraisal.

"I'm not out to stop Triton from developing, but I don't want them to steal our property rights in the process," she said. "If they do it the wrong way, we will take the same legal steps that girl at the Quay had to take," Cook said, referring to Sonia Hamouda, who sued developer Patrick Kelly and refused to move out of her El Verona condo until Kelly agreed to pay her $1.5 million.

"I'd call that extortion," said Roxanne Joffe, Triton's spokeswoman, adding that Triton has no desire to put financial stress on Ebb Tide owners.

Starr, who said he has never spoken to Cook or Atilano, added that he only wants to be a good neighbor. That is why he paid $35,000 in back dues owed by Hickernell and applied to become a full, dues-paying member of the Sarasota by the Sea Homeowners Association, which includes 15 of the area's property owners, including those at Ebb Tide.

"When Triton is done and we're done, it would seem to me all the other properties would rise with that tide," Starr said.

Cook, Lynch and the Atilanos bought their units at Ebb Tide in the 1990s for a combined price of $208,500. Today, those same three units are worth $760,300, or about $253,000 apiece, according to Sarasota County Property Appraiser records.

DeMarco was the first developer to disrupt the laid-back rhythms at Ebb Tide when she bought units for $807,100 in 2002 and 2003. DeMarco did not make required payments to the condo association, forcing remaining Ebb Tide owners to come up with about $30,000, Cook said.

Then, when Prewett took over those same units in late 2005, Ebb Tide owners had to deal with a new set of problems. Rudy Atilano said Prewett moved some of his employees into the units, several of whom had criminal records.

"They were not what you would call the cream of the crop," Atilano said. "We thought they were put there as a method of bringing us down."

He said the new occupants made it difficult for him to rent his unit because they left the place in a state of disarray, while Cook said one of Prewett's associates actually threatened her with physical violence.


After Prewett was arrested in October and defaulted on his loans, Ebb Tide owners said they were left with about $14,000 in unpaid association dues.

In the meantime, Hickernell was having financial problems of his own and ultimately failed to pay $35,000 in dues to the broader Sarasota by the Sea association. Ebb Tide owners were on the hook for $4,900 of that total.

Atilano explained that dues paid to Sarasota by the Sea, which ranged from $30,000 to $70,000 a year, go to maintaining two roads on either side of the community, access to Siesta Beach and a communal swimming pool.

When Starr bought the failed Siesta Plaza project from Orion Bank for $6.7 million last month -- receiving a $12.6 million loan from the same bank, he paid off Hickernell's unpaid dues and said he would continue paying association dues in the future. But Cook and Atilano are skeptical.

In spite of the fact that their 1957 deed says that each member of the Sarasota by the Sea association must sign off on any agreement involving material changes to the beach community, Cook said Triton tried to get around that requirement when it filed for a drainage easement last year.

Sharon Cunningham, the secretary and treasurer of the association, granted Triton the easement without consulting all the association members, Cook said. When Cook found out about it, she complained to the county and managed to bring construction at Triton's project to a halt.

"That put them four or five months behind," Cook said. "They had to redesign their drainage plan."

Cunningham said her actions were not meant to bypass individual owners, but only to get the permitting process started.

Brent Virkus, president of the Triton Cos., said his group wanted to tap into the association's drainage pipe and fix it for them. "But Melinda came in and blocked it, which seems ludicrous," Virkus said. "Why wouldn't you want a better system?"

Virkus said Triton has now designed a better system that will treat the drainage before expelling it.

"It didn't put us behind that much," Virkus said. "You have to plan ahead when someone is being somewhat hostile."

Though Ebb Tide owners won the drainage battle, they are afraid that Triton and Starr will try to strip away their power by turning over decisions involving the Sarasota by the Sea association to the association's seven-member board of directors.

Ed Cordelia, the president of the association, believes that is the way things should be. It is in the interest of all residents to let Triton and Starr to go ahead with their projects, Cordelia said.

"They are going to beautify the area and the price of everyone's house on the block is going to go up," he said.

Though Cook and Atilano understand that logic, they do not agree with the idea that the board should make decisions for them, and they have an attorney who backs them up.

"It's the 15 owners, and not the seven directors, who were granted decision making power by the 1957 deed," Atilano said, adding that if developers want anything, they should have to negotiate with surrounding property owners.

"They're talking about building a $1 billion Hyatt village complex here," Atilano said. "And my gut feeling is that if this property is so desirable, they should pay for the right to develop it."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080428/REALESTATE/804280425/1668

If developers are cheating their community, that's definitley a problem and is one thing that should be taken care of. However, if they're simply anti-development, then they need to realize they live in an in-demnad area that is a privilidge to live in.

Waldorf-Astoria Sarasota to add Guerlain Spa Boutique to its plans
Monday, April 28, 2008 - 5:57 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Business Journal

The Waldorf-Astoria Sarasota hotel in development has added a Guerlain Spa Boutique to its mixed use development.

No financial terms were disclosed.

"A Guerlain Spa will be the finishing touch," said Gary Moyer in a release.

Moyer, along with Karen Cook, Zeb Portanova and Allen Ostroff, is developing The Proscenium, a mixed-use project located within two prime Sarasota city blocks, through his company, Lion's Gate Development.

Spa plans call for 12,000 square feet, with nearly 7,400 square feet of treatment rooms and 3,000 square feet for a fitness center. There will be exclusive Guerlain massage and skin therapies, facials, body sublimations, hand and foot therapies and makeup.

Founded in France in 1828, Guerlain began as a perfume house. Its founder, Pierre-Francois Pascal-Guerlain, was a chemist who used rare and natural raw materials to create beauty potions, a release said. The House of Guerlain was owned and managed by members of the Guerlain family from 1828 to 1994 but was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a multinational investment conglomerate.

LVMH Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton S.A. (Euronext: MC), usually shortened to LVMH, is a French holding company. It is the parent of around 60 sub-companies that each manages a small number of brands. These companies are, to a large extent, run autonomously, the company said.

Total 2007 revenue of 16.5 billion euros, more than 71,000 employees worldwide, a retail network of more than 2,000 stores, its Web site says.

The group was formed after mergers brought together champagne producer Moët et Chandon and Hennessy, a leading manufacturer of cognac in 1987. They merged with fashion house Louis Vuitton to form the current group. The group is partly owned by the Christian Dior group, and Bernard Arnault is chairman and chief executive officer of both companies, its Web site says. The oldest of the LVMH brands is wine producer Château d'Yquem, which dates its origins back to 1593, according to the company.

In 2001 De Beers launched a joint venture with LVMH in order to establish De Beers as a retail brand.

Guerlain symbolizes perfume but is also famous for its skincare products, Super Aqua-Serum, Success Future and Orchidée Impériale ranges; and its make-up products, such as Terracotta, Meteorites, and KissKiss lipstick, according to its Web site.

Besides the hotel, the Proscenium is slated to include an 800-seat performing arts center, condo and loft residences, office space and retail/restaurant/entertainment space. Projected completion is expected to be late 2010.

A new Guerlain Spa Boutique opened in New York City on Dec. 3, 2007, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. As part of The Waldorf-Astoria's multi million-dollar investment there, its new Guerlain Spa Boutique was set to retail the skincare, fragrance, and makeup collections of Guerlain Paris.

The introduction of Guerlain Spa and the Spa Boutique at the landmark hotel marked the first implementation of the partnership agreement between The Waldorf-Astoria Collection, Guerlain, and global spa operator Spa Chakra Inc., a 2007 release said, as published on hotelinteractive.com.

It was unclear from Monday's release if the operator in Sarasota was the same.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/04/28/daily7.html?page=2

BTW, not sure if this is new or not, but The Proscenium has a website that has a ton of good info and such:

http://www.theproscenium.com/overview.html

Also, pictures:

scroll---------------------------------------------------------->
http://www.theproscenium.com/images/birdseye.jpg

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/ProsceniumFront.jpg

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/ProsceniumStreet2.jpg

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/ProsceniumTheatre.jpg

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/ProsceniumStreet1.jpg

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/location.jpg

Bonus:
I haven't heard about a new Waldorf-Astoria in the works for Lido Beach, but it appears there is one:

http://www.theproscenium.com/images/lidoLarge.jpg

:eek2:

It's gorgeous.

I think the lido thing is just an addition to the hotel to give it beach ammenities, probably a few rooms there too.

Anyone find the people they put in these artist renditions kinda funny? Like the third picture in paticular has a bunch of people who look like they were in the airport (like a pilot) and then there are these people in these strange salmon colored uniforms (maybe hotel workers?).

Scaled-back project finally gets zoning OK

By Roger Drouin
Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — The School Avenue project — consisting of 9.5 acres of condos and shops — has been the rallying cry for a coalition that grew from one frustrated neighborhood association into an influential group that has the power to sway votes at City Hall.

On Monday night, however, that group was unable to convince a third city commissioner to cap the overall height of the project at four stories. But several residents say the 3-2 vote allowing a land-use change is a compromise they can live with.

The change clears the way for several buildings ranging from two to five stories in height -- a project that is a marked improvement over what was initially proposed three years ago, said resident Myron Nickle.

The approved plan calls for 228 condos, shops and a hotel. The original concept had 460 condos.

"Most of my neighbors are OK with it," said Nickle, who initially opposed the project because it was too bulky in the first conceptual plans. "They like the vibrancy of the mixed use."

One neighborhood leader, Susan Chapman, thinks otherwise. She said the land-use change is too vague and allows the developer to get what he wants without having to commit to previous promises.

It is exactly this tough stance that forced developer Ron Burks to change plans dozens of times, hold an interactive three-day workshop to gather input from residents and finally offer to build a project that more closely matches residents' vision for what belongs next to their homes.

Although residents did not get the four-story height limit, they did get several concessions from the developer.

Burks agreed to reduce the height closest to existing homes by building two-to-three story townhomes along the southern border of the project. He also agreed to include a landscape buffer and a retail plaza.

The resulting mix of condos, shops and a hotel is an improvement over the developer's initial proposal, said Mayor Lou Ann Palmer, who was the swing vote in favor of the project. Palmer previously voted against a different concept.

Commissioners Kelly Kirschner and Dick Clapp both wanted to limit overall height of the project to four stories -- with the exception of one small portion of the site. And they also wanted to restrict the developer from building a hotel.

"There is nothing with binding teeth," Kirschner said about the ordinance allowing the developer to build to "downtown edge" standards. "We are going to dramatically upzone and do something that has not been done anywhere in the city."

Clapp said he wanted to make sure the developer built smaller, thus protecting nearby single-family homes from a towering wall.

"We are putting the most intense land use next to the least dense land use, and we need to protect those single-family residences," Clapp said.

Resident Ellen Jacobs said she was OK with allowing a five-story building in the center of the property if the developer committed to building the smaller town homes on the edge.

"I would say go ahead, if there was a commitment," said Jacobs. "There never seems to be a commitment to what the height would be and where the buildings would go."

Initially, Burks proposed 460 condos in buildings that residents felt towered above nearby single-family homes. Residents were further frustrated when the developer submitted last-minute changes that increased the size of the project.

Three years later, the project does not look anything like the original concept, said Shawn Fulker, a Planning Board member who voted for the land-use change when it came before that board.

The residents "didn't get 100 percent, but they got most of what they wanted," Fulker said. "They started out with zero, nothing they wanted and everything Ron Burks wanted. Now they've got about half of what they wanted and he got half of what he wanted."

The site of a closed Scotty's hardware store has to be redeveloped so that empty buildings are not facing the city's new Payne Park, Fulker said.

On Monday night, commissioners went through a proposed land use ordinance line by line. Kirschner wanted to know what guidelines would be used to make certain structures "green buildings."

Clapp and Kirschner wanted to restrict the developer from building a hotel. The other three commissioners voted to allow one.

Mayor Lou Ann Palmer asked the developer if he would limit the size of the proposed hotel to a maximum of 100 rooms. Burks said he would consider limiting the hotel's size.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080429/NEWS/804290555/1661

The Waldorf Astoria is going to be a beautiful project and the most likely to happen out of all the big proposed developments. I can't tell you how much Sarasota has changed in the last 4-5 years, and even in the last year. I was downtown this past weekend on a Friday night after I got home from Tallahassee for the first time in a good 6 months and there was an actual night life! I couldn't believe my eyes as to how many people were going to dinner, clubs, bars or shopping. Only a year ago the downtown area was improving but it was still pretty dead after dinner time/dusk. The condo market may be in ruins right now, but boom before hand has certainly brought a ton of new faces and businesses to downtown and Sarasota is exploding with growth. If we could just get this Proscenium project going along with Sarasota Bayside and maybe a few other hotels, the growth potential is exponential. :nuts:

Riviera Southshore project takes a new tack
Friday, May 2, 2008
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Jane Meinhardt Staff Writer


BRADENTON -- A judge has ordered the 28 acres developer Frank Maggio purchased for a $400 million project to be sold on the courthouse steps.

Maggio fought City Hall long and hard to win approval of his Riviera Southshore project in the Old Manatee neighborhood and even went to circuit court to force the Bradenton City Council into a settlement and, ultimately, a split vote to give his development the green light.

Then Wells Fargo, Maggio's lender for the development, went to the same court in October and two months later won a foreclosure judgment against him, his Rivera Southshore Ventures LLC and others involved in the project, alleging they defaulted on a loan and owe nearly

$23 million in principal, interest and other fees, court records show.

