Sarasota - Bradenton Development News

[smiley]

That would be this oddness:

[CBR3]

Well, it is "different." Not your med revival at least.

[smiley]

That is one way to look at it.

[Jasonhouse]

It kind of "slabby" looking. It also looks a bit "50's" to me as well.

[MisterFreddy]

Fate of Summerhouse remains unclear

STAFF REPORT

Sarasota Herald Tribune
November 6, 2004

SARASOTA COUNTY -- A developer's plan to save the historic Summerhouse Restaurant from the wrecking ball was rejected by the Planning Commission this week.

Agents for Snavely Siesta Associates said it would cost about $1 million to renovate the 1976 Siesta Key restaurant, which is cited as a prime example of the Sarasota School of Architecture.

In exchange for renovating and preserving the building, the developers wanted permission to build a 113-foot-high condo tower, 36 feet higher than the county's codes permit.

The developer wants to build two condo buildings totaling 45 units, and a parking garage on the nearly four-acre property north of Stickney Point Road.

They need the property rezoned so they can exceed the building height cap for one of the residential buildings.

But the board voted 7-1 to recommend denial of the plan to the County Commission, which has the final say.

Planning Commissioner John J. Fellin was against the denial, and Jody Hudgins recused himself from the discussion and vote.

In their objections, the Planning Commission said that the building's height is more important than saving the restaurant.


Last modified: November 06. 2004 12:00AM

[Jasonhouse]

In their objections, the Planning Commission said that the building's height is more important than saving the restaurant.

Like wtf? The commision wants to save this structure, but going 36ft taller is too much to ask? Gimme a break...

[smiley]

Article published Nov 6, 2004
Quay pushes back plans amid conference center talks

By Kevin McQuaid

SARASOTA -- Amid continued wrangling over whether to build a conference center downtown, the start of redevelopment at the Sarasota Quay has been pushed back until at least mid-2005.

When the waterfront property was sold in January, the demolition of the nine-story Quay building was scheduled by year-end, with construction beginning in earnest in 2005.

Quay principal owner Patrick Kelly now says construction on the 10.5-acre tract probably won't take place until next June or into 2006.

"We'd like to start in June, but as a practical matter, there's no certainty in that," Kelly said this week. "It may be 2006. But we're optimistic we're going in the right direction."

Kelly said the new timetable stems from the need to relocate Quay tenants, such as the Da Ru Ma Japanese restaurant, Boar's Head Provisions Co. and the Waterside Room, and to obtain city approvals.

The Dublin-based Quay owners, who are proposing as much as $1 billion in condominiums, stores and offices for the land, hope to file specific plans with the city before the year is out, Kelly said.

They also hope to incorporate a waterfront pedestrian walking area that would include the Quay, Hyatt Sarasota, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and condominiums and the Beau Ciel residences. Discussions with the properties neighboring the Quay are ongoing, Kelly added.

At least part of the delay can be attributed to the lingering discussions over whether -- and where -- to develop a conference center in Sarasota.

In January, a Sarasota County consultant concluded that the area could support a $65 million center containing as much as 200,000 square feet.

Proponents claim the project would create hundreds of jobs and steady the local tourism and hospitality industries, especially during slow times in late summer.

But city and county officials have seemed reluctant to commit to developing and operating a conference center that would require an estimated $650,000 in annual public subsidies to maintain, and even more in marketing and advertising.

Since February, city and county officials have held only a handful of meetings on the subject, and the question of whether to build it has, until recently, stalled.

The issue snagged again this week, when the Sarasota City Commission rejected a Quay proposal to swap a portion of its land for city property in Centennial Park.

"It's very discouraging," said Charles Githler III, a Hyatt Sarasota owner and conference center proponent.

Had the swap been approved, the city and county would have built the center at the Quay, and Kelly and partners would have developed residences in the park. City officials said they were uncomfortable with allowing private development on public property.

The commission rejection marked the second time this year that the city has rebuffed a Quay proposal regarding the conference center.

In the spring, city officials dismissed a proposal that would have allowed Quay buildings to go 28 stories -- 10 floors higher than city code allows -- in exchange for land for the center.

For their part, the Quay owners -- who once welcomed the conference center for the traffic and retail support it would provide -- say the city and county should look to the 40-acre cultural center, home to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and Municipal Auditorium.

"They have a fantastic site there," Kelly said. "But I don't know that Sarasota really wants a conference center. I'm surprised that if the city and county want it, they aren't doing more to achieve it."

Conference center backers, while acknowledging that the issue stalled over the summer, contend it remains a priority.

"I'm still very committed to it," said Tim Clarke, chief executive of Clarke Advertising and Public Relations. "I think the community needs it, and it would be a critical component to our economic development efforts."

But Clarke, Githler and others agree that the Quay remains the best site for the center, and they note that options are disappearing.

