20th Anniversary of The Sarasota Film Festival 2018 Lineup

March 19, 2018 by

Hollywood comes to town with the 2018 Sarasota Film Festival.

The Sarasota Film Festival has unveiled its 2018 lineup, which will include Eric Stoltz’s coming-of-age comedy “Class Rank” as the opening-night film. In addition, Oscar-nominated documentarian Rory Kennedy’s “Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow” will serve as the closing night film.

The festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary, also will honor Steve Guttenberg and Virginia Madsen with career achievement awards during the closing weekend.

“We are very excited to bookend the festival with two unique and groundbreaking films from two brilliant and creative directors,” said Mark Famiglio, chairman and president of the Sarasota Film Festival. “It is also an honor to recognize the contributions of Steve Guttenberg and Virginia Madsen to the film industry and celebrate their work from over the years.”

“Class Rank” will screen on April 13 at the Sarasota Opera House. The film revolves around two teenagers (Olivia Holt, Skyler Gisondo) who prepare for life after high school, teaming up to achieve their goals and make their dreams a reality. Kristin Chenoweth and Bruce Dern co-star. Director Stoltz, whose credits include “Mask,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Madam Secretary”, will be in attendance along with producer Sandy Stern.

Kennedy, whose “Last Days in Vietnam” was nominated for best feature documentary at the 2015 Academy Awards, also will be on hand for her film’s premiere on April 21 at the Sarasota Opera House. The film chronicles NASA’s accomplishments and its vital role in America’s future as the space agency celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Guttenberg will be honored for starring in more than 60 films across an array of genres, including “Diner,” “Cocoon,” the “Police Academy” movies and “Three Men and a Baby.” Guttenberg co-stars in “Chasing the Blues” — a comedy-drama about the search for a rare but cursed blues record — which will screen at the festival.

For her part, Madsen will receive a career achievement award for her Oscar-nominated role in Alexander Payne’s Sideways as well as her work in such films as “The Rainmaker,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Joy” and TV’s “Designated Survivor.” The actress co-stars in the drama “1985″ — about a young man’s fears of coming out to his family in the early days of the AIDS crisis — which also will screen at the festival.

Centerpiece films include the Sundance coming-of-age tale “Eighth Grade,” directed by comedian Bo Burnham, who will attend the screening.

The Mister Rogers and Elvis Presley documentaries “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “The King” will have spotlight screenings, as will film festival darlings such as “The Rider,” “Lean on Pete” and “Hearts Beat Loud.”

The documentary competition roster features “Generation Wealth,” a reflection on modern society and wealth by “The Queen of Versailles” filmmaker Lauren Greenfield. Documentaries screening out of competition include “RBG,” about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and “Bisbee ’17″ by Robert Greene, who previously directed the film “Kate Plays Christine” about Sarasota television reporter Christine Chubbuck.

Narrative films screening out of competition include Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed,” Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In” and Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama,” all of which earned great acclaim touring the film festival circuit, and Sundance entries such as “American Animals” and “Come Sunday.”

Many of these films fall under five Sarasota Film Festival “focuses”: Sports in Cinema, Women’s Comedic Voices, Redefining Manhood, Musings on Musicians, and Environment, Science and Sustainability.

“In honor of our 20th anniversary, we have programmed a lineup that celebrates the past, present, and future of the Sarasota Film Festival that is sure to delight our dedicated and passionate audiences,” the festival’s chairman and president Mark Famiglio said in a statement. “The selection includes a diverse group of narratives and voices that will create engaging conversations about today’s most important topics.”

Hollywood Reporter – March 16, 2018, Sarasota Herald Tribune – March 21, 2018

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Condos, Downtown Sarasota Lifestyles, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Warhol Exhibit at Selby Gardens

February 15, 2018 by
Warhol Exhibit Selby Gardens

Conservatory Selby Gardens

Warhol Exhibit at Selby Gardens

Warhol: Flowers in the Factory show, opens Feb. 11 and runs through June 30, 2018.