Now Wells Fargo is attempting to recoup some portion of its investment as the land goes up for sale May 16. Harley Riedel, Maggio's attorney in the foreclosure case, said he could not comment at this time or answer questions about the project's potential future. Maggio, who is based in St. Petersburg, did not respond to requests for an interview.

Court records show Riviera Southshore was the borrower, and he was the guarantor of the Wells Fargo loan.

Other local activity
Maggio and another of his companies, First Dartmouth Homes, developed condominiums at Riviera Dunes Resort in Palmetto, across the river from the site of the proposed Riviera Southshore complex. The company also developed other projects in Manatee and Pinellas counties.

First Dartmouth filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tampa on Dec. 28.

The Riviera Southshore project included three 19-story condominium towers and unprecedented density when first proposed in 2006 on the riverfront site. Maggio and his company purchased roughly 60 residential and commercial parcels in neighborhood of mostly single-family homes north of Manatee Avenue and between Ninth and 14th streets East.

Residents in the historic neighborhood where the developer demolished more than a dozen homes protested that the project would be incompatible with its surroundings and block access to the river.

The City Council initially agreed and denied the project when it was first proposed in September 2006. After Maggio went to court, the council settled the dispute.

Dirt never moved
The council agreed in May 2007 to allow a maximum height of nine stories and 700 units for the project and voted to change rezoning requirements. However, actual construction never began at Riviera Southshore, and its future is uncertain.

Leigh Fletcher, a Tampa attorney with Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler & Sitterson who represents Wells Fargo, told the council in March the project would be more likely to attract interest from developers and potential purchasers with an extended development time but the council denied Wells Fargo's request for a five-year extension, citing code violations on neglected lots.

On April 23, she argued again for an extension and got a year after Wells Fargo agreed to cover maintenance costs. Fletcher could not comment, she said Tuesday.

jmeinhardt@bizjournals.com | 727.224.2299

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/05/05/story4.html?b=1209960000^1628898

Sarasota County ballot measures headed toward approval

Staff Report
Published Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 8:27 p.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - With results from 152 out of 157 precincts counted, two measures on today's ballot appear headed for approval by wide margins.

So far, 79.42 percent of voters have approved a requirement that the unanimous agreement of the county commissioners is needed for any shift in the Urban Service Boundary. The boundary, which generally follows Interstate 75, separates land suitable for urban zoning and county utilities from rural land east of the highway.

Meanwhile, 68.4 percent of the ballots counted so far are votes in favor of a $300 million bond issue to fast track road, utility and other projects. The bonds would be paid with proceeds from a 1 percent sales tax that voters had already approved.

----------------------------

The first one is kinda stupid, but probably won't make much of a difference. I just think requiring unanimous decisions is kinda undemocratic.

The second one I think is great that it passed, even though as an "economic stimulus" its kinda stupid. But with the savings hopefully offsetting the interest, its nice to get these projects sooner. Especially Bee Ridge to Fruitville phase of honore ave.

I was wondering why there were voting precincts all over Sarasota yesterday.

I was wondering why there were voting precincts all over Sarasota yesterday.

Yeah. Seriously, I have been waiting for years for them to finally make honore one complete road instead of two. I would use it so much when home. I think it was schedueled something like 2015, now its 2009. In another 10 years, we'll be able to take Honore from Venice all the way into Manatee county.

Sarasota is finally making their roads up to par the last couple of years. I use the new Webber extension all the time to get out to Cattlemen road. I can't wait for the Bahia Vista expansion to be complete, Honore to be extended and McIntosh Road to be expanded.

Heh, you sound like you live in the same area as me. I live around Honore and Wilkinson.

Nice, my house is off of McIntosh just south of Bahia Vista.

I never understood why Honore was never punched all the way through..

at least now you can take Honore from Fruitville, tthrough the Meadows ( and

WHAT's up with this bs...speed limit, ONE LANE CRAP...lol) all the way to

Manatee County where it traverses Lockwood Ridge and turns into being

named 63rd I think.....


Whew.....and what's happening to Tuttle ?? north ??

At least you can take Locswood Ridge at SR 70, all the wat down to

Fruitville in SRQ where it dead ends.....are they going to punch Lockwood

further south ?? I know it DOES go south in Sarasota....but not

continuously.

Plans for Cattlemen ??

I never understood why Honore was never punched all the way through..

at least now you can take Honore from Fruitville, tthrough the Meadows ( and

WHAT's up with this bs...speed limit, ONE LANE CRAP...lol) all the way to

Manatee County where it traverses Lockwood Ridge and turns into being

named 63rd I think.....


Whew.....and what's happening to Tuttle ?? north ??

At least you can take Locswood Ridge at SR 70, all the wat down to

Fruitville in SRQ where it dead ends.....are they going to punch Lockwood

further south ?? I know it DOES go south in Sarasota....but not

continuously.

Plans for Cattlemen ??

Honore was never punched through because it was kinda built in phases. Like most of the southern part wasn't there 10 years ago. Yeah, the meadow's crap is a bunch of garbage. They knew what they were getting into when it was built there, I mean, the right of way for future widening is already there..
Well, at least in the next 5 years or so (hopefully), we can drive from manatee county to practically venice. I think Culverhouse has to build Honore to SR 681 as development gets down there. During the boom, it seems like it would get a half a mile closer every time I would come home from school, now its kinda stopped obviously. About 2 more miles to go..

I don't know much about Tuttle to be honest, not my neck of the woods really.

I doubt they would do anything with lockwood ridge. In South Sarasota area, there probably isn't as much need because the road network is a little more developed than say North Sarasota. It would be nice to able to drive through it all, but looking at a map, it looks like it would be pretty expensive.

Cattlemen should be built sometime in the next couple of years with the mall project on University. They have to complete the road as part of the project. So it will be continious from Coopers Creek blvd to Proctor, its not going any farther south than that though (but Gannt is there of course).

Area condos in development delay
Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
By GRACE GAGLIANO
gagostin@bradenton.com

BRADENTON --Two separate condominium projects that promised more than 300 units combined, retail and office space, and a marina are on hold.

Developers need one-year extensions to begin construction on the condo towers that were approved over the past two years for downtown Bradenton.

Market conditions have forced developers of Metro Marquee to hold up construction on 117 condo units, 21 workforce housing units, and retail/office space for a site at 301 Seventh St. W.

Meanwhile, the developer of 155 condo units proposed for Tarpon Pointe, 234 Sixth St. N.E., is waiting on clearance from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to build a 212-slip marina off 215 Eighth St. E.

Since 2007, Bradenton City Council has issued seven extensions to planned development projects because of market conditions.

"It's not a shock," said Ward 4 Councilman Bemis Smith. "It is a disappointment. ... But you just hope the downturn is going to be relatively short-lived."

According to a CNN Money report published May 14, condo prices in the Sarasota area have dropped by 35 percent over the past year.

"In my experience that's reflective of Bradenton," Smith said. "Just look at the units that are for sale at Riviera Dunes (in Palmetto) and Promenade (in downtown Bradenton). You've got a lot more supply then you've got market for."

Tarpon Pointe developer Scott Tibbetts has felt the market's pain, too.

Last June, Tibbetts received a one-year extension to wait out the decline of condo market sales in hopes of a rebound.

This time, Tibbetts is seeking an extension because he is waiting on a submerged-land lease required by the FDEP.

The 212-slip marina requires an FDEP land lease since the waterway is owned by the state.

In an letter to the city, Tibbetts wrote he expects to receive the lease before the end of the year at which point construction could begin.

Tom Glancy, an FDEP environmental specialist who is processing the Tarpon Pointe application, said FDEP is still waiting on a completed lease application from Tibbetts.

"We're waiting on information from them to complete the file," Glancy said. "The ball is basically in their court at this time."

Smith said he wouldn't be surprised to see developers return with revisions if they are given one-year extensions.

Michael Hamad, vice president of Enterprise Associates, said he didn't foresee any changes for Metro Marquee at the time.

Hamad said once the market bounces back, plans for the project should fall into place.

"I'm optimistic it will return," Hamad said. "It's just a matter of when, not if for us." Downtown City Central, two 15-story towers for residential, office, retail, extension granted December 2007.

• Villages at Glen Creek, 1,373 homes, extension granted August 2007.

• Magnolia Lakes, 552 residential units, extensions granted May 2007, March 2008.

• Tarpon Pointe, condo and marina, extension granted June 2007, seeking second extension May 28.

• Seasons at Village Green, 142-unit condo development, extension granted December 2007.

• Riviera Southshore, 691-unit condo with retail/office, extension granted April 2008.

• Villas of San Casciano, 177-unit condo, developer suspended construction in January 2008.

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/622487.html

Honore was never punched through because it was kinda built in phases. Like most of the southern part wasn't there 10 years ago. Yeah, the meadow's crap is a bunch of garbage. They knew what they were getting into when it was built there, I mean, the right of way for future widening is already there..
Well, at least in the next 5 years or so (hopefully), we can drive from manatee county to practically venice. I think Culverhouse has to build Honore to SR 681 as development gets down there. During the boom, it seems like it would get a half a mile closer every time I would come home from school, now its kinda stopped obviously. About 2 more miles to go..

I don't know much about Tuttle to be honest, not my neck of the woods really.

I doubt they would do anything with lockwood ridge. In South Sarasota area, there probably isn't as much need because the road network is a little more developed than say North Sarasota. It would be nice to able to drive through it all, but looking at a map, it looks like it would be pretty expensive.

Cattlemen should be built sometime in the next couple of years with the mall project on University. They have to complete the road as part of the project. So it will be continious from Coopers Creek blvd to Proctor, its not going any farther south than that though (but Gannt is there of course).

The mall developers just finished a northern extension of Cattlemen so it now connects University Parkway to Desoto Road. I know in the very near future Sarasota County will be starting construction on the last part of Cattlemen between Bahia Vista and Fruitville that was not expanded in the last couple of years like the stretch from Bahia Vista south to Bee Ridge. I'm not sure if the northern end is going to involve any realignment or not but it should start once the Bahia Vista expansion is finished this summer.

Airport hotel plan delayed again
Posted on Thursday, May 29, 2008
By SARA KENNEDY
skennedy@bradenton.com

MANATEE --The first phase of a long-delayed, $100 million hotel and mixed-use project on airport land once again has hit a snag - this time only days before ground-breaking was scheduled to take place June 1.

The SRQ Innovation Green LLC project, proposed by Finergy Development Group, still lacks a "performance and payment bond" that would guarantee the job is completed in the event that the developer cannot finish, officials told the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority at its Wednesday meeting.

Developer Enzo Gagliardi and his attorney, Craig Colburn Jr., said that, although they have searched for a company that would provide such a bond, they have been unable to secure it.

They proposed alternate arrangements in the form of an escrow account for the first phase of the project, a $7.2 million Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel to be built near the entrance of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

But the board rejected the idea.

"I guess it concerns me they can't get a performance bond," explained board member Kathy Baylis.

"It draws a little red flag for me, and it should for the board, too," said board member Paul Sharff.

The board voted unanimously to alter its lease agreement with Finergy requiring that construction start by June 1 in order allow the developer another month to arrange a performance bond.

When Colburn asked whether Finergy might begin preliminary work at the site in the interim, the board declined that, too, after its attorney, Mitchell O. Palmer, warned that companies that put up such bonds might not want to take on the liability of a project that has already begun.

"I don't think we should allow them to turn a shovel without a bond," said SRQ President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Piccolo.

The project, which has been delayed for years with different developers and changing plans, now calls for two hotels, a 150-seat restaurant and approximately 200,000 square feet of commercial and office space on a 7.8 acre site at Airport Circle and University Parkway.


Sara Kennedy, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 4500.

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/638877.html

^
http://www.finergygroup.com/images/SRQrend.jpg
http://www.finergygroup.com/images/SRQrend2.jpg
http://www.finergygroup.com/images/SRQrend3.jpg

http://www.finergygroup.com/under_dev.asp

Vision for downtown Bradenton

By Patrina A. Bostic
Published Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 3:47 a.m.

INTERESTED?
Residents who would like to learn more about or become involved in helping to reshape Bradenton's arts and cultural community may:
Go to www.downtownbradenton.org.

BRADENTON — If a new coalition gets its way, residents might not recognize this city's downtown in several years.

Call the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority at (941) 932-9440.
Picture the area dotted with new businesses, a new, vibrant arts district and even new condominiums from which people will stroll through downtown.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced Tuesday that it awarded two grants totaling $254,000 to support a major arts and business revitalization program in downtown Bradenton.

The funding will be used to hire a nationally known Portland, Ore.,-based consultant, who will conduct an economic study and to help market key arts and cultural organizations such as the Arts Council of Manatee County, ArtCenter Manatee and Manatee Players.

A partnership that includes the Knight Foundation, business groups, government and arts leaders is looking for a transformation that would make Bradenton a cultural destination. The partners have been working on this project since December.

"The culture and the arts are a critical piece of a vibrant community," said Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston. "We expect the economy is going to come back and we want to have our arts community in place to attract new neighbors."

Poston praised the Knight Foundation, saying the project would not be possible without its investment. Groups in Bradenton applied for the foundation grants.

The organization has supported educational and cultural programs in Manatee County for nearly 35 years, but is taking a new approach by working with area leaders to transform the community through strategic economic development and revitalization efforts.

"As a result of our partnership, the community will be in a better position to gather and communicate critical knowledge and better able to leverage the talents of key business leaders, city officials and cultural institutions for the economic benefit of the community," said Meredith Hector, a program director at the Knight Foundation in Miami.