"People are making decisions that are closing doors to us, and it's understandable," Clarke said. "This community needs to make a decision and make it quickly, or it might have to spend a lot more money for a less desirable site."

"We've seen a lot of communities trying to support a conference center where the lifeblood is drained because it's either not in the right place or doesn't have enough nearby hotel rooms," said Virginia Haley, executive director of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau. "So it's a critical issue for us."

Faced with the perceived time crunch, momentum appears to be building again.

As early as Nov. 30, county finance officials may provide data on the projected economic impact of a conference center, together with anticipated costs and studies of other communities' facilities.

That work follows a pledge Thursday by the county's joint economic development and tourism board to make the center a priority in the coming year.

The city, too, intends to ramp up.

City Manager Michael McNees said he would pull together a "cultural district stakeholder group" to analyze what contribution, if any, Sarasota could make to the conference center.

"That way, we can either solve, or put to an end, the perception that there's city land available," said McNees.

Clarke hopes to involve the private sector to a greater extent as well. Early next year, he hopes to present to a joint meeting of the city and county commissions the recommendations of an ad hoc business committee.

Those recommendations are expected to include ideas on potential funding, parking and identify adequate sites, Clarke said.

And Kelly, too, remains cautiously upbeat.

"We'll help if we can," he said. "After all, it would be good for us, and good for the town. And I believe if the city really wants it on our parcel, it could be achieved. If there's a will, there's a way."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...411060461/1200

[Jasonhouse]

I think that Sarasota would be better served to pursue other ventures. There are conference centers all over the damn USA, and it is an extremely competitive industry, pitting taxpayers against taxpayers...

I think they would be better served pursuing things that others might not be. Provide incentives to emerging undustries, entice other forms of attractions to come to town, or just continue to enrich the local arts scene... Basically anything other than invensting millions in a highly risky proposition.

[renner01]

Manatee approves Perico deal

Holmes Beach commissioners will decide tonight whether to continue with the lawsuit

TIM W. McCANN

Herald Staff Writer

MANATEE - The Manatee County Commission officially approved a deal this morning to settle lawsuits with the city of Bradenton over its approval of a residential development for Perico Island. The deal, approved 5-2, lets developer St. Joe Co. build up to 686 condo units in high rises with waterfront views.

Tonight, Holmes Beach commissioners plan to decide whether to continue their involvement in the lawsuit against Bradenton.

County commissioners said they voted for the deal because they feared they could lose everything if the lawsuit went to court. Commissioner Amy Stein, who led the county's negotiations with St. Joe and Bradenton officials, said she based her backing of the deal on "harsh realism" and Commissioner Jonathan Bruce said, "I think we got everything we're going to get out of the deal."

The deal reduces the building height from 10 stories to seven stories along Anna Maria Sound, increases the height from 10 to 12 stories for two buildings facing Tampa Bay and increases the height of two of the three buildings facing Perico Bayou from seven to 10 stories. The county also has the option of buying part of the island not targeted for development for $6 million.

County Commissioner Joe McClash, who voted against the deal with Commission Chairwoman Jane von Hahmann, lampooned the city council for its approval of the development. McClash said the city ignored the will of the community and failed to include citizens in the approval process.

"We can't fault the developer," McClash said. "The city had the ability to say no."

After the vote, Bradenton City Councilman Gene Gallo, observing from the commission chambers, said the city entertained several public hearings. But in the end, the city legally had to approve the development because St. Joe met all the city's criteria.

"I think (McClash) was a little harsh," Gallo said. "I take it as an insult to our city."
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/10137985.htm

[renner01]

Crescent-Siesta Key condo is ready for construction

STAFF REPORT

SIESTA KEY -- With all but three of its 26 residences under contract, Crescent-Siesta Key is ready to begin construction. Demolition of the Crescent View Beach Hotel, 6512 Midnight Pass Road, is under way.

The beach-front property is being developed by Jae Heinberg, president of the Bella Vista Group Inc., who also developed Somerset Cay and Seagrove on Siesta Key.

Shanska USA Building Inc. has been selected as general contractor for the Crescent condominium. Clients in Florida include the Setai Hotel and Residences in Miami, Tampa International Plaza and the Wyndham Hotels.

Heinberg says he wants to enhance the beachfront of Siesta Key while retaining the charm of the picturesque island. The Crescent will strike a balance between outdoor beach living and cosmopolitan contemporary architecture.

Each of the 26 residences will have a unique floor plan with individual touches to enable owners to express personal styles. The remaining three residences are priced from $2.265 million to $2.91 million (the latter is a penthouse) for about 2,100 square feet. They feature Gulf views, high ceilings and clerestory windows. The project is scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2005.

For more information on Crescent, call Michael Saunders & Company at 312-0146 or toll-free (888) 673-9338.