The exhibit, which highlights Warhol’s connection to nature (perhaps unexpected for many fans of the Pop art icon, who know him from soup cans and celebrities), carries on the theme of living art that has also been a focus of previous shows at the gardens, including one devoted to Marc Chagall. This one (curated by Carol Ockman) first takes viewers into the Conservatory, where the horticultural team has assembled a huge wall/grid of bromeliads echoing Warhol’s frequent repetition of imagery. You can actually take time to sit and enjoy that and other plant exhibits on a white couch in a sunken living room replica nearby.

On the grounds of the gardens, the Selby staff has also assembled a collection of epiphytic plants adorning a white frame backed by colored squares, while another frame, surrounded by large-scale hibiscus flowers created to complement Warhol’s own hibiscus images, bears the Warhol quote, “Land really is the best art.”

And inside the Museum of Botany and the Arts reside not only four colorful Warhol silkscreens of flowers, dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s (courtesy of Williams College Museum of Art), but poinsettia images and little-seen photographs of Warhol outdoors (albeit in a jacket and tie), on skis and even rowing a boat.

In addition, throughout the run of the show the “Food Factory,” in front of the Payne Mansion on the property, will serve items such as “Andy’s Pastrami on Rye” and a “Warhol Grilled Cheese,” along with salads, grain bowls and more.  For more information visit selby.org

Sarasota Magazine February 8, 2018

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Lifestyles, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota Recreation Tagged With: , ,

Mote Marine Aquarium – New State-of-the-art Facility Planned

February 10, 2018 by

Mote MarineIt’s a “rebirth” of Mote Marine Laboratories: a new aquarium near Interstate 75 that would be more than twice as large as Mote’s current facility, and, Mote leaders hope, leave visitors feeling either “warmly embraced or smacked in the face with science.”

Plans for a new state-of-the-art aquarium at Nathan Benderson Park will allow Mote’s scientists to use their current facility in Sarasota to help them become what Michael Crosby, president and CEO of Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, calls the “Silicon Valley of Marine Science.”

“We have got really some of the best and brightest minds in marine science and we want to make sure that they’re able to translate, transfer, and convey the importance of that science to the public,” Crosby said Thursday.

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium is outgrowing their facilities on City Island, Crosby said. They’ve had to turn down opportunities to work with scientists from around the world because there is no room. Two new scientists hired by Mote have been stationed at their Florida Keys facility, because there was not enough room on City Island.

The proposed multi-story, 110,000-square-foot aquarium would expand public access to marine science and technology, as well as allow more space for the research done at Mote to come to life and inspire others. It would also allow the scientists to continue and expand their research at their location on City Island.

Bob Essner, chairman of the board of trustees at Mote, called the new facility a “next and necessary step.”

“Mote has been a great research institute for a long time,” Essner said. “But the aquarium is going to be both a tremendously visible face for Mote as you’ve seen in the pictures we’ve shown, it’s spectacular; but it’s also going to be a portal into the science.”

After five years of looking for the perfect site, aquarium officials plan to construct the Mote Science Education Aquarium on about five acres of Sarasota County-owned land within Nathan Benderson Park, near Interstate 75 off the University Parkway exit. Mote officials have spoken with county officials, but have not made a formal request to get a long-term lease for the land approved. That is being initiated now, according to Mote officials.

The renderings displayed during Thursday’s press conference show a large, rounded building that Crosby said would be seen from the interstate, drawing even more attention to the area. At night, the outside of the building would be lit up with images of swimming animals.

The proposed aquarium will have 1 million gallons of water for exhibits, making a new home for animals and organisms from around the world. There would also be space for on-site diving programs, as well as teaching labs and space for science and technology demonstrations.

Science, Crosby said, will be first and foremost at the new aquarium.

Mote officials hope to begin construction in late 2019 with a goal of opening the facility in late 2021. They anticipate about 700,000 visitors in the opening year.

Education and economics

Crosby wants the Mote Science Education Aquarium to provide education not just to visitors but to area students. They aim to include teaching labs for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, and “putting research and education to work with schools in the region” for free. Included in the plans are hands-on STEM facilities.