The Manatee County Chamber of Commerce will oversee the $20,000 countywide economic study to be conducted by Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C., and completed in early 2009.

The Bradenton Cultural and Business Alliance will receive the remaining $234,000 to carry out the other initiatives, which include paying $114,000 to cultural planning consultant Bill Bulick, of Portland.

Also, $20,000 will go toward travel expenses for a local delegation to visit a city that has become a successful model of a business, arts and government partnership.

The remaining funds will be distributed among the Arts Council of Manatee County, ArtCenter Manatee and Manatee Players to help promote their activities.

"I want so much to have restaurants and music and activities and shows so that I'm drawn to coming downtown as much as I can," said Susie Walters, chairwoman of the Knight Foundation Community Advisory Committee.

Walters, also chairwoman of the Manatee County Homeless Coalition, said one day she looks forward to people living downtown and walking to shops and cultural events.

Diane Shelly, executive director of ArtCenter Manatee, said the goal is to create a vibrant downtown that becomes a hot spot for visitors and residents.

And the day is coming, she said, when residents will "live, work and play down here."

"It's an exciting opportunity," said Janene Witham, development director for the Manatee Players, a community theater.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080604/NEWS/806040415/1003/NEWS0102

Hyatt Regency Sarasota upgrades facilities
Monday, June 9, 2008 - 3:17 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Business Journal

The Hyatt Regency Sarasota has nearly completed spending $22 million to upgrade the hotel.

Among the changes, according to a release, are a new overall design scheme that features Florida colors, renovated guest rooms with new carpet, bedding and flat-screen TVs, an added 2,000-square-foot meeting space and a remake of the hotel's signature restaurant, Currents.

The remaining phase will include transformation of the former Boathouse restaurant to over-the-water event space and a renovation of the Sarasota Ballroom. That phase will be complete by the end of 2008.

Global Hyatt Corp. has more than 750 hotels and resorts (more than 140,000 rooms) in more than 45 countries. The company's affiliates own, operate, manage and franchise Hyatt-branded hotels and resorts under Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Resorts, Hyatt, Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites brands, as well as the company's newest global luxury brand, Andaz.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/06/09/daily5.html?surround=lfn

Neighbors OK waterfront park plan

The Plan (http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080614/GRAPHICS02/317905013/1661)

By Zac Anderson
Published Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 7:07 a.m.

OSPREY — The first major new waterfront park developed by Sarasota County in years will have three fishing piers, two boat ramps, room for 55 boat trailers and the blessing of neighbors who initially opposed the plans.

RELATED NEWS:
»Blackburn Point park plan | GraphicsIf all goes well, construction on the 15-acre park on Blackburn Point Road could begin late next year, parks officials said Friday.

The park is symbolic, and county leaders are closely monitoring its progress.

The Blackburn Point land was the first in a series of waterfront properties acquired during the real estate boom to counter diminishing public access to the water.

On Friday, parks officials updated county commissioners on the plans, which initially drew intense criticism from neighbors who worried the park was too large and would jam roads and disrupt the quiet community. More than 200 Osprey resident jammed a recent workshop to protest.

By incorporating the neighbors' input on parking, increasing buffers, and moving the children's playground, Parks Director John McCarthy turned their criticism into praise Friday.

"We're pleased they took the neighbors' design and worked with it," said Diane Pick, whose home is only a few feet from the park's southern boundary. "We do feel like they're finally moving in the right direction."

However, Pick is still concerned that 55 parking spaces might bring too much traffic onto narrow, two-lane Blackburn Point Road and too much noise to her neighborhood.

She also worries about the environmental impact boaters will have on the Intracoastal Waterway, where she routinely observes dolphin and manatees from her back porch.

McCarthy said the environmental issues will be fully vetted during the state and federal permitting process, which begins this summer for the boat ramps and piers.

Commissioners unanimously praised the revised park plan Friday, calling it a valiant attempt to balance the concerns of neighbors with the need for more boating access.

"I think it's really nice," said commissioner Nora Patterson. "I followed all of the concerns from citizens. I think it answers them, short of just making it a passive park."

There are more than 22,000 registered boats in Sarasota County and about 16,000 moorings. Residents without a boat dock or marina slip must vie for the limited parking spaces -- between 500 and 600 -- at the 12 Sarasota County parks with boat ramps.

McCarthy said Blackburn Point is the first Sarasota County park purchased to expand boater access to the water.

"This is really without precedent and it's all because the public said they wanted more access to the water," he said.

The park is expected to cost between $3 million and $4 million. Money for the project will come from the 1-percentage-point sales tax reauthorized by voters last year, and is not affected by budget cutting.

On Friday, Osprey retiree Ron Buettner watched as snook, sheepshead and mullet swam in the Intracoastal near the future park. Kayakers paddled nearby as a Sarasota couple ate lunch at a picnic table.

"This is a nice place," Buettner said. "I'm glad more people will be able to enjoy it."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080614/NEWS/806140366/1661

My opinion that after looking at the UPGRADE at the Hyatt the other day is that

it's STILL a rather OLD facility, even though they did a very nice job....but the rooms

are 'okay' but the corridors or course still have those god-awful LOW-azz, dated

ceilings, and a very closed-in feel, even to the newly done rooms.


I thought it was stupid to close the boathouse, and the bar, etc.....it brought

a lot of the 'locals' in for lunch, and cocktails on the weekends, etc.....but a

a little birdie told me that the owners and management were hell-bent on

dissuading 'the bar/boathouse' reputation and attempting to expang it's

'convention and meeting business'.......I further understand that some of the

asshole residents at the Marina suites, 888, and 988 and especially Beau Ciel right

next door to the Hyatt, were lobbying the Sarasota Police to 'ticket' some of the louder

but expensive 'go-fast' boats that come in to dock, drink and eat at the Boathouse

on the weekends........that's where I know I used to bring my boat in almost

every weekend...........but when you have condos STARTING at 1 million dollars

right next door to the Hyatt, at Beau Ciel, all bets are off with respect to 'influence'....





Some azzholes on Longboat NOW are complaining about the possibilty of

negative traffic effect of the new WALDORF plaza planned right near the Hyatt

at US 41 and BLVD of the Arts !!


I love SRQ, but some of this crap is stupid and parochial to say the least

Live-music lounge eyed for downtown

By Roger Drouin
Published Friday, June 27, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Friday, June 27, 2008 at 4:35 a.m.

SARASOTA — A downtown restaurant owner filed paperwork with the city to open a live-music lounge at The Plaza at Five Points in a space that sat vacant for about 10 months.

RELATED NEWS:
»Proposed Five Points Lounge map | GraphicsAlex Amaro, owner of Sangria Tapas Bar, and Stan Lee plan to spruce up 1413 Main St., the restaurant that housed The Grape wine bar until it closed its doors last October.

The new owners expect to open Five Points Lounge by the beginning of 2009, said planning consultant Pam Truitt.

Amaro and Lee filed paperwork for a permit Thursday morning. The permit process for opening a bar takes several months, and the City Commission has final say on the application. The city's planning board could review plans as soon as July.

Amaro said he came up with the idea for a live-music lounge after patrons at Sangria asked about places they could go after dinner to listen to live music.

Amaro, whose father ran a nightclub, is planning live blues and jazz music on weeknights, techno dance music on Fridays, Latin music on Saturdays and a comedy show on Sundays.

He said drink prices will be reasonable. "I'm not going to charge $14 for a martini," Amaro said.

The bar will be open until midnight from Sunday to Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday, plans show.

The owners are expected to host live music inside the bar on some nights from 8 p.m. to midnight.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080627/NEWS/806270307/1661

Airport hotel project to break ground
By SARA KENNEDY
skennedy@bradenton.com


MANATEE --Ground-breaking may take place as soon as Thursday on the first phase of the $100 million SRQ Innovation Green LLC project at the airport, officials said.

The long-delayed mixed-use project calls for two hotels, 200,000 square feet of office and retail space and a 150-seat restaurant, said Eric Collin, executive vice president for Finergy Development Group, LLC, of Sarasota, the project developer.

The project is slated for 7.8 acres at University Parkway and Airport Circle, near the south entrance to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

The first phase includes a $7.2 million Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, which is expected to take 10 to 12 months to complete, said Collin at a meeting of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, which oversees the airport.

"We're anxious to get started, we can't wait," said Collin. The project has been delayed years by planning and permitting snags, changes in developers and federal requirements, since the airport is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The company was on the verge of completing arrangements for a "performance and payment bond," to ensure that the job is completed if for some reason the developer cannot finish. The authority board last month insisted on a performance bond after Finergy officials said they had not been able to secure one.

The project's general contractor is Firmo Construction, the construction arm of Finergy Group, its architect is Keith Bullock, of Spencer Maxwell Bullock Architects, P.A., of Pensacola, and the land planner is Allen Parsons, of WilsonMiller, Inc., of Sarasota, said Collin.

The 108-room hotel joins a pair of new hotels going up near the airport. Facing the Innovation Green site is a new Hyatt hotel already under construction, while a new Holiday Inn is under construction on the east edge of the airport, on the grounds of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Convention Center.

"We're very happy to see they've got everything ready," said Rick Piccolo, SRQ's president and chief executive officer. "As you look at what's going on you're reaching critical mass of all these hotels."

"More and more, it's a business component, It'll help in attracting more business," he said.

The authority board was scheduled to meet Monday, but three members were absent, so it lacked a quorum and could not take any official action. Absent were Leslie Wells, Kathy Baylis and Paul Sharff; attending were Jack Rynerson, Eric Robinson and John Redgrave.

The meeting was continued to 1 p.m., July 9.

Sara Kennedy, Herald business reporter, can be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 4500.

¼

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/711318.html

Just about the only project that has signs of life anymore.

Deep pockets send Hyatt skyward
$100 million fractional ownership resort has funding and buyers
By Aaron Kessler
Published Monday, July 7, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Monday, July 7, 2008 at 5:36 a.m.

SIESTA KEY — - At a time when most new condo projects in Sarasota are on ice, and new construction as a whole is hard to come by, there is one notable exception these days out on Siesta Key.

The $100 million Hyatt Siesta Key Beach, a "fractional ownership" resort scheduled to open next year, is moving ahead at full speed, after clearing its remaining permits last month. Cranes and bulldozers are at work at the beachfront location, the site of the former Sea Castle resort. The 44-unit project is set to go vertical within a matter of weeks, with the goal of completing the new building by next summer.

Meanwhile, the project has won over its first actual buyers, with several contracts now signed, sealed and delivered. At its newly decked-out downtown sales office at Fruitville Road and U.S. 41, Hyatt just completed work on a model unit to help give those buyers and future ones a taste of what they will be getting for their money.

So how is the project able to move forward while others circle the bowl?

The answer, as it almost always does, comes down to one thing: money. And lots of it.

While most condominium projects are dependent on presales to finance construction -- in many cases 40 percent to 50 percent of units must be sold to secure construction funding -- the Hyatt "fractional ownership" project already has all the money it needs to start building, thanks to Hyatt, the developer Triton and the deep pockets of the Carlyle Group. (As a partner, Carlyle is providing a yet-undisclosed portion of the funding, but with more than $58 billion in assets around the world, it is not hurting for cash.)

David Lehrman, who is heading Hyatt's local sales team for the project, said the construction money already is in place and, what's more, the sales contracts that have already been signed do not get mixed in with those funds.

"We don't use a penny of that money for the construction," Lehrman said of the 20 percent deposits buyers have put down with their contracts. "It all goes into escrow."

But with no need for those deposit checks, there is nothing to stop the construction from proceeding despite the economic downturn in the area.

"We are putting up all the money up front," Lehrman said. "So we believe this will be successful."

He said the goal for selling out all of the shares is four years, but that the developers are making a push to sell as many units as possible right from the get-go. The cost of a six-week segment ranges from about $250,000 to $750,000, with three-week segments available during the summer months as well at a reduced cost. Lehrman said a number of incentives have also been put in place to help prime the pump on the new project.

"We're very pleased that we've had our first contracts now," he said.

Lehrman was a little coy when it came to just how many sales have been completed ("I prefer not to get into statistics," he said), but he did reveal an interesting fact about the makeup of this first crop of buyers.

"The majority of them are local," Lehrman said.

The fact that buyers who already live in the Sarasota-Bradenton area are stepping up to purchase vacation units on the beach shows that Hyatt's marketing strategy, which had specifically targeted those buyers in recent months, is bearing fruit thus far.

How is the company convincing locals to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend a few weeks in a place just a stone's throw away?

"It's all come down to the Cabana Club," Lehrman said, referring to the high-end beach club and spa that will be the centerpiece of the new resort. "There'll be nothing like it on the key, and maybe nothing like it in Sarasota. So a purchase at the resort gets you into the club all year round. That's been very attractive to certain people."

In other words, the actual time spent "vacationing," for example, during your three-week share, may not be the deciding factor -- but rather the ability to come to the beach club on a regular basis throughout the entire year is what Hyatt is counting on to draw locals. So far, anyway, it seems to be winning over some buyers.

The project is also going after people who are not locals, per se, but who live within a few hours driving distance of Sarasota. One of the new buyers falls into that category, although he hardly needed much convincing.

Chuck Girk, of Land O' Lakes, said when he first heard Hyatt was building a Siesta Key vacation resort, he picked up the phone. "They didn't need to call me to make a pitch; I called them," Girk said.