[renner01]

Article published Nov 10, 2004
Condos offer what city wants, but …
Height is the problem with the proposal for more affordable units.

By Lisa Rab lisa.rab@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- Developer Wayne Morehead has proposed a condominium project that has almost everything the city wants: lower-priced housing above retail shops within walking distance of downtown.

But it's tall, and falls just outside the zone where the city allows tall condo towers to be built.

So it's become a test of how strictly the city will interpret the 4-year-old downtown master plan, which is supposed to be the road map for growth over the next two decades.

Morehead wants to remake a four-block swath of Cocoanut Avenue between Boulevard of the Arts and 10th Street with 374 condominiums and 89,000 square feet of shops and commercial space.

It's a project the Rosemary neighborhood association supports as a way to bring more residents to the up-and-coming area north of downtown.

But Morehead's plans for CityPointe Downtown Sarasota show eight buildings, some of which would be eight or nine stories tall.

Under Sarasota's downtown master plan, buildings on this section of Cocoanut Avenue are limited to five stories.

So city planners are advising the commission to reject a rezoning for the project, though it features the kind of mixed- use, downtown living they hope to promote.

"This is not easy, because there's a lot of things we like about this project," Sarasota Senior Planner Harvey Hoglund said.

Hoglund pointed out that the downtown plan calls for "small-scale, mixed use" buildings in the areas of the city that lie outside of the downtown core.

Most other buildings in the eastern section of Rosemary are one or two stories, and the city has not allowed them to be higher, he said.

Morehead doesn't see the problem.

He points out that the 16-story Renaissance of Sarasota condominium tower is just west of his proposed development, and the Sarasota Housing Authority's 11-story McCown Towers is across the street on the south side.

Also, Morehead's Atlanta- based company is about to break ground on an 8-story condominium on the southwest corner of Boulevard of the Arts and Cocoanut.

"I think that we are extremely compatible with the city's plan," Morehead said. "We're bringing residential in."

If approved, CityPointe would fundamentally alter the landscape in the Rosemary District, a historic area that has been slowly gaining technology firms, shops and cafes in recent years.

Some neighbors say the condos would help bring more people to the area after dark.

"It's such a nice project that I would hate to see a couple stories get in the way of it," said Greg Penix, president of the Rosemary Neighborhood Association. "I think it would be a real loss to the area."

The project would replace seven aging, single-story apartment duplexes that many Hispanic families rent for $450 a month. It also displaces Unity Church and would require that two historic buildings in the Rosemary District be moved.

Morehead is promising to make his condominiums "workforce housing," saying a significant portion will be priced between $175,000 and $250,000. He said he needs taller buildings so he can fit in more condominiums and keep the prices low.

Ian Black, a local real estate broker who owns property in the area, said the downtown master plan should allow for that extra density. He suggested that the city approve Morehead's project on the condition that he promise to make the units "affordable."

"The height is an issue you could deal with," Black said. "The city is losing an unbelievable opportunity for the Rosemary District to really realize its full potential."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...=2004411100431

Mike Piergrossi, manager at one of the district's newest shops, the Sarasota Coffee and Tea Company, understands why some residents favor the condominium project. More condos mean more foot traffic in the area, which Piergrossi is eager to see.

But he thinks the city should continue to enforce its rules about growth.

"I do believe there should be limits on it," Piergrossi said. "It's a beautiful skyline here. I believe that's something important to preserve, too."

[smiley]

Their height limit neuroses are way out of hand. It's not like it is 20 stories . . .

[palmtree]

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb.../1270/NEWS0101

Article published Nov 18, 2004
City Planning Board backs condo project

By Lisa Rab

SARASOTA -- Responding to public pleas for lower-priced housing and redevelopment north of downtown, the City Planning Board voted to overrule its staff Wednesday and support a condominium project planners said was too tall.

The board unanimously backed a rezoning request for CityPointe Downtown Sarasota, which features 374 condos and 89,000 square feet of commercial space off Cocoanut Avenue between Boulevard of the Arts and 10th Street.

The request now heads to the City Commission with a recommendation of approval, despite the planners' recommendation that it be denied.

"I love this project," Planning Board member Ken Shelin said. "I think increased height and density is exactly what we need for workforce housing."

City planners argued that the project does not fit in with the neighborhood because some of the buildings would be eight or nine stories tall.

The project would conflict with the city's growth plan, which limits buildings in the area to five stories.

But more than two dozen neighbors, business people and other city residents spoke in support of the project Wednesday night, arguing that it would provide much-needed "workforce housing" for the Rosemary District.

Even a pastor whose historic church will have to be moved to make room for the project said it would be good for the neighborhood. "We have been waiting for half a century for redevelopment of this area," said Greg Penix, president of the Rosemary Neigborhood Association.

Many supporters were swayed by developer Wayne Morehead's offer to sell 20 percent of the condos for $175,000 to $250,000. Those prices would be affordable to young professionals downtown, his supporters said.