“Part of the goal of this really is to get people here very involved in what’s going on in the seas around them. We all live near it, we all see it every day or almost every day, but yet, a lot people don’t really know much about marine science, about what the threats are, about what can be done to avert those threats and by bringing school children…. Everybody will get a sense of it,” Essner said.

The plan for the land also includes nature and education trails and science displays near the aquarium.

Mote officials emphasized the economic impact the construction would have as well. They estimate about $280 million in direct and indirect expenditures and 3,123 total person-years’ employment. As well, they estimated $28 million annually in economic benefits for Florida.

Being away from the ocean won’t be an issue for them, said Crosby, noting another large aquarium in Tennessee as an example. What is vital, he said, is the research and the research facility that is staying right where it is.

Funding the new facility

Powering the advance, Mote officials said Thursday, is the organization’s new, $130 million capital construction fund-raising effort, “Oceans for All: Improving Access to Marine Science & Technology.”

Mote will need an estimated $100 million in construction costs, as well as another $20 million to $30 million in pre-construction costs. Mote is working with two firms from the Northeast for the logistics of the build.

For a majority of the funding, Mote is planning on turning to the community for help by raising funds through their “Oceans for All” initiative. Corporate partners and sponsors will also be called on for a large chunk of the funds, with plans to seek some assistance from state and local governments and other public sources.

Already, 20 percent of the funds needed for the construction have been pledged, officials said.

Crosby said Mote plans to ask for only construction costs, and will take on all operational costs of the new facility themselves. He said he’s confident in the staff’s ability to run the larger facility.

Essner agreed.

“It’s just a major undertaking for Mote, but one that we’re pretty comfortable with because we’ve been running a successful aquarium now on a smaller scale for about 40 years,” Essner said.

The City Island facilities will become a science and innovation park, and Crosby hopes to grow the research facilities. But those plans are for beyond 2021. Crosby said they are looking to keep the City Island facility “fully operational and top-notch.” Once the time comes to open the new aquarium, they will shut down the old aquarium for a short period of time to move the animals.

Crosby said he’s excited for the anticipated impact the new facility will have.

“Beyond 2020, this is going to allow Mote Marine Laboratory to serve as the catalyst that will help pull together all of the different entities…. in southwest Florida,” Crosby said.

Bradenton Herald February 8, 2018

Filed Under: Sarasota New Construction, Sarasota Recreation Tagged With: , ,

Florida Report: 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

January 22, 2018 by

Florida ProfileWhat does the typical Florida buyer or seller look like? Only 1 in 5 (22 percent) of buyers are first-timers compared to 34 percent in U.S., and they’re typically 45 years old.  On the other hand, the average seller is 60 years old, makes about $96,500 annually and owns a home that they think is too small.

The insights stem from the 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Florida Report issued by Florida Realtors®with data compiled by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) research department.

Report highlights

Florida Home Buyer Characteristics

  • In Florida, 22 percent of all buyers were first-timers. (Nationally, it was 34 percent.)
  • The typical Florida buyer was 54 years old and had a median income of $83,000.
  • 68 percent were married couples, 14 percent were single females, nine percent single males, and eight percent unmarried couples.
  • 15 percent of homebuyers purchased a multi-generational home.
  • 88 percent of recent Florida homebuyers identified as heterosexual, four percent as gay or lesbian and less than one percent as bisexual. The rest preferred not to answer.
  • 25 percent of buyers are veterans and three percent are active-duty service members in Florida. Nationally, only 18 percent of recent homebuyers were veterans.
  • At 26 percent, the primary reason for purchasing a home was the desire to own a home of their own.

Characteristics of Florida Homes Purchased

  • In Florida, 18 percent of first-time buyers purchased a new home and 82 percent bought a previously owned home.
  • Why wait for a new home to be built? In Florida, 34 percent wanted to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity.
  • Why buy a previously owned home? 34 percent were looking for a better overall value.
  • 79 percent of buyers opted for a detached single-family home.
  • 21 percent bought a senior-related home.
  • The median home price was $215,000 and 97 percent of the asking price.
  • The typical Florida home purchased was 1,800 square feet and built in 1996.
  • Overall, buyers expect to live in their homes for a median of 15 years.