He already knew a thing or two about Hyatt's other "vacation ownership" projects -- he owned shares at four others.

"I wound up getting in on the first one they ever did down in Key West," Girk said, adding that after that 1995 purchase he found he was trading the unit for one in Colorado each year so he and his wife, Donna, could go skiing.

So when Hyatt opened a vacation club in Breckinridge, he bought one there, too. And then later, he bought another one in Beaver Creek, Colo.

"I thought, if skiing is really what we enjoy, we might as well just cut to the chase and buy one out there, rather than keep trading for it," Girk said.

He later topped that off with one in Puerto Rico as well, although he said he normally trades the Key West and Puerto Rico units for something else every year, or lets Hyatt rent them out for him.

Girk said he was contemplating buying a fifth share in a Hyatt property, and looked at the Naples area as one possibility. But when he heard about the Siesta Key project, he picked up the phone.

The next thing he knew, he and his wife were headed down to Sarasota for a visit. They liked what they heard and saw. Not long afterward they became the first owners in the Hyatt Siesta Key Beach -- buying a three-week slot in August for somewhere north of $200,000.

"It'll be an enormous amount of space, right there overlooking the Gulf," Girk said. "I figured, it doesn't get any better than that."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080707/REALESTATE/807070435/1537/BUSINESS

^^^^ yeah I read that about the HYATT fractional offerings

Frankly, I think that sounds like marketing HYPE a bit...

First, why would the locals here 'want' to buy a fractional

ownership in the development just to 'use the facilities' ?? that's

crazzzzzy...............


Second, if you're a local you know you can BUY many many

re-sale and BRAND NEW condos OUTRIGHT and don't deal with

a fractional ANYTHING !


I would never buy a 250,000 fractional, when I can buy a host of

nice condos, villas (perhaps not on Siesta...but who cares ?...you can drive

there !), for 200 to 225 !


Heck there are even some new carriage homes on Clark for

UNDER 200, 000 that they can't give away right now !!



The Hyatt development is nice, but compared to 100%

fulltime ownership, you can get more bang for the buck

under these downturn conditions !

Work begins on mixed-use SRQ project
Posted on Friday, July 04, 2008

MANATEE -
Officials held a brief ground-breaking ceremony today as work began on the first phase of the $100 million SRQ Innovation Green LLC mixed-use development at the airport.

The first phase includes a $7.2 million Hampton Inn & Suites hotel, which is expected to take 10 to 12 months to complete, according to Eric Collin, executive vice president for Finergy Development Group, LLC, of Sarasota, the project developer.

The long-delayed project eventually will include two hotels, 200,000 square feet of office and retail space and a 150-seat restaurant. The site is at University Parkway and Airport Circle, near the entrance to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

"We're real pleased to see the ground-breaking happen," said Rick Piccolo, SRQ's president and chief executive officer, who attended the event.

Jobs ETC moves office

BRADENTON - Jobs ETC has relocated its Bradenton office at 1112 Manatee Ave. E. to 3526 Ninth St. W.

Jobs ETC is a local employment office that offers job placement and training services. For more information, visit www.jobsetc.org or call (941) 714-7449.

- Herald staff

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/719372.html

Palmetto condo faces foreclosure
By DUANE MARSTELLER
dmarsteller@bradenton.com


PALMETTO --Manatee County's record flood of foreclosures now is threatening to swallow nearly an entire condominium building.

An Alabama bank is seeking to foreclose on The Palms of Riviera Dunes, claiming a Venice developer defaulted on $23 million in loans used to construct the 12-story building at 501 Haben Blvd.

Regions Bank also is seeking a court-appointed receiver "to see that the condominium property is protected from waste," according to the foreclosure suit filed Thursday.

"The defendant, Waterford Palms (at Riviera Dunes LLC), does not have the financial capability of seeing that the condominium project proceeds forward while maintaining the costs associated with running the common areas of the condominium project," the suit states.

The bank's attorney, Karen Maller of St. Petersburg, declined to comment on the case Monday. Michael W. Miller, Waterford's president, did not return a telephone message left with his office.

According to the suit, Waterford took out an initial $3 million loan in April 2005 and a $20 million construction loan in November of that year. The lender was AmSouth Bank, which later merged with Regions.

Both loans were due in full on May 9, 2008, but Waterford has failed to pay, the suit contends. Waterford has not yet responded to the suit, which presents only one side of a legal dispute.

Waterford initially planned two buildings of 58 units each, but completed only one before the local condo market slumped. That building is largely empty, with only 14 units having been sold, according to public records.

Regions is seeking to foreclose on the entire building and the land it sits on with the exception of those units.

Also named as defendants are several contractors who have filed liens against the property, alleging non-payment. The bank also named a dozen contract buyers who never bought their units as defendants because they might claim an interest in the property.

The suit was the 2,695th foreclosure action filed in Manatee County Circuit Court this year, which already has surpassed last year's record number of filings.

The Palms is the second condo project in Manatee to face foreclosure. Wells Fargo is seeking to foreclose on the proposed Riviera Southshore site along the Manatee River in Bradenton, contending the developer defaulted on almost $23 million in loans without doing any construction. A judge has ruled for the bank, but a foreclosure sale has not been set.


Duane Marsteller, transportation and growth/development reporter, can be reached at 745-7080, ext. 2630.

http://www.bradenton.com/business/story/724238.html

Man it never ends. I guess we are making up for all of those years of perfect growth in the early 2000's.

Palm Avenue garage-hotel project fizzling?

By Rick Barry
The latest incarnation of a decade-old effort to redevelop a city-owned lot on North Palm Avenue - this time for a trendy new hotel, upscale shops, condos and most importantly for the city, a 670-space, mostly public parking garage - appears to be falling apart.

But the deal is not crumbling because of aesthetic disagreements on the façade of the proposed, moderately priced aloft (small A) hotel planned for Phase I of the project, or the proposed location of parking spaces designated for public use. (The city wants them on the lowest floors; the developer sees many of them on higher floors.) It's threatened by a far more prosaic negotiating impasse:

Money.

And not just the differences in how much each side is willing to pay for infrastructure improvements. (The city has offered to pay about $77,000; the developer states the city's share must be in excess of $800,000.)

In the developers' recently proposed Purchase and Lease Agreement, they state the city must pledge title to its land they'll be leasing beneath their project so they can obtain a favorable mortgage. If they do that, and default on the loan, the lender would take ownership of the city's Palm Avenue property.

City Attorney Bob Fournier adamantly recommends against the city's assuming such a huge financial risk, especially in this difficult market. The developer has indicated it's a deal-breaker.

A lender's being unable to claim the land beneath the project would give it little leverage in foreclosure. Further, having no title could make it exceedingly difficult for the developers to obtain construction loans, require them to spend far more cash on the project, or cost them a whole lot more in financing charges - or all three.

The dilemma is outlined deep in a lengthy May 27 memo from Fournier to the city commissioners.

By leasing the land, the developers, Buck/Leiter Palm Avenue Development LLC - a partnership of two development groups - would save major cash outlays upfront that the outright purchase of the multi-million-dollar tract would require, Fournier points out.

Then he notes, "The developer's draft of the ground lease would allow it to obtain multiple mortgages without the prior consent of the city, and would not [even] enable the city to review and approve the form of the mortgage prior to execution and recording, but would require the city to execute any mortgages obtained by the developer.

"I have objected to such an arrangement from the outset," Fournier wrote, "believing that the developer should obtain a leasehold mortgage in which the [lender] was not granted a security interest in the underlying land," but would allow the lender to obtain a lease in its name or in the name of a substitute tenant upon foreclosure.

But, said Fournier, "These suggested provisions are not acceptable to the developer, who has indicated that it requires the city to [forfeit] its ownership interest in the land to the lien of the developer's mortgages," thereby pledging public property as security for a private debt.

Not only is this patently inadvisable from a fiscal and public policy standpoint, Fournier states, it is quite likely illegal.

Such a deal would appear to violate provisions of the Florida Constitution that prohibit the state, as well as its cities and counties, from lending "credit to aid any corporation, association, partnership or person," he wrote.

His final recommendations will be given to the city commission at a special meeting on Thursday, July 17.

The city attorney also expressed concerns that the developers' agreement includes new indemnifying provisions whereby the city pledges, in effect, to co-insure the developer against litigation losses. Additionally, according to Fournier's reading of recent court rulings, it would all but waive any limitations and protections afforded the city by its immunity as a government body.

"Yes, there's a chance this could all fall apart at this point," Fournier said, "if we can't reconcile these matters ... which doesn't seem to be happening. And the developer says it won't work otherwise."

If that happens, said City Commissioner Kelly Kirschner, no fan of the proposal or the developers' repeated attempts to bully the commission, "We'll just land bank it and wait for another day."

Sarasota developer Matt Leiter declined comment, saying only that, "Negotiations are continuing. We'll probably know more in the next couple of weeks."

http://pelicanpress.org/main.asp?SectionID=130&SubSectionID=225&ArticleID=5334

Thank god something goes right with Sarasota. They made the right choice, even if it does mean the traffic gets much worse. Turning down or significantly reducing a $1 billion project would have been insane.

$1 billion Proscenium project gets go-ahead

By KEVIN L. McQUAID

Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 1:41 a.m.
SARASOTA - Casting aside future traffic concerns on U.S. 41 downtown, the City Commission on Monday narrowly voted to tap a never-before used local law that will allow the planned Proscenium project to proceed.

In adopting plans for a Hospitality Regional Activity Center and a "proportional fair share agreement" for the planned $1 billion real estate development, commissioners opted for jobs and tax revenue over fears of congestion.

Proscenium, with office space and shops, more than 200 upscale condominiums and an 800-seat theater, is expected to generate roughly $2.8 million a year in property taxes and house more than 1,000 workers -- though many will likely come from existing office users -- when completed in 2011.

"This project is absolutely unique," said Commissioner Ken Shelin. "It's going to move us in a direction we've been saying we want to move downtown."

By designating the area an activity center, Proscenium -- an 18-story tower designed to be anchored by a 225-room, Waldorf-Astoria luxury hotel -- will avoid lengthy and costly state review.

Advocates for sending the Proscenium plans to the state said additional transportation analysis would be helpful, despite the anticipated $2 million cost to the developer.

With a proportionate fair share agreement -- a law adopted by the city in 2006 but never used -- city officials are waiving existing "concurrency" standards that measure roadway ability to absorb development.

The developer's $7.8 million in road improvements would fund only a fraction of a traffic consultant's estimated $43 million that will be needed in the wake of Proscenium's construction.

City staff did not outline where the balance of the money for the traffic improvements would come from.

In both the activity center and fair share votes, the commission approved proposals 3-2, with votes against cast by commissioners Richard Clapp and Kelly Kirschner, both of whom were elected on slow-growth platforms in response to waves of development and perceptions that developers received favoritism.

"My concern is the details we don't know," said Kirschner, adding he considers Proscenium a "great project." "I worry we're not going into this with eyes wide open in terms of financial feasibility."

Under the new rules, Proscenium developer Lion's Gate Development Group will pay $16 million -- $7.8 million for road and intersection improvements and $8.2 million to fund operation of a SCAT-operated downtown circulator -- to the city.

But in recommending the proportional fair share shift away from concurrency review, city officials acknowledged that traffic will increase.

"We're admitting traffic will get worse," said Susan Montgomery, a Sarasota traffic planner. "It has to; this is a big development on a crowded road."

Proscenium is expected to generate 17,000 new trips daily upon completion.

Under existing rules regarding traffic, the six-acre Proscenium would fail concurrency review. Without the fair share agreement, Proscenium would have to be scaled back by two-thirds.

Added to concerns is that much of the traffic improvements rely on unfunded, loosely planned mass transit.

Officials from both the city and Sarasota County acknowledged that the Lion's Gate contribution would not fund capital costs to buy buses, trolleys or other equipment.

Questions also remain over the size and placement of the hospitality center.

In addition, the commission unanimously approved a proposal that would allow Lion's Gate to shift some of the costs of infrastructure to eventual condo, office and retail shop owners.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080722/ARTICLE/807220366/2055&title=_1_billion_Proscenium_project_gets_go_ahead

City to pursue land swap for Sox

By Roger Drouin

Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 2:42 a.m.
SARASOTA - There were three cheers for the Red Sox as ballpark boosters extolled the estimated annual $47 million economic impact from the team and commissioners voted unanimously to move ahead with a complex three-way land swap to set aside prime land for a 10,000-seat spring training stadium.

Craig Skeim, a consultant with a firm that specializes in economic studies and planning for sports stadiums, gave a presentation that indicated the Red Sox would bring $22 million more a year to the local economy than the Cincinnati Reds.
THE STORY SO FAR:
Since April, Sarasota officials have been talking to Red Sox executives about moving the team's spring training from Fort Myers to Sarasota.

The preferred site for a new baseball stadium is the fairgrounds on Fruitville Road.

WHAT'S NEW:

City commissioners voted 5-0 to move forward with a three-way land deal that calls for moving the county fair to Twin Lakes Park, building a new baseball stadium for the Red Sox at the current
fair site and turning the property now housing Ed Smith stadium into a
sports complex.

The estimated cost for the plan is $80 million. Local officials will also look at backup sites to build a stadium.

Heading into Monday night's City Commission meeting, Commissioner Ken Shelin called a ballpark for the Red Sox a "golden goose."

Despite all the euphoria at City Hall, a deal to get the Sarasota County Fair Board to move from Fruitville Road to land at Twin Lakes Park has bogged down.