That promise was not written into any of the plans the planning board discussed, and the board members acknowledged they had no guarantees the prices would stay that low.

But they decided the project should be approved anyway, because the city did not require sale-price limits for other projects approved downtown.

"It's not fair to put the burden on you," board chairman Michael Shelton said.

Other board members reasoned that the project might conflict with the newly adopted height limits in the downtown zoning code, but that code was not in effect when the project was filed last year, so the limits don't apply.

"In my opinion, the code is the code, and he can build if he wants to charge $500,000 a unit," board member Shannon Snyder said.

Despite the Planning Board's support, the project may face another hurdle.

In its implementation of the new downtown code, the city is beginning a massive rezoning of more than 1,800 properties, changing their height and density allowances.

On Dec. 15, the Planning Board is scheduled to consider rezoning the CityPointe site to a density lower than necessary for the project.

If the City Commission hasn't approved the project by then, Morehead will have to fight the rezoning.

[SkyDiveJunkee]

Well I'm glad there are some people in Sarasota with brains. I bet the people fighting this project don't live in the neighborhood.

[Jasonhouse]

of course they don't. The article points out how the nieghborhood, including folks being displaced by it, are supporting the project.

I will have to keep an eye on this one. Anything around $200k is in my price range. Of course, I bet the unit isn't more than like 900, maybe 1,000 square feet.

[renner01]

Article published Nov 28, 2004
Acupuncturist proves it doesn't take a developer to dream

Michael Pollick michael.pollick@heraldtribune.com

SARASOTA -- Meet the most leveraged man in Southwest Florida.

His mortgage broker, Robert H. Rogers, with his client standing right there listening, bluntly points out that acupuncturist Harvey Kaltsas is a guy who makes $80,000, maybe $100,000 a year, has no history as a developer, but has now received a bank's commitment for a $24 million condominium construction loan.

"It's true," said Kaltsas, smiling calmly, as if the thought were in some way amusing. "I'm more leveraged than anybody in America right now."

The 57-year-old owner of his own acupuncture clinic isn't building just any condo.

From the creation of its name, "Kanaya," to its rooftop gardens, the building is feng shui-inspired and designed to promote the well-being of its inhabitants.

It was no easy journey getting to where he is now, with big-time builder W.G. Mills poised to start sinking the pilings for $40 million worth of construction, including Kaltsas' own future dwelling, the ninth-floor southwest corner unit.

Part of Kaltsas' success is good timing.

The once seedy Orange Avenue property where he moved his acupuncture practice in 1992 has blossomed into a real estate hot zone, with beat-up four-plexes going for three-quarters of a million bucks.

Later, with his condo project growing in mind, he had to borrow money from friends and relatives to buy enough adjacent land to build straight up. Then he had a tough time finding a lender.

"There were times I was just about ready to say to hell with it," Kaltsas recalled.

Not any more.

On Tuesday, in the hallway of his Oriental medicine clinic on Morris Street, he attached a paper gold star to a poster-size drawing of the building.

He had just received a 20 percent down payment on a 10th-floor unit listed at upwards of $1 million. It was the 27th sale for the project's 35 residential units.

Now, instead of listening to the polite rejections of bankers, Kaltsas is busy listening to buy-out offers.

But, as he has from the beginning, the acupuncturist-turned-developer insists on maintaining control of his beloved Kanaya.

"I'm not going to become a mega-mega developer, but if I can inspire them, that's what I'd really like to do," he said.

Feng shui

The words "feng" and "shui" are Chinese for wind and water.

Like the Oriental medicine Kaltsas practices, feng shui is an art developed over thousands of years of civilization.

In this case, the art is the proper placement of objects. You are engaging in a feng shui exercise when you move a plant in your living room to somewhere that makes you feel happier.

Now imagine making an entire apartment building that follows hundreds of subtle guidelines.

Layer on top of that a building in which nearly every New Age health concern has been addressed, from electromagnetic radiation to filtering the air-conditioning air.

You're starting to get the idea of Kanaya.

A year and a half from now, Sally and Roger Betts will have moved into Kanaya from Punta Gorda, where they have owned a home for the past 12 years.

They will drive into the building from Orange Avenue and take a private elevator to their apartment, the center unit of three on the fifth floor.

They won't see the shielded electrical course that makes its vertical run near the east end of the apartment, keeping electromagnetic radiation as far away as possible from their master bedroom, which is near the west or bay side of the apartment.

When the weather is right, opening the doors onto two large balconies, facing east and west, will send breezes through their home. When it's too hot or too humid for that, their apartment will be refreshed by a high-efficiency air-conditioning system that brings in 15 percent fresh air as part of its mix after it has run it through a heavy-duty set of filters.

An ultraviolet lamp inside the air conditioner will make sure that no mold grows on the cooling coils.