The Home Search Process

  • In Florida, 42 percent of buyers looked online first and 22 percent contacted a real estate agent.
  • 81 percent found real estate agents very useful, and 83 percent said the same for websites.
  • Florida buyers typically searched for 10 weeks and looked at 10 homes. However, those who did not search the internet looked at six homes over three weeks.
  • Among buyers who used the internet, 86 percent found photos useful.
  • In Florida, 64 percent were satisfied with the buying process – a better report card for the state than the 61 percent satisfied nationally.

Home Buying and Florida’s Real Estate Professionals

  • 83 percent of Floridians (86 percent nationally) purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker.
  • Why work with a Realtor? In Florida, 56 percent said it was to find the right home.
  • 36 percent of Florida buyers (42 percent nationally) used an agent referred by a friend, neighbor or relative, and 12 percent used an agent that they had worked with in the past.
  • Seven in 10 buyers interviewed only one real estate agent during their home search.
  • Eighty-nine percent of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others.

Florida Sellers and the Selling Experience

  • The typical Florida home seller was 60 years old, with a median household income of $96,500.
  • In Florida, the top reasons for moving were retirement (15 percent), the desire to move closer to friends and family (12 percent) and a job relocation (11 percent).
  • Florida sellers typically lived in their home for 11 years before selling.
  • 90 percent of home sellers worked with a Florida real estate agent to sell their home.
  • For recently sold homes, the final sales price was a median 98 percent of the final listing price.
  • 33 percent of all sellers offered incentives to attract buyers.
  • 66 percent of Florida sellers were very satisfied with the selling process.

Sellers and Florida’s Real Estate Professionals

  • 63 percent of Florida home sellers found their agent through a referral from a friend, neighbor, or relative, or they used an agent they had worked with before.
  • 74 percent of recent Florida sellers contacted only one agent before finding the one they worked with to sell their home.
  • 93 percent of sellers listed their homes on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
  • 81 percent of sellers reported that they provided the agent’s compensation.
  • 34 percent of Florida’s sellers have recommended their agent to others at least three or more times since selling their home.
  • In Florida, 67 percent said they would definitely recommend their agent for future services, and 16 percent said probably.

Florida Association of Realtors January 2018

Filed Under: Florida Real Estate Market Tagged With: , , ,

Looking for a Strong 2018 Real Estate Market

January 19, 2018 by

2018 MarketSouthwest Florida’s residential real estate world is riding a winning streak, and current market conditions indicate continuing prosperity and growth. That’s the consensus evaluation of the robust home market in 2017 and the strong forecast for 2018 among industry insiders in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Our informal survey panel represents the home-building and selling sides of the business. Their letter grades for this year’s residential market mostly fit into a tight and bright range — from B++ to A+.

“Residential real estate in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties, in all price points, all home types, continued its consistent momentum through 2017,” reports Michael Saunders, founder and CEO of Michael Saunders & Company, and Drayton Saunders, president. “Buyer demand has been consistently high and rising, inventory was strong and is expected to rise, and prices are seeing an appropriately steady increase.

“In general, it is a neutral market — neither favoring buyers or sellers in any significant capacity, therefore garnering an A-grade.”

Roger Pettingell, a perennial leader in luxury sales and listings and an associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, agrees on a neutral market. “The stock market gains of 2017 are translating into strong cash buyers coming into the market. That said, sellers are also feeling quite confident, making for neither a seller nor buyer’s market (which makes a Realtor’s job more difficult!).”

Pettingell, based on Longboat Key, broke the $100 million sales mark for 2017 with a total of $104.6 million, leading the region.

“Using my business as a microcosm of the overall Sarasota market, I’d give this season an A+,” he said. “Not only was it a record breaking year for me, it was a record by 25 percent over last year. If that doesn’t deserve an A, I don’t know what does.”

Lynn Robbins, a Realtor with some four decades selling Sarasota homes and an associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, views 2017 as “a strong sellers market.”

“My rating would be a B++ to A- … In my opinion, Sarasota has really been discovered, and the buyers are coming in larger numbers and we are seeing more of them in slower months,” she said.