City and county officials working on the deal say time is of the essence, but the Fair Board members say they do not want to be rushed into making a hasty decision without assurances that the fair will not suffer.

While city and county officials say the deal they are offering the fair -- $13 million for operating expenses, 40 acres at Twin Lakes, plus extra room for parking during the 10-day fair -- is still possible, they are focusing on alternative sites.

"Once we have a site and a funding plan, we'll take the next step," said City Manager Robert Bartolotta.

The city manager said several other sites are possible -- including the current site of Ed Smith Stadium and an area on 10th Street and Central Avenue where a cement plant and other industrial buildings sit.

Once the city has a home for the stadium, Bartolotta expects talks will intensify and the city will approach the Red Sox with an exclusivity agreement that would bar the team from negotiating with other communities, most importantly Lee County, where the Red Sox have trained for 15 years.

"They want to see an offer," Bartolotta said.

Even if the fairgrounds site on Fruitville Road does not work out, Shelin said he is confident city officials can find another location for the ballpark.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something," he said. "There has got to be a series of options, and I am sure some of them have not had any visibility yet."

Craig Skeim, a consultant with CSL Inc., a firm that specializes in economic studies and planning for sports stadiums and arenas, gave a 15-minute presentation showing how 65 percent of people at a game would travel to Sarasota and spend millions at hotels and restaurants.

According to the CSL report, the Red Sox would bring $22 million more a year to the local economy than the Cincinnati Reds, who have played spring ball in Sarasota since 1998.

The Red Sox would pack the stadium, bringing New Englanders who would stay in hotels and eat at restaurants and create 630 jobs here, the study concluded.

Baseball fans who travel to Sarasota from outside the area would spend an average of more than $100 a day here, the consultant reported. CSL estimates that Red Sox fans would contribute about $500,000 every year to county sales and hotel taxes.

"We looked at team spending in the local economy in Fort Myers," Skeim said. "We also looked at money spent by fans. The biggest part of that is money spent outside the stadium."

Shelin said the study results prove to him how important it is to lure the Red Sox to Sarasota.

"If we can increase revenue and job opportunities, it looks like the stadium is turning out to be the golden goose," Shelin said.

Siesta Key resident Roberta Berson was one of about 30 residents who went to the meeting to show support for the Red Sox and see what city commissioners decided.

"This city would be crazy not to want the team here," said Berson, a Boston native.

Elsie Souza, head of the pro-baseball group Citizens for Sox, said 4,000 residents signed a petition in support of bringing the team here.

"The brand Boston Red Sox equates in the sports world to a Fortune 500 company," Souza said.

About a dozen people spoke at the meeting in favor of the ballpark.

Others have questioned whether throwing big money at the Red Sox makes sense.

Roger Kathman is one of the residents who do not want to see the county fair moved to Twin Lakes Park, which is currently home to Little League baseball, soccer fields and a playground.

Kathman, who did not attend the meeting, is worried the land swap would displace youth fields.

"Go down there on a Saturday and there are hundreds of people there involved with all those games," said Kathman, whose son played Little League and grandson now plays ball at Twin Lakes Park. "And they want to throw that all away."

Rob Ferguson, director of sales at Homewood Suites on Fruitville Road, told city commissioners that a quick survey of 25 hotel owners in Sarasota-Bradenton area showed hoteliers were open to an increase in the bed tax to help fund the stadium. The local tax now stands at 4 percent in Sarasota County.

"Other cities pay more," Ferguson said after the meeting. "Memphis pays something like 8 cents."

The bed tax rate is set by the Sarasota County Commission, and could be raised to five percent, bringing in an estimated $57 million that could be used for a baseball stadium.

The Herald-Tribune is owned by the New York Times Co. The Times has a 17.5 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox, and 80 percent of New England Sports Network, a cable network that televises Sox games.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080722/ARTICLE/807220338/2055&title=City_to_pursue_land_swap_for_Sox

Proscenium's secret? Momentum

By KEVIN L. McQUAID

Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 6:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 6:22 a.m.
SARASOTA - Three years ago, Sarasota was flush with real estate projects that promised to bring an abundance of well-heeled residents, upscale retail choices and new entertainment venues.

The waterfront Sarasota Bayside project slated to replace the Sarasota Quay, as well as the greatly expanded Bank of America tower downtown and the Pineapple Square development, among others, would generate millions of dollars in new tax revenue each year.

Just as importantly, taken together the developments -- collectively valued at more than $2 billion -- would allow the city to achieve the urban potential many have long believed possible.

Today, though, amid a worldwide credit crunch, a historic U.S. housing downturn and statewide budget tightening, only one major commercial real estate endeavor in Sarasota shows any momentum: A sleeper with an odd name that was not even conceived when some of the other development giants here were planning to sprout.

The Proscenium's forward progress appears to be one of the key reasons a trio of city leaders sloughed off traffic concerns and stiff-armed a state development of regional impact analysis of the nearly $1 billion project on Monday.

"We're really at significant risk downtown," Commissioner Ken Shelin said, in voting in favor of the project.

In endorsing Proscenium's plan to form a special hospitality district that avoids lengthy state review, commissioners recognize that Proscenium has -- at least for now -- staved off the economic inertia that has stalled other real estate projects.

It is the same reason they voted to tap a new set of traffic rules that ignore existing standards, and will result in Proscenium paying just $7.8 million of the $43 million in road improvements a city traffic consultant recommends.

Money is a driving factor. With fewer tax dollars flowing into city coffers, Sarasota leaders are scrambling to find revenue.

In that regard, commissioners are viewing Proscenium -- to be anchored by a Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and a Nederlander Worldwide performing arts hall -- as a sort of white knight for the moribund local real estate market, and with good reason.

If it receives final approvals and financing, Proscenium will provide some 5,000 construction jobs. When completed in 2011, it would generate nearly $3 million in annual property taxes from office space and 211 condominiums and more windfall from a bevy of restaurants and retail shops.

"It's vitally important we consider all this, instead of trying to bury every great idea because we don't have it all set," said Commissioner Fredd Atkins.

But not everyone is thrilled.

"I have a lot of concerns about this," Commissioner Richard Clapp said in voting against the project on Monday. "It's a really good-looking project, but the devil's in the details."

Proscenium developer Lion's Gate Development Group Inc. contends that the market's poor performance may be an asset.

"Our timing is probably good to the extent that the soft market is helping us," said Gary Moyer, Lion's Gate president. "Because the city is probably more sensitive to economic concerns than they were two to three years ago."

Other major, mixed-use real estate projects have not been as lucky.

Irish American Management Services' $1 billion plan for the former Sarasota Quay has been mired by a reliance on condos and by design revisions.

Pineapple Square, meanwhile, has struggled to land residential buyers for its property at Lemon Avenue and State Street.

At the same time, the planned Bank of America expansion, with a 17-story hotel, condos and revamped office space, has also fallen victim to the area's downtown.

But Proscenium, which first surfaced in January 2007, remains viable.

"The key to whatever success we've had, so far, have been our end users," Moyer said. "We're talking about a couple of jewels with Waldorf-Astoria and Nederlander."

He remains convinced, too, that time is on Proscenium's side.

"The best time to start a commercial real estate project is right now," Moyer said. "Most projects begin when the market is hot. But really, you should do just the opposite: Start in the trough, so that you're completed and come on line when the market begins to pick up. We believe we'll have product available when no one else will."

To that end, Moyer says more announcements could be forthcoming in the months ahead, including a business that could rival the buzz that initially surrounded Waldorf-Astoria.

He declined to offer more details.

"We could have one hell of a surprise."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080723/ARTICLE/807230435/2055&title=Proscenium_s_secret__Momentum_

^^
Good thinking, genious commissioners.
A little more traffic over mass unemployment.
Maybe they had the scare of God put into them by this dreadful economy.
Anyway, I'm glad that the council has come to their senses and work to lure development, instead of discourage it.

Good to hear the Proscenium folks willing to move forward.
I suspect everything else is "on hold".

Payne Park a new player in Sox talks

By Roger Drouin

Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 1:39 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 1:47 p.m.
SARASOTA - City Manager Robert Bartolotta revealed plans Thursday to build a new Red Sox stadium where Ted Williams used to hit home runs every spring.

HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE
A view of the Sarasota City Trailer park and Payne Park with its baseball stadium in the year 1937.
RED SOX STATEMENT

Statement from Mike Dee, Chief Operating Officer, Boston Red Sox:

"Officials in Sarasota have made us aware of new potential sites for Red Sox Spring Training facilities. While we have yet to review and study these new alternatives, we appreciate and are encouraged by the ongoing effort of both the elected officials and community leaders to collaborate on a plan that addresses our criteria – to provide the ultimate Spring Training experience for our players and for our fans. We will review and evaluate these new ideas immediately and we expect to engage in further dialogue with the City and the County in the near future. We will comment in greater detail at that time."

Of all the places to put a stadium, the most recent plan to build a ballpark on the edge of Payne Park is the best shot Sarasota has to lure the Red Sox here from Fort Myers, Bartolotta said. Red Sox spring training was held in Payne Park for years before 1958, when the team moved its spring operation. For the past 15 years, Red Sox spring training has been in Fort Myers.

Ballpark plans released Thursday outline a new 10,000-seat stadium at Payne Park — partly in the park and partly on 1.2-acres of land under contract. City and County officials have been working over the past month to secure an option to buy the land facing U.S. 301 and say they expect close on the deal in September.

If the stadium were built at Payne Park, the team's practice fields would be a mile away at Ed Smith Stadium.

“That is the primary site right now,” Bartolotta said about Payne Park. “I like the idea of having a central park and baseball in one place and people being able to walk to downtown. Rather than just a stadium for spring training, we can revitalize that part of downtown.”

City and county officials are excited about the prospect of Payne Park, where they say there is enough room to integrate the stadium — which has a five-acre footprint — onto the edge of a park that is within walking distance to downtown shops and restaurants.

A Red Sox executive wrote in an e-mail statement to the Herald-Tribune that the team will review the latest plans.

Mike Dee, chief operating officer for the Red Sox wrote: “While we have yet to review and study these new alternatives, we appreciate and are encouraged by the ongoing effort of both the elected officials and community leaders to collaborate on a plan that addresses our criteria — to provide the ultimate Spring Training experience for our players and for our fans.”

Another plus of building a stadium in the city’s core is it would be close to existing parking garages and, conversely, any new parking spaces at the stadium would be available for public use the rest of the year, Bartolotta said.

Payne Park has been popular among residents jogging, walking, playing tennis or using the skate park. The park recently underwent a $9 million renovation earlier this year.

County Commissioner Joe Barbetta was quick to say there will be meetings with neighbors and park users before officials build a stadium there.

“We do not want to impact the park — that is a community asset,” said County Commissioner Joe Barbetta. “Initially there might be some opposition if the public thinks we are taking away from the park. This is strictly adjacent to and complementing the park.”

Bartolotta said a quick survey by city and county officials showed the stadium would fit at several spots along the edge of the park.

“We have taken a template and moved it around,” Bartolotta said.

The most visible location would be a stadium on the northwest corner of the property with an entrance off U.S. 301. That would likely require tennis courts to be relocated.

City and county officials stress that new courts would be build elsewhere in the park.

Bartolotta said the next step is a multi-day planning process, called a charrette, before deciding where at Payne Park to build the stadium.

“We don’t want everyone in a panic,” Bartlotta said. “We are going to try to have a charrette process to tie it all together.”

There is even a possibility of extending the Legacy Trail along a vacated railroad line that runs east of Payne Park.

“On one end is baseball and the other end is Venice,” Bartolotta said. “Imagine that.”

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080814/BREAKING/55353318/2055/NEWS&title=Payne_Park_a_new_player_in_Sox_talks

What the old Payne Park used to look like back in the day.
http://images.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20080814&Category=BREAKING&ArtNo=55353318&Ref=AR&Profile=2055&MaxW=250&border=0

Project gets 2 more years in Sarasota

By Roger Drouin

Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 1:30 a.m.
SARASOTA - The developer of the Pineapple Square project downtown received a two-year extension from the city Monday that gives the developer time to wait out the sluggish real estate market before starting construction.

Pineapple Square Properties LLC applied for the extension in June after a marketing campaign in the United States and overseas failed to bring it enough sales contracts to secure funding for the project.

John Simon, CEO of Pineapple Square Properties, a division of Isaac Group Holdings, said the developer has finished construction plans and is ready to break ground once enough units are sold.

Condo units are selling for $370,000 to $1.2 million.

"Literally the day after we sell enough units we can start construction," Simon said.

The extension allows the developer to wait to build the 157 condos and two floors of office and retail space in a 13-story tower. However, if the developer wants to shift plans and add a hotel -- as discussed with city officials this year -- the project would have to go through the approval process again.

Eventually, the developer plans two phases of construction resulting in two towers, one 10 stories and one 13 stories, 276 condominiums, up to 35 retail shops and 350 public parking spaces.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080812/ARTICLE/808120344/2055&title=Project_gets_2_more_years_in_Sarasota

Ritz-Carlton looking to grow by half

By Kevin McQuaid

Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 4:37 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 at 4:55 p.m.
SARASOTA -

The city’s poshest hotel could also become its largest in the next two years.

The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota has filed plans seeking to add 119 rooms.

Building on its status as a destination for superior service and a magnet for wealth, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota is considering expanding its number of rooms by nearly half, to 385.