In keeping with feng shui design principles, exposed wall corners will be rounded, not sharp.

In the kitchen, the sink and stove, representing fire and water, will be arranged so they are not directly opposite each other.

"The stove is a fire element. The sink is water. What does the water do to the fire? It puts it out. So two conflicting elements in a room causes arguments. It can cause illness," said Katrine Karley, founder of Sarasota's Absolute Harmony Feng Shui Inc. and a consultant to Kanaya from its very inception.

Karley even named it.

Kaltsas was going to call it something like "Ringling Court Tower." Karley said forget it, and began a feng shui process to make up the name.

"It cost $3,000 just to come up with the name," Kaltsas said. "I know it sounds flaky, but it's worth it. The name is really important."

Inside, Kaltsas has gone to extremes (measured in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) to make the dwellings quiet, with each one insulated from the sound of the others.

The techniques include an engineered wallboard called QuietRock and cast iron drain pipes instead of PVC pipes. The drain pipes alone cost an extra $50,000.

"That is not much money," Kaltsas says, repeating a constant refrain. "Otherwise, you are listening to people flush their toilets all day long. Think of it. It is like a waterfall, 150 feet tall."

Kanaya has much more to offer than solid plumbing.

For example, architect Don Lawson and Karley turned the rooftop into a community living space, with herb gardens, kitchens and shady vistas.

"Immediately I knew this was the right place for us," said Sally Betts, a student of what she calls energy medicine, meaning the treatment of the inner body through energy.

A path of his own

Kaltsas' father, a Boston-based Greek immigrant and entrepreneur, wanted his son to become a lawyer, but he lasted exactly six weeks at Boston University School of Law before dropping out.

The younger Kaltsas took up macrobiotics, studied Oriental medicine, and started his own commune on a 155-acre farm he bought with his own money in Saskatchewan, Canada.

He apprenticed in acupuncture with a Chinese doctor in Boston and had practices in Tucson, Ariz., and in the Northeast before settling down in Sarasota in the early 1980s.

His sister had already been living on Siesta Key for seven years when Florida liberalized its laws for the practice of acupuncture in 1981.

"She had always urged me to come down," Kaltsas said. "When I found out I could actually practice acupuncture without an M.D. supervising, it was a no-brainer."

It wasn't until 12 years later, in 1993, that Kaltsas began indulging his taste for commercial property ownership.

He bought the old house on Orange that year because it was the cheapest place near downtown.

But the check writing didn't start in earnest until December 2001.

At that point, Kaltsas had a half-acre along Orange that had cost him roughly $500,000, and he began hiring experts to determine what he could build on it.

He soon realized that to combine parking with a large building, it would help if he had a bigger site, say three-quarters of an acre.

In April 2003, he took the big gulp, paying more for a couple of lots behind his property -- land with no commercial frontage -- than he paid for what should have been the most expensive property, the land along Orange.

Kaltsas borrowed money from his sister and business partner Cynthia Kaltsas, then paid $765,000 for 1622 Laurel Ave. and 520 Rawls Ave.

So there he was with enough land to do something big, and some drawings for a building, but he had a tough time finding a banker who would listen.

"Basically they were saying 'Look, you don't have any experience. You're not a builder. Your personal financial statement doesn't support a $24 million loan, so you would have to take on a partner who will co-sign with you,'" Kaltsas said.

Then somebody told him he could borrow money from an insurance company. He got involved in a yearlong process with one of them, but when push came to shove, they raised the bar to an unrealistic level, asking him to show $12 million in cash to get the $24 million.

"He has had to go so far out on a limb, that was my biggest fear with Harvey, was his health," said Kaltsas' friend, fellow acupuncturist Thomas McCormack.

He and Kaltsas are the same age, 57.

"Day after day, you have to get up and know that everything you own is at risk. It is extremely stressful. So I'm always looking at Harvey's tongue. In Chinese medicine, that is one of the ways we determine somebody's health."

So how does it look?

"Harvey is holding up very well," McCormack said. "He can compartmentalize, which most people can't."

Saving grace

During what has been a prolonged period of seeking construction financing, what saved Kanaya was that the value of the property not only continued to rise, but accelerated quickly in value.

As property values downtown and in the residential area "West of the Trail" skyrocketed throughout the '90s, Orange Avenue became less seedy in the eyes of home buyers and investors.

From 2001 to 2003, what is now the Kanaya property rose in value by about $1 million.

In April 2003, when Kaltsas received an entitlement to build from City Hall, the appraised value soared to $3.4 million.

"That is insane; it's insane, but it's true," said Kaltsas, his voice climbing an octave, as it does when he gets exuberant.

It was in January that Robert H. Rogers, founder of First Nationwide Mortgage, found Kaltsas.

Rogers had worked for a couple of big lenders before dropping out, then opening his own firm. He knows how to talk the talk.