Xena Vallone, broker/owner of Xena Vallone Realty Inc. and the outgoing president of the Realtors Association of Sarasota Manatee, broke the market in two. “I would rate 2017 residential as an A for sellers because of low inventory, which benefited them by higher prices, but most likely a C for buyers for the same reasons — low inventory and higher prices. I didn’t give it a D because I believe buyers are still getting some great interest rates.”

Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder and developer Pat Neal of Neal Communities also enjoyed a stellar year. “Certainly 2017 would be an A or an A+. For our target customer (about 55 percent of whom do not have Florida as their address at the time of their first purchase), this has been a great year,” he said.

With 47 years in home construction and sales, Neal Communities has created some 70 successful communities throughout southwest Florida. To date, Neal has built more than 13,000 homes in the region. In 2017, the company built, sold and closed on about 1,168 new homes — topping the previous record year. Sales of new homes totaled $400 million, Neal noted.

Most of those homes — 80 percent — sold in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, the “Marvelous Middle,” as Neal describes the price spread, a range that Realtors find most appealing among buyers.

Across the Sarasota-Manatee-Charlotte market, moderately priced home sales — between $200,000 and $400,000 — “continue to be very strong,” Saunders said, with a 9 percent increase in pending and sold listings year-over-year and an 11 percent increase in the number of new listings over last year.

“Homes in this price range make up the largest segment of our market at 44 percent of total sales,” Saunders said. “With high demand and an average supply, this will force buyers to move quickly and possibly deal with multiple offer situations.”

In the midprice market — from $400,000 to $900,000, which comprises 15 percent of the market — new listings fell in 2017, sales dropped at the lower end and were flat at the higher prices. Sarasota proved to be the exception, Saunders said, with a 30 percent increase in pending sales in November.

Across the three counties, the residential luxury market — $1 million and higher, with sales representing 3 percent of the total market — went from fairly calm waters to a tsunami over the course of 2017. Closed sales were up only 4 percent in the first six months year-over-year, but surged a “staggering 61 percent from July to November,” Saunders said. Pending sales rose 18 percent in the first half of 2017, but soared a “staggering 59 percent” from July to November.

Despite the market hiccup brought about by Hurricane Irma in September, home sales rebounded quickly. Robbins certainly enjoyed autumn. “I was pleasantly surprised in October and November, which have been slower in the past, to find out that they were very busy months for me,” she said.

Multiple Listing Service data for the Sarasota-Manatee-Charlotte market confirm that point. In November, closed sales reached 546, an 8.8 percent increase from the same month a year ago. Plus, there were 677 new pending contracts, up year-over-year by 16.5 percent.

The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee describes the current housing sector as a “healthy market” with combined numbers showing an increase in sales, new listings and prices.

The housing market across Florida also continued its positive streak in November, with more closed sales, more new listings, more pending sales and rising median prices, Florida Realtors data shows.

“In November, Florida’s housing market reflected the trends we’ve grown accustomed to seeing throughout this year,” said Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart.

The year ahead

The final months of 2017 created enthusiasm for 2018.

“I think the momentum which we are seeing, particularly in the last quarter of 2017, will move us forward with a strong 2018,” Pettingell said. “We do know that the real estate market has been in a recovery mode since 2011, and that no market goes up forever, but it looks like there is still plenty of room for further growth in 2018.”

Out-of-state buyers are key players in a strong market.

“Demand is rising, and we feel that it is going to be a busy season with more buyers here than ever before,” Robbins said. “We are seeing more buyers from California and New York than in past years.”

Neal concurs in regards to the market for new homes. He cites the Sunshine State’s broad appeal to out-of-state buyers as one reason the market is flourishing.

“People from Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut are finding their way to Florida because of our good quality of life, beautiful environment, good economy and low taxes,” he said. “There has been much more awareness as to the economic advantages of living in Florida. That is, our good and growing economy and also the absence of a state income tax … or estate tax.”