Under a plan being developed by the four-star resort’s Wichita, Kan.-based owners, the local Ritz-Carlton would add up to 119 rooms, a preliminary filing with the Florida Department of Community Affairs shows.

Sarasota’s largest hotel is now the Hyatt Regency, with 294 rooms.

“It indicates the definite consideration our ownership group has made in investing in this project,” said Ritz General Manager Jim McManemon of the expansion.

If the addition goes through, it also would speak volumes about the depth of wealth in Sarasota and the hotel’s acceptance by both locals and travelers alike, despite Southwest Florida’s moribund economy.

By contrast, when it opened in November 2001 — in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., that crippled domestic travel — the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota was slow to attract a high volume of visitors. To lure guests, room rates were slashed far below expectations.

The expansion now would also serve as a preemptive strike against a proposed $1 billion development with a Waldord-Astoria hotel near the Ritz-Carlton set for completion in 2011. If successful, the Proscenium could cut significantly into the Ritz-Carlton’s luxury hotel monopoly.

The majority of Ritz’s new rooms — 104 — would be housed in a new, 10-story tower to be constructed in the back of the existing 17-story hotel, sketches by Atlanta architectural firm Milton Pate Associates submitted to the state show. Another 15 new rooms would come from converting a fitness center on the second floor of the hotel and space on the eighth floor.

Ritz-Carlton owners SLAB LLC also intend to reconfigure existing 464-space parking and add 130 new spaces.

SLAB hopes to complete the entire renovation and expansion by the end of 2010.

In all, SLAB would likely invest roughly $75 million, based on industry and construction costs estimates.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080827/BREAKING/808270219/2055/NEWS&title=Ritz_Carlton_looking_to_grow_by_half

A future of fast bus trips?

By Dale White

Published: Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 12:02 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY -

Bus service in the Sarasota-Manatee area is a slow process of stop and go, stop and go, stop and go.

On many routes, bus stops are only a block or two apart, so whenever a passenger wants on or off, the bus halts -- slowing the journey while holding up traffic behind.

So Sarasota County Area Transit is exploring the idea of an express bus service with fewer stops and a lot more go. In the lexicon of transportation planners, it is called "Bus Rapid Transit," or BRT.

Miami, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and numerous other cities include some form of BRT in their transit service. The newly formed Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, which includes representatives from Sarasota, Manatee and five other counties, is examining BRT as a component in a transit network that could include light rail and other methods of getting commuters across county lines.

The express buses, often hybrids, are supposed to be more convenient and comfortable than conventional buses -- and all try to transport people faster.

In Sarasota County, the express buses would not replace existing bus routes. For example, Route 99 -- a joint venture with Manatee County Area Transit for commuters on U.S. 41 between Palmetto and downtown Sarasota -- would remain intact.

The idea, SCAT Executive Director Anthony Beckford said, is to boost accessibility and use of buses by giving some passengers a faster option.

On Sept. 24, SCAT will ask the Sarasota County Commission to submit an application for a federal grant to kick start an express bus line. The transit agency will also ask the commissioners to select a route.

Although they hope the express buses will eventually reach Sarasota Memorial Hospital and other destinations to the south, and industrial workplaces in Manatee to the north, the proposed first link would be between the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus on U.S. 41 and the Lemon Avenue transfer station in downtown Sarasota.

SCAT initially considered four north-south routes for the express: U.S. 41, an existing railroad corridor, Old Bradenton Road and U.S. 301.

It narrowed its recommendations to two: U.S. 41 and the unused railroad right of way just east of Old Bradenton Road.

The Sarasota City Commission is weighing the pros and cons of each route, and will be asked to make a recommendation on Sept. 15.

Commuters now wait up to an hour for buses along U.S. 41. Express buses would arrive at stations every 15 minutes.

Some BRT systems, such as the one in Los Angeles, have buses three to five minutes apart.

Yet the U.S. 41 route, which could cost nearly $59 million for all the highway enhancements needed, and the $69 million railroad route, for which the rail line would have to be acquired, differ in many respects.

Sarasota City Commissioner Kerry Kirschner says express buses could foster positive change for the North Tamiami Trail and attract more college students and hotel guests as passengers.

Beckford, the SCAT director, warns that the U.S. 41 route could be more disruptive.

"The construction would basically shut 41 down. I don't see the merchants liking that very well."

City Commissioner Ken Shelin noted that the rail route would be closer to working families' homes and get them to downtown jobs faster.

Yet commissioners Kirschner and Dick Clapp worry about the rail route's potential impact on the neighborhoods flanking it. Clapp said some low-income residents might be displaced if SCAT buys land for bus stations and parking.

Newtown resident Mary Mack initially expressed concerns about the railway route to city commissioners. Having been assured that it would not replace existing bus service, she says she now thinks it could be a benefit. "It's better than putting it on U.S. 41 or 301," she said.

Jetson Grimes, a longtime booster of Newtown economic development, says the rail route could be a catalyst.

"It would truly be a plus," Grimes said. "Newtown is in economic redevelopment mode, and it can help accelerate that process.

"Right now, Newtown is isolated. This would be an asset that opens up Newtown to the rest of Sarasota."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080907/ARTICLE/809070340/-1/newssitemap

Longboat Key Club changes renovation plans
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 6:26 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Business Journal

Reacting to local opposition, the Longboat Key Club and Resort has scaled back its major expansion plans.

Original plans called for a $500 million renovation, including a new hotel, condo towers, luxury homes and 28,000 square feet of meeting space. There was concern among the neighbors that the scale of the project was too large for the island, creating potential traffic headaches and blocking water sightlines for neighboring properties.

After extensive talks with town officials, island residents, club members and community leaders, a compromise was reached and plans were changed to invest $400 million instead.

The new hotel will be scaled back to an 8-story building, 196 rooms and 34 condominium residences instead of 10 stories, 222 hotel rooms and 51 condos.

A new luxury town home area, Villas on the Pass, will now include two buildings with a total of 10 units instead of five buildings with 30 units.

The two golf club condo towers will be reduced from 10 stories to nine and from 168 units to 132.

Instead of 28,000 square feet of meeting space, there will be 20,000, including 17,000 square feet in the new resort meeting center and administration offices.

Next up is a review by the planning and zoning board and then on to the town commission early next year for approval.

The resort’s plan closely follows Longboat Key’s 20-year vision plan adopted in 2007, said Katherine Songster, public relations manager for the resort. In the vision plan, town officials wrote in a desire to preserve the island’s historical tourism base, maintain the viability of retail businesses and upgrade aging commercial structures.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/09/29/daily43.html?surround=lfn&brthrs=1

Not surprising, it was probably too big to begin with. Longboat Key has a single 2 lane road and this project was going to put a lot of pressure on that.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=726114
Please visit this thread and VOTE.

Proscenium approved by a unanimous vote

By Roger Drouin

Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 1:10 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 1:15 a.m.

SARASOTA - Backers of the downtown Proscenium project highlighted its eye-popping numbers and their lawyers said the $1 billion mix of shops, office space and condominiums would be an "economic engine" as city commissioners prepared to cast a deciding vote Monday night.
Related Links:

* Proscenium project map | Graphics

The possibility of creating 5,000 construction jobs and 1,600 other jobs weighed in the developer's favor as city commissioners voted unanimously to approve it.

Opponents of the six-acre development -- which would include a Waldorf-Astoria hotel and a performing arts center -- warned that it would generate enough traffic to choke already busy U.S. 41.

The city's attorney has warned that, if built, it would create the need for $28 million in road improvements that are not being covered by the developer.

But commissioners were swayed by the other set of numbers: Economic impacts like $3 million annually in property tax revenue and thousands of jobs.

"This project is what Sarasota hopes to be," said Commissioner Ken Shelin.

Commissioner Kelly Kirschner, who had voted against it in the past, called it a "jolt in the arm" for the local economy and changed his vote, noting that he still had major concerns about traffic.

Commissioner Fredd Atkins called it "another fantastic opportunity to do something."

The plans include 300,000 square feet of office space and 211 condominiums. Lion's Gate President Gary Moyer said he hopes to be building by next spring.

The economic impacts were also compelling to some of the project's neighbors.

"It is a game changer," said downtown resident John Moran, president of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association. "We downtown residents are already here. We want noise. We want crowded sidewalks. We want crowded streets."

Herb Waltzer, who lives near the project designed for property along U.S. 41, said it would give a much-needed economic boost to the Rosemary District.

"It would bring jobs, commerce and economic growth for the city," Waltzer said. "This economic growth would give Sarasota something more than beaches and great weather."

Dan Lobeck, a lawyer representing a resident opposed to the project, focused on the 17,000 daily car trips that would be added to U.S. 41.

Lobeck pressed the developer's lawyer and architect, saying they were not answering his questions. On two occasions, the mayor told Lobeck to step down from the dais after he continued to ask questions beyond the time allowed.

In a recent memo to city commissioners, City Attorney Bob Fournier concluded that construction of the Proscenium would trigger the need for $28 million in road improvements that are required by the state.

That is in addition to the $16 million that Lion's Gate Development has pledged to bring nearby roadways up to state standards.

Lobeck said the development would be the most traffic-intense project ever built in Sarasota, and residents would have to foot the bill.

Dan Bailey, a lawyer representing Lion's Gate Development, countered that the city would be required to make most of the six intersection improvements on U.S. 41 or Fruitville Road whether or not commissioners approved the Proscenium.

Great news. The project seems like a total package deal and that hotel chain very posh indeed!

Now on the traffic thing. I'm guessing they're building this near the SR 41/Fruitville Rd, am I correct? Can't say what other options they can do for it. If they didn't put the medians on Cocoanut Dr., I would had suggested making SR 41 a one-way street going south and than make Cocoanut Dr. a one-way going north. Don't know if that would piss people off since it probably cost $$$$$$ and it would involve removing the median, which I'm guessing is pretty new?

Great news SDK4, but much better news will be to see them actually proceed with construction. We need some folks to show confidence in the future to get us out of this economic implosion. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

True, I'm praying this project makes it out of the ground. What makes me think it will even in these tough economic times is the financial backers this project has. The Waldorf Astoria name attached to the Proscenium has given it some serious pushing power in what amounts to a very poor market.

In other news in case anyone was wondering, I would officially declare the Sarasota Bayside project dead. It will never happen in the current economic market (which will continue for at least another year) because of the amount of condos that were included in the project. The developer, Patrick Kelly, was supposed to have submitted new plans 6 months ago and I can't find anything to indicate he has. It's going to be an eyesore for years to have that giant empty lot sitting on the most prime piece of downtown real estate.

SARASOTA - A developer is asking for about $40 million in city and county funding to build a conference center, hotel and parking garage in the heart of downtown.
Related Links:

* Proposed conference center | Graphics

Githler Development Inc. is pitching the project as an economic generator that will bring people to town during the time of year when few tourists come.

The proposal comes after 10 years and four failed attempts by the city to entice a developer to build on the 2.2 acre parcel at Main Street and Palm Avenue.

Some city and county commissioners say they want proof the investment of tax dollars is worth the cost.

In addition to $15 million in city funding, the developer is asking for $22 million to $25million in the county's hotel tax dollars.

County commissioners voted Tuesday to clear the way for talks between county and city about Githler Development's project -- or any other proposal for a conference center.

County Commissioner Jon Thaxton said he is in favor of initial talks, but will review any specific projects "with a discerning eye."

"The fact is they don't make money," Thaxton said of conference centers. "And they want government money to build one. Someone has to show me where the benefit is."

A 30-page presentation sent to city officials highlights an estimated $22 million-plus annual impact from the conference center -- which would be about twice as large as the most spacious meeting space currently in the city, said Andy Dorr, senior vice president of Githler Development.

"We would expect 50,000 to 70,000 new business travelers coming to Sarasota," Dorr said. "And if they are here for a few days, they will spend $800."

The developer's concept calls for an 80,000- to 100,000-square-foot conference center, a 280-room Embassy Suites Hotel, 24,000-square-feet of retail and a parking garage with 800 to 1,000 spaces.

Serious talks are unlikely to take place until negotiations with the Baltimore Orioles are wrapped up.

A project for a new spring-training stadium for the Orioles could use up to one-fifth of the hotel tax, limiting the funding available for other projects.

City Commissioner Dick Clapp said if a conference center project does not work out soon, he wants to see the city move ahead with a public parking garage on the land.

"It is time to deliver on our promise to get public parking in downtown Sarasota," Clapp said. "Every time we get caught up in one of these public-private partnerships -- and it doesn't work -- we have to start all over again."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081211/ARTICLE/812110397/2055/NEWS?Title=Developer_seeks_funding_for_Sarasota_conference_center

http://shimg.ny.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20081211&Category=ARTICLE&ArtNo=812110397&Ref=AR&Profile=2055&MaxW=600&border=0

Proscenium project is back on track

By Kevin McQuaid

Published: Friday, February 6, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 6, 2009 at 7:03 a.m.

SARASOTA - In the wake of a proverbial high-stakes poker game last month, the developers of the planned $1 billion Proscenium project downtown have entered into new sales contracts with landowners.

The new sales pacts means that Proscenium, which was in jeopardy of derailing in December after developers balked at paying more than $1million in extensions to land owners, remains viable.

The agreements also make Proscenium and its centerpiece 225-room Waldorf-Astoria hotel one of the few major commercial real estate projects in Florida to thus far withstand both the withering economy and the global credit crisis.