Kaltsas "had been working with another company that was really just stringing him along. As he is going along, he is still spending money, money he doesn't have," Rogers recalled.

"He was primed for a development to go up, but everybody knew he didn't have any money. Developers were circling around him. He was still going to walk away with money, but he was primed for getting his butt beat."

At this point, Kaltsas owed fees in the hundreds of thousands to his architectural firm and his law firm, Lawson Group and Icard Merrill.

"To Don Lawson's credit, he carried this project. Icard Merrill too. They all carried the project without payment. Bottom line, everybody knew there was value in the real estate and value in the project."

For his part, Lawson didn't have to bother with Kaltsas or Kanaya. He has designed such monumental projects as Sarasota Bay Club and is a lead designer in the Ringling Museum expansion.

He just got hooked on Kaltsas' concept for Kanaya.

"We thought, this could be an example that others could really look at and benefit from," Lawson said. "We just thought, 'We are going to make this work, whatever it takes.'"

Meanwhile, Rogers did 47 presentations just to get a bridge loan of $2.5 million in the spring. With that as breathing room, he convinced Orion Bank to commit to the $24 million construction loan that is about to be issued.

"It was a job," he said. "The problem was, everybody who had the horsepower to make the investment, they wanted to buy the project."

On the poster-sized rendering of the building with all the apartment numbers written in, Kaltsas points to the one he plans to live in, No. 1203.

It would be priced at $1,585,000 if it were for sale.

"You know, I couldn't afford to live in this building unless I were building it. I would have to work 17 years as an acupuncturist and put every cent into it, and that's without eating."
http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.d.../-1/ARCHIVES30

[renner01]

Article published Nov 30, 2004
Plaza Verdi project delayed
Opera officials say they need time to negotiate with the developer.

By Lisa Rab

SARASOTA -- Negotiations with the Sarasota Opera have slowed a developer's plans to build a $141.5 million condominium, hotel and retail complex on a city-owned Palm Avenue site.

City officials say they probably won't finalize an agreement for the Plaza Verdi project until March -- about three months later than planned.

But the city commissioners said Monday that they want the project to proceed and are willing to give developer Ersa Grae Corp. several more months to negotiate.

"I'm very confident that we're moving forward," Commissioner Danny Bilyeu said. "I'm very pleased with what I heard today."

Ersa Grae must sign an agreement with the opera because one of the opera's buildings, along with the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, would be demolished and relocated under the Plaza Verdi proposal.

Starting in July, Ersa Grae had about five months to make sales agreements with the two arts organizations. Without those deals, city officials would not give Ersa Grae land for the project or $4 million in public funds to defray the cost of building public parking spaces and revamping Five Points Park.

Ersa Grae signed a deal with the Golden Apple on Monday, and was supposed to sign with the opera, too. But opera leaders said they needed more time to negotiate a deal that will allow them to expand their facilities while Plaza Verdi is under construction.

Ersa Grae has offered to replace the administrative and production space that the opera would lose when the Dean Carroll Allyn Pavilion building on Pineapple Avenue is torn down.

But Executive Director Susan Danis said the opera also needs to make about $10 million worth of renovations, including a new orchestra pit, dressing rooms and rehearsal space.

The problem is that the opera wants to make those changes at the same time as the Ersa Grae construction, and it doesn't have the money. Opera leaders want to make sure they will be able to raise the money before signing a deal.

"We have a very large task ahead of us," said Ed Bavaria, chairman of the opera's board of directors. "The project can't be launched on the back of the opera."

Bavaria said he was "confident and hopeful" that the opera could eventually make a deal with Ersa Grae, but he was reluctant to set a deadline.

Danis said she would have a better idea about fund-raising by the time the opera season ends in March or April.

The city commissioners, however, are pushing for a firm date. This is the third time in four years they have tried to redevelop the Palm Avenue parking lot where Plaza Verdi would be built, and they are eager to see the project succeed.

Ersa Grae has offered to build 300 public parking spaces along with hotel rooms, condos and 88,000 square feet of retail and office space.

"We're anxious to get this project under way and get it moving," Commissioner Lou Ann Palmer said.

Representatives from Ersa Grae said they would give the city commission an update on their progress at a public workshop in January. City staff said they could probably reach a development agreement in March.
http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.d...411300421/1060

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Article published Dec 2, 2004
Saunders unveils HQ plan
The real estate giant wants to build a Sarasota complex

By Kevin McQuaid

SARASOTA -- In an effort to harness its sprawling operation and increase efficiency, real estate behemoth Michael Saunders & Co. is proposing a $60 million, two-building downtown office complex on Orange Avenue.

Saunders' plan calls for a pair of office buildings that would rise six and eight stories in Sarasota.

The 200,000-square-foot complex would replace an existing single-story, brown brick building that Saunders uses as a technology center, and a surface parking lot.