Saunders, too, sees prospective buyers focusing on new construction. “Builders are still answering the pent-up buyer demand for ‘new.’ … Home buyers are electing to purchase a new home over an existing home because of upgrade options, new layout trends and hurricane-resistant materials and construction codes.”

Jon Mast, the chief executive officer of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, spotted another current trend — “for new product in Lakewood Ranch becoming more desirable than resales of the same product, thereby lowering prices for same existing product in the Ranch. This will eventually level out over time.”

Saunders links the popularity of new neighborhoods to lifestyle options. “New construction will continue to push forward, especially in areas like West Villages in Venice and Waterside in Lakewood Ranch. The allure of new construction and communities with a plethora of amenities will be in high demand.”

The political climate could be a boon for Florida. With passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the limit on deductible mortgage debt was dropped to $750,000 for loans taken out after Dec. 14. But the implication for Florida real estate lies elsewhere: The measure eliminates deductions of more than $10,000 in state and local taxes from federal tax returns. That could result in a major increase in the tax liabilities for people who itemize deductions and who reside in high-tax states — most probably upper-middle or upper class taxpayers. This, Saunders could bring “a surge of sales in Florida.”

Neal is more emphatic, anticipating a “positive impact” of the federal tax measure on Florida. A key reason is because Neal Communities’ “customers are typically not dependent on mortgage financing, they will not be affected by the mortgage limitations nor some of the limitations on deductibility,” he said.

“We seem to have a strength in the economy. The federal tax reform act will provide further stimulus.”

Neal cautioned against thinking another housing bubble is in the works. “We do not have the building we had in 2003-2006 … but only about one half of the housing production that we had in 2004 (in 2017).”

Another barrier to an overheated real estate market comes as a reaction to that financial crisis — stronger consumer protections. “As credit is so regulated,” Neal said, “I do not see a repeat of the 2003-2006 credit bubble.”

Hot spots

There is broad agreement that downtown Sarasota “is very hot,” as Robbins said, and “with all the charm of our downtown, great restaurants, things to do and close to the arts and Van Wezel, people want to live there and be able to walk to many of these attractions.”

Saunders echoes that sentiment: “Downtown’s residential construction explosion will be a great positive to the downtown commercial and retail sub-market. The growing live-work-play environment in downtown will remain a draw for people from all over the region.”

Besides Lakewood Ranch, the West Villages and the University Parkway corridor, other desirable neighborhoods “will be west of the Trail as buyers want to be close to the water,” Robbins said.

All the barrier islands will continue to be popular, especially Siesta Key with one of the best known beaches in the world. “There are numerous wonderful choices of condos in all price ranges there and one can walk to the beach,” Robbins said.

Herald Tribune December 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Construction, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Florida Real Estate Market, Sarasota Real Estate Market News Tagged With: , , , ,

New Art Ovation Hotel Plays to Sarasota’s Cultural Heritage

December 15, 2017 by

Art Ovation

Art Ovation – a boutique downtown hotel, poised to open soon, intends to be the city’s “signature hotel of the arts” by embracing Sarasota’s colorful palette of visual and performing arts.

The 162-room Art Ovation Hotel will be well positioned, physically, to claim the title, being on the corner of North Palm and Cocoanut Avenues, a short walk to the Sarasota Opera House and across the street from Florida Studio Theatre. The interior will be well positioned, too, with displays of the work of Sarasota artists. Paintings by local artists — including children — will line the halls, and furniture by area craftspeople will be used in the rooms.

The hotel will feature an Artist in Residence Program, rotating art collections, art curators and VIP packages to area events and experiences. The walls in the massive lobby and nearby hallways will become galleries once the hotel is finished.

Guests can get into the artistic act by borrowing a musical instrument to “jam” with others or to enjoy an acoustic guitar, cello, steel guitar, banjo and other instruments in their own room. And they can contribute their own artwork during their stay. Each room has a leather-bound sketchbook with professional sketching pencils, sharpener and eraser.

Art Ovation will include a full-service restaurant, lobby bar, fitness center and a rooftop pool and bar.