"The sellers are pleased that they are back under contract," said John Patterson, a Sarasota attorney who represents several land owners. "As far as whether the difficulties we had were necessary, I'd say, no, they were not necessary, but they were understandable, given the situation."

Under the new deal with the land sellers, who control 18 separate parcels on seven acres around 400 N. Tamiami Trail, sales are expected to close on Feb. 27.

Proscenium's developers, a partnership between local Habitat for Humanity Chairman Zeb Portanova and an Atlanta private equity firm, will pay roughly $70 million for the seven acres -- a premium price that will likely drive up the cost for residential and commercial space.

As a result, Proscenium's 211 condos will likely be priced at $1 million and above, and its office and retail space at double the current market rate -- figures that have left many real estate observers baffled as to who will buy the space.

It was the premium land prices -- combined with seven-figure extensions that had been pledged -- that caused the Proscenium's Atlanta partner to balk. In an e-mail to sellers, Portanova said the group felt it was "completely unreasonable" to pay the extension.

Instead, Proscenium allowed sales contracts to lapse, a proposition that could have derailed the project with a single holdout. Negotiations for new contracts began shortly after the new year.

Portanova largely declined to comment on the project's status or future, including when Proscenium might begin construction.

"I can confirm we are back under contract," he said this week. "But I'm not prepared to say anything else. The less press Proscenium gets in the next couple of months the better for all involved."

The developers have yet to establish a sales center or file required condominium documents with the state in Tallahassee.

In addition to the hotel rooms and condos, the 18-story Proscenium is envisioned to contain more than 400,000 square feet of office and retail space, and 1,600 theater seats.

Developers have said previously they expect to complete Proscenium by the end of 2011.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090206/ARTICLE/902060323/2055/NEWS?Title=Proscenium_project_is_back_on_track

Area leaders unsure of idea to fund a conference center

By Roger Drouin

Published: Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 6:58 a.m.

SARASOTA - Two developers with competing plans are pushing for up to $50 million in public money to build a conference center that the business community has wanted for years.
Related Links:

* Two proposed developments in downtown Sarasota | Graphics


Click to enlarge
Corvus International provided this preliminary computer rendering of their proposed hotel and conference center. in the Rosemary District. The hotel, left, would border Fruitville Road. The conference center, right, would be north of the hotel along Lemon Avenue.
Corvus International

Some business leaders say a new conference center could be a more effective tourism generator than spring training baseball.

But local elected officials -- who balked at paying $60 million to $70 million for spring training facilities for the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles -- are hitting the brakes before the bandwagon gets rolling.

"That makes the Orioles look cheap," said County Commissioner Shannon Staub after hearing about Githler Development's proposal, which includes $42 million to $47 million in funding from the city and county.

The conference center crowd points to the defection of several conventions that used to be held in Sarasota -- including an optometrists' convention, and an annual gathering of airport directors, as proof that there is a market to be tapped.

They say a conference center could bring visitors all year around, while baseball lasts just a month. And chances are, some of those visitors will like Sarasota and buy second homes here, they say.

But the tourism tax money the developers want could also be tapped by local governments for beach renourishment and other projects, and elected officials say the conference center is a big risk.

"There are only two or three profitable conference centers, and they are in Orange County and Las Vegas," said City Commissioner Kelly Kirschner. "There needs to be an awareness that this will need a constant subsidy or that the developer will take on that cost."

City Commissioner Dick Clapp said he is reluctant to set aside millions for a conference center.

"I told them off the bat the city is not in a position right now to commit funding -- either capital or operating -- to a conference center," Clapp said.

County Commissioner Nora Patterson said she would consider the possibility of setting aside a portion of the county's hotel tax for a conference center, but $50 million "is an awful lot."

City commissioners are slated to discuss the proposal Feb. 17, and county commissioners could talk about funding at a future date.

Palm Avenue proposal

Eileen Hampshire is tired of looking at the empty parking lot at Palm Avenue and Main Street.

When she heard about Githler Development's proposal for a conference center, hotel and retail shops, Hampshire became a supporter.

"In this town there is no will to stay committed to something like this," said Hampshire, shop owner and president of the Palm Avenue Merchants Association.

"This is the heart of the city and we need to get the heart pumping," Hampshire said.

Andy Dorr, senior vice president of Githler Development, estimates the conference center would bring in 50,000 to 60,000 business people in the summer and fall, when tourism ebbs.

The proposal comes after 10 years and four failed attempts by the city to entice a developer to build a parking garage on 2.2 city-owned acres at Palm and Main.

Githler proposes to build an 80,000 to 100,000-square-foot conference center; a 280-room, 11-story Embassy Suites Hotel; 24,000 square feet of shops and a parking garage with 800 to 1,000 spaces, some of it public parking.

The developer wants $30 to $32 million from the county -- mostly from the tourism tax charged at hotels, the same fund that would have paid for the bulk of the stadium. They are asking for another $12 to $15 million from the city, including money set aside to build a parking garage on the Palm Avenue site.

The conference center would be built atop five floors of parking, with a concourse opening to two balconies with a view of Sarasota Bay.

Dorr says downtown Sarasota is the ideal spot to attract small business conferences, and says this conference center would be a moneymaker.

"There are lots of poorly located centers in communities where they are not well run and are not natural tourist destinations. Sarasota is not one of those communities," Dorr said. "It is a treasure and known worldwide as a great destination."

Rosemary District proposal

Tim Morris, CEO of Corvus International, said a 300-room, 11-story hotel and 100,000 square-foot conference center in the Rosemary District would be a catalyst north of Fruitville Road.

"It is ripe for redevelopment," Morris said.

Morris is working with local businessman Mark Famiglio, who proposed a baseball stadium in roughly the same spot last year.

The development team owns some property and is putting together a purchase agreement for additional land between Fruitville Road and Fifth Street, in the city's Rosemary District. The 11-story hotel would face Fruitville Road, with the five-story conference center to the north of the hotel.

Morris points out that seven acres are available there, about three times as much land as on the Palm and Main site.

"The argument with the baseball stadium was it was a lot of money and would only be used a few weeks a year," Morris said. "A conference center would bring people throughout the year."

The developer is asking local governments to chip in $50 million to $51 million.

Rick Piccolo, president of Sarasota-Bradenton airport, wants to see one of the two proposals built. The cost is worth it for the additional flights bringing visitors to the area, he said.

Piccolo points out that the Cincinnati Reds are spending their last spring in Sarasota this year, leaving the community without baseball for the first time in decades.

"Hopefully this is something we can make happen," Piccolo said."When we lose baseball we are losing a few building blocks of tourism."

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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090207/ARTICLE/902070359/2107/BUSINESS?Title=Area_leaders_unsure_of_idea_to_fund_a_conference_center_#

^Not bad. The vine covered parking garage reminds me of South Beach.

Proscenium developer wants to move project across U.S. 41
HERALD-TRIBUNE ARCHIVE
A rendering of the original Proscenium project.

By KEVIN L. MCQUAID

Published: Friday, May 8, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 8:18 p.m.

SARASOTA - The developer behind the $1 billion Proscenium is in talks to shift the planned mixed-use project across U.S. 41, to vacant land at the former Sarasota Quay property, sources familiar with the discussions said.
Related Links:

If the negotiations with lender Anglo Irish Bank reach fruition on the property, Proscenium developer Zeb Portanova would abandon plans to build the 18-story, Waldorf-Astoria-anchored project on seven acres at 400 N. Tamiami Trail.

Portanova, in an interview Tuesday, said he and his Atlanta-based financiers would soon complete a transaction that would explain delays in acquiring the original property. He declined to elaborate.

Portanova has failed in seven attempts to buy the property for $70 million, beginning in May 2008. Portanova and financier Greencastle Asset Management, of Atlanta, do not now have the land under contract of sale.

Neither Portanova nor Will Schlotthauer, his attorney at Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getson, responded to telephone calls or e-mails for comment about the potential Bayside acquisition. An Anglo Irish official in Boston declined comment. Greencastle has refused to answer questions on numerous occasions.

Irish developer Patrick Kelly said he is not participating in any talks to sell the Quay property he had planned to develop as Sarasota Bayside.

"I'm certainly not talking to them," Kelly said of Portanova and his partners. "That doesn't mean that others aren't talking to various people, but I don't know."

Bayside, a $1 billion development designed to contain four 18-story towers with 700 condominiums, 150 luxury hotel rooms, office space, high-end retail space, restaurants and a public piazza, has stalled amid the Southwest Florida real estate slump.

Kelly told an Irish court in mid-March that his financial obligations exceed his available funds. With the inability to repay debts, Kelly said he is contemplating bankruptcy protection.

He has roughly $100 million in debt on the Quay land, a 15-acre waterfront tract acquired in early 2004. Today, it is valued at roughly $25 million.

Anglo Irish, meanwhile, was taken over by the Irish government in January, after lending billions of dollars in real estate loans that have soured.

With Bayside, Portanova would obtain a larger slice of land, possibly for a fraction of the $300-per-square-foot price Proscenium's current tract would cost.

Bayside also would give Proscenium -- slated to contain 225 hotel rooms, 1,600 entertainment seats, 300,000 square feet of Class A office space and a small retail mall -- a direct waterfront view, an amenity the landlocked 400 N. Tamiami Trail lacks.

"The Quay site is on the water, west of U.S. 41, with downtown bayfront zoning, so it would appear to be a superior site," said John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co. Inc., a Sarasota commercial real estate firm.

But shifting Proscenium also would have drawbacks. Portanova has invested more than $10 million to date buying portions of land and providing purchase option money to sellers to lock in a deal. He has also spent heavily on legal fees, architectural renderings and other costs.

Portanova still faces a foreclosure lawsuit filed last month by Cadence Bank N.A., for failing to repay a $3 million loan obtained to acquire Proscenium land. Portanova personally guaranteed the loan, court records show, which is now racking up interest at 18 percent.

Portanova's attorneys have yet to respond to the lawsuit, Sarasota County Circuit Court records show, and the developer declined Tuesday to discuss it.

Meanwhile, moving the project to the former Quay land would not erase the present lack of market demand for new seven-figure residences, or an abundance of upscale offices and shops.

"There's still the question of the validity of the condos and 300,000 square feet of office space," Harshman said, noting that the downtown Sarasota vacancy rate has climbed to 12 percent, up from 3 percent in 2005.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090508/ARTICLE/905081019/2055/NEWS?Title=Proscenium-developer-wants-to-move-project-across-U-S-41

"Today, it is valued at roughly $25 million" - that is a joke - it may not be $100 million but it is certainly more than $25 million

The project is going no where. It's dead in the water, and I'm pissed. I know the economy is bad but I was hoping one of them would happen and it looked like the Proscenium had a great shot.

I would say this officially nails the coffins shut...

Proscenium developer claims force of nature caused loan default
Saying the downturn is a force of nature that led to a default

By KEVIN L. McQUAID

Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 11:54 p.m.

SARASOTA - The developers behind the Proscenium say an act of God caused them to default on a $3 million bank loan.
Related Links:

Among a half-dozen defenses to a foreclosure lawsuit filed by Cadence Bank, the partners described economic conditions in Southwest Florida as a "force majeure," a French term in contract law that frees borrowers from repayment obligations if extraordinary events like hurricanes or earthquakes -- acts of God -- occur.

It is a defense that literally thousands of homeowners and holders of commercial property would likely love to make and have succeed, but there is no indication -- to date -- that Southwest Florida's courts are equating the economic downturn with a natural disaster.

Combined, the "force majeure" and "the most dramatic economic depression in American history" blocked progress on the 18-story hotel and entertainment project, Proscenium Development LLC and related entities said in a May 20 response to the foreclosure suit filed in Sarasota County circuit court.

"Defendants should be excused from their default, if any, due to the force majeure," the response said.

Those defendants include Proscenium partners Zeb Portanova, New York hotel consultant Allen Ostroff, Gary H. Moyer and Karen Cook and a development company they control, and Naples-based Orion Bank. Moyer and Cook contend that Portanova has indemnified them from the lawsuit.

Neither Portanova nor his attorney responded to requests for comment. Andrew Rosin, Cadence's attorney, declined comment and referred inquiries to the bank.

Cadence filed an eight-count foreclosure lawsuit in April, after the developers failed to repay a $3.03 million loan borrowed to buy a slice of land on Cocoanut Avenue for the potentially $1 billion project.

The land, part of a seven-acre tract beginning at 400 N. Tamiami Trail, had until this month been slated for the Proscenium. But the partners were unable in seven months to finalize that $70 million land deal.

Earlier this month, contract termination notices for the larger tract were publicly recorded, formally ending negotiations.

Earlier this year, Portanova and his financial partners, who are based in Atlanta, began talks to acquire a 15-acre site across Tamiami Trail that had been slated to become Irish developer Patrick Kelly's Sarasota Bayside, another mixed-use project.

If built as proposed, Proscenium would include a 225-room Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, an 800-seat Broadway-style theater, upscale office and retail space, and 211 luxury condominiums.

But the foreclosure suit remains a thorny issue. Portanova, in particular, signed a personal guarantee to repay the Cadence loan, which matured in late February and is generating roughly $1,500 in default interest each day. To date, the default interest is about $125,000.

Proscenium's defense may be a difficult one. The developers said the default on the loan came after "the most dramatic economic depression in American history struck."

Most historians and economists consider the Great Depression, which began with the huge stock market decline of October 1929, to be the most severe economic collapse in U.S. history. More than 9,000 American banks failed, U.S. unemployment topped 25 percent and consumer prices fell 60 percent.