The 1.67-acre project would also contain ground-floor retail space, a restaurant with as many as 200 seats, an elevated park and three levels of deck parking.

"The idea is to join Pineapple to Main so people can shop and walk and antique," said Michael Saunders, founder and chief executive of the real estate company that bears her name.

Once the project is completed, Saunders said, she plans to consolidate five offices that are scattered around downtown Sarasota and house about 150 employees.

"We're just not efficient now," Saunders added. "We spend more time jumping in the car and running around town."

Specifically, Saunders said, she would move her accounting and human resources departments and the company's relocation team and install a training center in the new buildings.

"It's relocating a local corporate icon," said Bruce Franklin, president of the ADP Group Inc., the architectural firm working with Saunders.

Since its formation in the mid-1970s, Michael Saunders & Co. has risen to become the region's leading residential real estate brokerage firm.

Its agents typically handle the premier condominium and single-family listings, generating billions in annual sales volume.

In that capacity, Saunders has been integral to numerous local real estate developments, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Condominiums, the Whole Foods Market Centre, the Plaza at Five Points and The Concession, a multimillion-dollar development in Manatee County.

But Saunders' plan for her own quarters -- unveiled Wednesday during a meeting at City Hall -- is facing some initial resistance from Sarasota officials and some Laurel Park neighborhood residents concerned about increased traffic and access.

City officials said they were concerned about how the Saunders buildings would connect to the surrounding neighborhood because several one-way streets bound the Orange Avenue site.

The project would be bounded by Orange, Morrill Street, Laurel Street and Rawls Avenue.

"With the scale of the project, transportation and related issues are certainly going to be an issue," Allen Parsons, a senior planner in the city's Planning Department, said during the city's Development Review Committee meeting.

Parsons and other committee members also questioned how tenants would access the buildings, which are surrounded by one-way streets.

At least one Laurel Park resident said she was concerned about the height of the proposed buildings.

"I just have to wonder, what are they thinking?" said resident Diana Hamilton. "You know the neighborhood, when they see this, is going to be concerned about the height."

Franklin and Saunders said they were exploring building town houses on the edge of the property that faces the Laurel Park neighborhood to buffer the residential area from the commercial development.

Saunders isn't happy, either.

She contends that a proposed change in the city zoning code is forcing her to submit plans for the project now.

If she waits until March, Sarasota's new zoning code would limit her building to five stories and decrease allowable density by as much as 60 percent.

"The code is forcing me to do this now, because of the negative impact it will have," Saunders said. "It would take away my right to develop my property."

Saunders and Franklin hope to submit plans within the next 10 weeks so the real estate maven can develop the property under current C-CBD zoning, rather than the "Downtown Edge" zoning that will take effect next year.

Downtown Edge limits building height to five stories. Under current zoning, developers can build as high as 180 feet, with some provisions.

Franklin said the project could begin construction in late 2005, and be completed roughly two years later.

Saunders said consolidation -- whether in Sarasota or elsewhere -- is paramount.

"If I don't do it here, I certainly have to do it somewhere," she said. "Downtown has been a big part of the company's presence from the beginning."

"I want this to be fabulous," Saunders added. "I want this building to make a statement to the city and be timeless."
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...412020498/1060

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Article published Dec 7, 2004
Developer downsizes Quay plans

By Kevin McQuaid

SARASOTA -- Nearly a year after proposing a $1 billion development that would be among the largest in city history, the Irish owners of the Sarasota Quay have filed scaled-down plans that envision a trio of condominium towers on the waterfront property.

The developers, who once touted the potential for 1,000 condominiums, have reduced the total to 530.

Moreover, plans that once heavily emphasized retail stores, have been replaced by designs that show only a smattering of them.

"In the context of the market, we felt it was the highest and best use for the property," said John Awsumb, a representative for developer Irish American Partners.

Irish American's plans for the 11-acre Quay now also include office space, boat slips and about a dozen town houses.

Although the Quay has been the subject of discussion for much of 2004, architect Nichols Brosch Sandoval & Associates Inc.'s plans are the first time the city has received formal submissions regarding the project.

The city's Development Review Committee is scheduled to examine the Quay plans on Dec. 15, the first in what could be a nearly yearlong city approval process.

"I think they're interested in getting some feedback from the DRC and get some at least initial response because of the scale of the project," said Allen Parsons, a senior city planner.

Following the example of several other developers considering projects downtown, Irish American is attempting to construct the Quay property under existing commercial, central business district zoning rules.

In March, the city is expected to formally adopt new zoning that limits building height and puts other restrictions on developers and architects.

Under Nichols Brosch's design, four buildings would be constructed on the redeveloped Quay property.

The primary structures on the property would be three 18-story residential towers containing the 530 units, according to plans filed with the city late last month.

The fourth building would contain 78,000 square feet of office and retail space.

