SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Residents in downtown Sarasota gathered Tuesday morning, many wearing red shirts in opposition of a new residential development planned for Palm Avenue. If approved, the condo building would be the tallest structure downtown, standing about 85 feet higher than what is currently the tallest building in the area.
MK Equity says the structure will be more than 330 feet tall with 14 residential units with 14 foot ceilings—one unit per floor. Each unit would be between 4,000 and 6,000 square feet with about 1,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.
“Our intent was to fill this void we felt exists on Palm Avenue. The existing structure is dilapidated and hasn’t been maintained,” said developer Matt Kihnke. “I think Palm Avenue is one of the most important streets to get right downtown. It is difficult to not maximize the highest and best use for that property.”
Some residents opposing the development feel it is not compatible with the Palm Avenue area.
“This building is woefully incompatible with the surrounding buildings in this district, in the arts district neighborhood in terms of height, mass, scale, walkability, and just about anything else you can think of,” said local resident Ron Shapiro.
Shapiro feels the developer is abusing the building’s interstitial space to make the building stand taller than any other in the area.
“Some months ago, the City of Sarasota decided to regulate height of buildings, not by feet, but by the number of stories, 18 stories. What they didn’t anticipate was such blatant abuse of interstitial space to get to such a high level,” Shapiro added.
“There is an 18-story height restriction in the Downtown Core. A story is limited to 14 feet measured from finished floor to finished ceiling. Staff has not yet determined if the project, including its height, is consistent with the Zoning Code,” city officials said in a statement.
Kihnke believes his proposal falls within the existing code as is.
“The City Commission doesn’t vote on this because it is designed as of right. We are not asking city for any zoning exceptions, property rights allow me to build that. We are proposing to build a building that will be 80-85 feet taller than the tallest building currently in downtown Sarasota,” said Kihnke.
He believes, if approved, it will be an “iconic” building in the downtown core.
“We are trying to finish out and make Palm Avenue what we believe it should be,” the developer said.
Nearby residents, however, have expressed concerns about the proximity to their buildings and what that means for safety amid construction.
“Construction of such a behemoth of a building will take up time and we are worried about the safety of the foundation, the drilling, the concrete being poured, all the concrete trucks that will be coming down Palm Avenue and just other construction issues,” said resident Donna Lerner. “We are not against growth. It is just that growth needs to be controlled and it needs to be reasonable and feasible, this building, this proposed building doesn’t meet those standards at all.”
The developer will go before the Development Review Committee during a meeting on June 21. Residents will not be able to give public comment, but many do plan to attend to see what takes place. A final determination will be made by the City’s Development Services Director.