By comparison, fewer than 100 U.S banks have failed since 2007, while unemployment nationwide stands at 8.9 percent nationally, and consumer prices have actually risen in many sectors.

For "force majeure" to apply, Proscenium's developers will have to show they had nothing to do with the occurrence of the event; that the event was completely unpredicted; and that the event was unpreventable, legal sources show.

If the Cadence lawsuit follows the path of most foreclosures, the bank will seek a summary judgment from the court within a few months. If that is approved, bank officials would schedule a foreclosure auction on the land this fall.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090527/ARTICLE/905271045/2117/REALESTATE?Title=Proscenium-developer-claims-force-of-nature-caused-loan-default

To be honest I'll take any new development we can get downtown, but I highly doubt this gets built. The guy putting his neck out as developer is at least a pretty well respected man in this community, so that should help.


New idea puts Quay back in play
SARASOTA - From the ashes of two failed real estate deals, a local investment group is proposing a new plan to redevelop the former Sarasota Quay property.
Related Links:

CMR Bayside Associates LLC's plan for the 15-acre downtown tract includes resurrecting the long-discussed idea of building a multi-use municipal center -- one that could house events ranging from high school graduations to minor league hockey games.

Along with a roughly 8,500-seat arena, CMR Bayside would develop a hotel of roughly 250 rooms, enough retail space to fill a mall, and in time, residences.

"This is the last, significant and undeveloped downtown piece of land," said Mark Famiglio, a longtime Sarasota developer and managing member of CMR Bayside. "From the standpoint of people coming here, to a multi-faceted facility, they want to be, it should be, on the waterfront. So the site holds promise."

CMR Bayside now has until Thanksgiving to study the site under a contract signed Wednesday with Anglo-Irish Bank plc, the government-seized Irish lender that now controls the property.

If it elects to go forward, CMR Bayside -- a group that also includes developer Chuck Madden, restaurateur Burton "Skip" Sack, former Rooks Morris Real Estate co-owner Bob Morris and others -- would pay roughly $40 million for the land.

"We're pragmatically looking at every aspect, given the deteriorated economy," said Famiglio, who also is president of the Sarasota Film Festival, co-chair of the Van Wezel Foundation, and founder of CopyTalk, a Manatee County company that employs about 800. "But we're especially sensitive to the importance of the property to the city."

Details remain scant at this time. CMR Bayside intends in the weeks ahead to brief Sarasota County and City of Sarasota officials; meet with potential hoteliers, including Marriott Corp. and Hilton Hotels Corp.; and work to line up retailers, multi-use center operators and commercial tenants.

Madden said several National Hockey League affiliates have "expressed interest," though none has committed. His group also has had talks with operator Global Spectrum about managing the conference, concert and arena space. CMR Bayside hopes, too, to partner its hotel with local beachfront and golf amenities, and possibly IMG Academies, in Bradenton.

"I don't want to make any promises until I know what may happen there," Famiglio said.

Under a tentative plan for its multi-use center, CMR Bayside would contribute Quay land. The city or county, or both, would then construct the building, at an estimated cost of about $65 million. CMR, in turn, would hire a professional operator with the pledge that no public subsidy would be requested.

In most cases, conference centers and municipal centers require annual -- and perpetual -- seven-figure subsidies for operation and marketing.

But even without an operating subsidy, any government participation is likely an uphill climb.

"There's not $65 million worth of revenue or financing capacity available for that now," said Sarasota County Administrator Jim Ley. "It's a tough time for good ideas. There are a lot of hurdles in the world now."

CMR Bayside's proposal comes on the heels of a government commitment of more than $30 million to the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, which will hold spring training in Sarasota beginning next February.

Virginia Haley, president of the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the glut of both meeting space and hotel rooms nationwide make financing new properties and attracting business difficult.

"The financing picture has never been this dismal for new hotels -- ever," Haley said. "And some communities have found that while getting multiple uses out of one building makes sense, programming is a lot harder than they first think it will be."

"Sarasota has a real build it and they will come mentality," Haley said. "But for something like this, you need a sales force. Placing ads isn't enough."

Madden, who previously worked on DVA Sports' failed attempt to construct a hockey arena in Lakewood Ranch, counters that unlike various conference center proposals pitched over the past 25 years -- for the Sarasota County Fairgrounds, Siesta Key or elsewhere -- the former Quay is the "right location."

He points to a February 2004 study by consultant Convention, Sports & Leisure International, which concluded the Quay land would be the best site for a municipal center, because it is close to existing amenities and hotel rooms, downtown and other tourist venues.

CMR Bayside's plan follows two ambitious but timing-challenged plans for the former Quay.

Irish developer Patrick Kelly planned more than 700 residences, hotel rooms, office space and retail in a trio of 18-story towers there beginning in early 2004.

But his plan fell apart amid the worldwide economic recession and real estate glut, after Kelly amassed roughly $100 million in debt on the property.

Developer Zeb Portanova briefly tried this spring to move his Waldorf-Astoria-anchored Proscenium project to the Quay, but that deal collapsed because of a lack of financing.

But Madden says he sees those projects' failures as an opportunity for Sarasota: "This is a defining moment, because we have a clean sheet of paper to work on."

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20090911&Category=ARTICLE&ArtNo=909111047&Ref=AR&Profile=2107&MaxW=600&border=0

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090911/ARTICLE/909111047/2107/BUSINESS

Every spec of new news about projects is just to announce new court cases on bankruptcy filings. This town is dead development wise. Really sucks.

A lot of the projects are just on hold. Wal-mart on University Parkway is going to start it's expansion in a month or so. There are some developments also on University next to I-75 and next to the Airport but mainly they are just hotels. It's sad, I'm used to seeing multiple highrises at once.

They are in the process of numerous road upgrades and Extensions. There's the Honore Avenue Extension, and the Fruitville Road facelift and widening east of the interstate.

The old people are Sarasota's greatest asset next to the natural beauty of the place, but they sure know how to kill any sort of party vibe downtown or at Siesta Key Village. The county and city are enforcing stupid noise ordinances that don't allow live music to be played after 10pm. What decent club hits its peak before then? All the people who could help make downtown hip head to Ybor City in Tampa.

I don't expect Sarasota's scene to compete with South Beach, but there's so much potential if the city leaders took a more tolerant attitude and realize not everyone came here to go to bed before 9pm.

I'm going to post pics soon of some of the downtown projects soon. I tried to take pics Thursday afternnon, but a bad thunderstorm thwarted my efforts.

New Police Headquarters!
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs416.snc3/25071_1238739651269_1312616106_541691_5508323_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs416.snc3/25071_1238691370062_1312616106_541599_5755193_n.jpg

It has been a long 4 years since anything this big was proposed, and I honestly still don't believe it will happen, but I can get my hopes up right?
It would be huge because not only will it bring new hotel rooms, but there really isn't a "downtown" hotel. Sure there this the Ritz and the existing Hyatt, but they are secluded by US 41 and are on the bayfront which really isn't connected to downtown.


New Renderings
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20100420&Category=ARTICLE&ArtNo=4201020&Ref=AR&Profile=2055&MaxW=250&border=0

Current location on the right side
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18-story Hyatt eyed for Sarasota's Main Street

By Kevin McQuaid

Published: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:34 p.m.

SARASOTA - The owner of the Main Street building that houses Patrick's hopes to replace the iconic restaurant with a towering Hyatt hotel - a move that, if successful, would have tremendous repercussions for downtown for decades to come.

STAFF PHOTO / E. SKYLAR LITHERLAND

Plans filed with the city for the 18-story Hyatt Summerfield Suites are significant because they mark the first major real estate project that has been proposed for downtown in nearly four years.

But the 102-room hotel tower, which also would contain a restaurant, nearly 9,000 square feet of office space, parking and four residences, would also be striking for how it would affect downtown Sarasota.

That is because the owner of 1400 Main St., Harry Walia, is seeking city permission to construct the second of only two buildings allowed to exceed a 2003 downtown height limit of 10 stories - part of a settlement to a legal challenge of Sarasota's downtown master plan.

Walia is asking for the height exemption because his property falls into two distinct zoning classes - Downtown Bayfront and Downtown Core. Bayfront zoning, which covers half of Walia's property, allows 18 stories. Downtown Core caps height at 10 stories.

"We don't believe zoning is an issue," said Walia, who narrowly lost a bid for Venice City Council in November. "It's one property. So it's up to the city, and how they want to look at it. They can kill downtown, or try to make it vibrant."

The other exempted building, a 13-story structure planned for the First United Methodist parking lot on State Street as part of the Pineapple Square development, remains unbuilt.

Walia's plans closely resemble a proposal he submitted to the city in December 2006, when he sought permission to develop a 121-room InterContinental Hotel.

18-story highrise for Sarasota, awesome.

Looks good. Right in the core too.

I stayed at the Hyatt couple weeks ago and I know what you mean. The walk isn't terrible for me, a person who doesn't mind walking long distances, but it is inconvienant.

Hyatt on main will work out very well being the the Hyatt on the blvd of the arts is filled to 100%.

http://www.gspnet.com/showcasetwo/images/sarasota_rbt/01sm.jpg
The nine-story patient tower will link two existing towers, creating a connection between support services. The new tower includes medical and surgical patient floors, a labor and delivery unit, Level 2 & 3 NICU, and a new main lobby which consolidates the functions of reception, preadmissions testing, registration, and outpatient surgery entry and discharge. The new tower, due to be completed in 2012.

http://174.37.224.72/mfpblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/cepgone.jpg

http://174.37.224.72/mfpblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/courtyardtower.jpg

http://www.smh.com/mfpblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/blogpostPic.jpg

Been a long time since anyone has ventured in here. Wish there was something to talk about but other then the hospital finishing it's new tower, and maybe a new hotel downtown to connect to their new parking garage, the city is quiet.

From the SMH blog, taken 2 months ago.

http://www.smhcs.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-11-21-016-DorianPhotoInc.jpg

Also as part of a campus wide renovation, they have begun working rehabbing the old doctors building.

http://www.smhcs.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/MedArts1-5-12-001-1024x768.jpg

Palm Avenue Garage that opened over a year ago.

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http://www.sarasotagov.com/images/slider4.jpg

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Also finally, commercial development seems to be coming back, new Costco is being built in connection to the Sarasota Square Mall. A perfect location as the population spreads south down the coast and it will have the draw of the mall for customers. Great deal for both parties, opening this summer or early fall I believe.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=SH&Date=20120106&Category=ARTICLE&ArtNo=120109781&Ref=AR&MaxW=445&border=0

Also word on the street is the University Town Center Mall will finally get underway this year after a 3 year delay due to the economy. Great location next to Lakewood Ranch and I-75, the already constructed Super Target is doing very well there. A little apprehension though because Sarasota already has two big malls, one of which got a make over and the new Costco, and the other is looking to add a 2nd story and a rumored Apple Store soon. This one was supposed to be different because it would have high end stores like Neiman Marcus etc... but in this economy not sure they are part of the plan anymore. The east side of town needs a mall due to Lakewood Ranch, but not sure there is a huge demand for another "regular" mall if the big players don't arrive and the large open air town center across University Parkway in Manatee County already has decent stores. University Town needs something to separate itself.

http://o5.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/6c098933a20998616f2ebf08dad632e6

If a plan to renovate the Lido Beach Pool and Pavilion is approved, the pool could soon add a tiki bar, meeting and performance space, splash pads and a playground.

Lido Beach Pool Committee Chairman Carl Shoffstall presented Sarasota City Commission Tuesday with a proposed plan that could see those features and more.

The ad-hoc committee is charged with reviewing and recommending viable ways to keep the pool open to the public. The Lido Beach Pool became the city's after Sarasota County turned it over, saying the facility was losing $180,000 per year, but those numbers didn't include pavilion concession income.

Shofstall presented a combination of marketing plans, financial calculation adjustments to include the pool and pavilion as one operation, increased retail and merchandise, cabana rentals and more to make money.

"We want to at least bring this to a break-even deal," Shoffstall told the commission.

Here's what the construction timeline would look like for the plan pictured at the top of this story:



• 2012: Restroom Renovation, Tiki Bar

• 2013: Meeting Room and Catering Kitchen Upgrades

• 2014: Rental Pavilion, Small Stage Construction, Removal and Redesign of Roof at the Outdoor Plaza, Outdoor Plaza Hardscape Renovation (coral rock or more natural product/finish), Pool Area Improvements (Enlargement of Pool Building) and Splash Pad Area Plaza

• 2015: Meeting Room Garden Plazas Construction, Roundabout Construction and Parking Lot Reconfiguration

• 2016: Roof Enhancement (Standing Seam), Exterior Building Enhancements (Seal Stucco and Repaint-Modern Color Palette), Signage and Planting / Irrigation

Furnishings, playground and splash pad equipments are not included in the phasing and would be provided by the city, grants, donors or the concession operator, Shoffstall said.

City staff will come back with a plan and budget for the proposal, Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown said. There are monies for design and improvements in 2014, 2015 and construction in 2016 available, and there might be a chance to make some immediate improvements with current funds.

No cost was given for the plan, but the pool and pavilion are currently appraised for $424,000, and Shoffstall previously told Patch that about $200,000 is the maximum that could be spent on the facility.

The Benderson Park rowing center was spared budget cuts, it is going to be an amazing facility that will attract a lot of business once it gets running. The nearest comparable center will be in N. Georgia and even for a few months it can't operate. Benderson will be a huge boom for business.