The revamped Quay would also contain 1,589 parking spaces.

The existing nine-story Quay building, completed in 1985 and containing roughly 230,000 square feet of office and retail space, would be razed.

"All existing buildings on the assembled site would be demolished," the plans say.

Along with the 19-year-old Quay building, a 4,256-square- foot Splash beach store, built in 1994, also would be torn down.

But contrary to the original vision, unveiled in February after the Dublin-based consortium spent $60 million to buy the nearly vacant tract, the latest Quay plans do not include a conference center, large hotel or spa.

Sarasota County consultants have said the Quay remains the best spot for a proposed conference center because of its proximity to nearby hotels and downtown shopping.

County officials are slated to decide whether to build a $65 million conference center in Sarasota sometime next year.

While the new Quay plans lack conference facilities and related space, they don't contain nearly the number of residential units envisioned nearly a year ago.

At that time, designers working with Irish American -- a consortium led by Dublin developer Patrick Kelly -- considered the possibility of more than 1,000 condominiums.

They also planned for retail space that was three-quarters the size of the Westfield Shoppingtown Southgate mall in south Sarasota.

The new design limits retail space to 32,420 square feet, even smaller than a more recent plan this summer that envisioned 75,000 to 100,000 square feet.

It could not be determined if the total value of the redevelopment had shrunk from the anticipated $1 billion price tag predicted months ago.

Even so, if current plans reach fruition the revamped Quay would be among the largest private-sector developments ever in Sarasota.

In addition to the condominiums, the plans call for 10 town homes and 28 boat slips to be built near the Quay basin that leads to Sarasota Bay.

Kelly said in early November that the time line to begin construction had been pushed back to mid-2005 or into 2006.

Initially, he said he hoped to begin work at the Quay early in 2005.

Awsumb said Monday that construction might begin in the fall of 2005, "at the earliest."

Irish American intends to hold a neighborhood meeting concerning the project on Dec. 16 at the Hyatt Sarasota hotel.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...NESS/412070390

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Article published Dec 8, 2004
Retail still part of Quay idea

By Kevin McQuaid

SARASOTA -- The Sarasota Quay's principal owner said Tuesday that he still hopes to convert the waterfront property into an integrated, mixed-use development with shops and other commercial space.

Dublin developer Patrick Kelly's comments regarding the 11-acre, downtown property come as plans filed with the city late last month emphasize residential construction -- units that will probably carry seven-figure pricetags.

Those plans, designed by architect Nichols Brosch Sandoval & Associates Inc., call for the construction of a trio of 18-story condominium towers.

A fourth building would contain 78,000 square feet of office and retail space. In all, the Quay plans contain just 32,420 square feet of retail space.

Earlier this year, Irish architects created sketches containing nearly 10 times the retail space, along with a hotel, conference center, and spa.

"I would love myself to see a mixed-use (project) there," Kelly said, in a telephone interview from Dublin. "We'd still like to do it, but one can't get as high a price for retail, and at this point, we have to preserve the density we have for residential development."

The Quay's residential component is slated to contain 540 units, according to the plans filed with the city.

Kelly said the condos will likely average 2,000 square feet and sell for about $1 million.

The amount of shop space shrunk, in part, in response to other proposed retail development and expansions slated for Main Street, Westfield Shoppingtown Southgate, St. Armands Circle and Lakewood Ranch.

"There's a question in our minds of whether the city would be overbuilt from a retail standpoint," Kelly said.

Kelly is also hoping to strike a deal with WCI Communities Inc. to develop the trio of condo towers at the Quay.

In February, Kelly said his Irish American Partners and WCI, the developer of the Tower Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel downtown, were close to an agreement. WCI objected, however, to the amount of retail space that had been proposed.

Kelly said he remains hopeful that WCI will be part of the Quay's expected $1 billion redevelopment.

WCI officials said Tuesday that no deal with Irish American, which bought the Quay in January for roughly $60 million, has been finalized.

"We'd prefer not to speculate," said Bill Pappalardo, a WCI spokesman. "We're just not there yet regarding the Quay."

With or without WCI, Kelly hasn't ruled out expanding the amount of commercial space designated for the Quay.

Irish American continues to negotiate with the owners of the El Vernona condominiums on a potential purchase of the 48-unit neighborhood.

Collectively, the El Vernona condos, on 4 acres adjacent to the Quay property, would sell for roughly $30 million.

If that land could be acquired, Kelly said the amount of retail space at the redeveloped Quay could more than double, to 80,000 square feet.

Kelly also continues to watch, with interest, the discussions surrounding the possible construction of a conference center downtown.

If such a center were developed downtown, probably within the city cultural district near the Quay, the amount of supporting retail space near it would expand dramatically.

Sarasota County and city officials are expected to decide in 2005 whether to proceed with plans to develop a conference center.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb...412080396/1200