The boutique hotel will be an Autograph Collection Hotel, one of the Marriott International brands with “upper upscale” and luxury independent hotels and resorts around the world. The Autograph Collection includes The Mark in London, the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and the Hotel Adagio in San Francisco. The company boasts that “this handpicked collection celebrates boutique hotels that deserve recognition as architectural gems” — each one “with its own distinct perspective.”

The cavernous ballroom will hold up to 450 people.

The hotel is scheduled to open on Jan. 18, 2018.

Prime Hospitality Group and Shaner Hotels are collaborating on Art Ovation Hotel. The two companies recently partnered to build and manage Playa Largo Resort & Spa in the Florida Keys.

“Sarasota is a mecca for all things arts, and it was clear from the very beginning of the project that we wanted Art Ovation Hotel to reflect the true character of the city,” Larry Abbo, CEO of Prime Hospitality Group, said in a news release. “We’re eager to capitalize on this unique opportunity to draw guests into the arts and cultural scene both on and off property.”

Brian Hockenbury, senior vice president of operations at Shaner Hotels, said, “We’re exploring a number of partnership possibilities, such as collaborating with students at the Ringling College of Art & Design, behind-the-scenes packages with Florida Studio Theatre, pop-up performances from Sarasota Opera, lunches with the director from Asolo Theatre, and more.”

Art Ovation is one of six downtown hotel projects in the works. Should all be built, the city will gain 973 hotel rooms.

One of those other projects is another boutique hotel, The Sarasota Modern, scheduled to open in the Rosemary District along Cocoanut Avenue next summer. This independent Tribute Portfolio hotel, a Starwood brand, will have 81 rooms.

The Modern will sit across Boulevard of the Arts from yet another boutique hotel, Hotel Indigo Sarasota. Both are near The Players Centre for Performing Arts, Art Center Sarasota and the Sarasota Orchestra.

Herald Tribune December 13, 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Construction, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota New Construction Tagged With: ,

The Bay Project – Arts & Cultural District Downtown Sarasota

December 11, 2017 by

Plans are to transform the 42-acre city-owned area around the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall into a Public arts and cultural district.

A new vision for the city-owned bayfront in the heart of downtown Sarasota will be delivered to, and ideally approved by, city officials as soon as mid-July 2018, according to the groups spearheading the project.

The ambitious timeline could complete the project after nearly two decades and an array of plans from the city and numerous civic groups most recently brought together under the Bayfront 20:20 umbrella.

Now called simply The Bay, the project turned a corner over the past two months when Boston-area planning firm Sasaki and former Kimley-Horn & Associates executive Bill Waddill were hired to lead the master plan process to transform the 42-acre city-owned area around the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall into a Public arts and cultural district.

The group raised more than $2 million in private funding from local foundations and philanthropists for the master plan and held a series of “listening sessions” this week, including at the City Commission, before making the first major public presentation since Sasaki and Waddill joined the effort at a Herald-Tribune forum Wednesday.

“We are just kind of blown away by this opportunity and it’s just amazing,” said Susannah Ross, a senior associate with Sasaki working on the plan. “The water’s edge condition changes as you move through the site. I think there are so many possibilities for how to expand on that and experience the bay.”

Ross and Sasaki principal Martin Zorgan, an urban planner, presented the process by which their firm, partner firms and a team of local advisors on the nonprofit Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization will, over the next eight months, draft a master plan for the physical site and financing mechanisms that could pay for it.

“Who’s gonna pay for it?” Martin said. “Well, it’s a little bit of all the above. There’s philanthropic monies, there’s federal monies, there’s state monies, there’s local monies … what, if any, taxpayer monies go to it.

“We don’t want it to be a surprise … it’s not easy by any means, but it’s definitely doable and great things are worth doing.”

“The process will include studying the series of previous plans for the site, the Bayfront 20:20 ideas and the range of construction going on and planned around it — from the 18-story BLVD condominiums to the east to the massive Quay Sarasota project to the south and the series of roundabouts along U.S. 41 throughout the corridor,” Zorgan said.

Sasaki’s team will consider ways to draw visitors and residents alike to the new space with open areas, opportunities to interact with the bayfront and the buildings along the bayfront now, like the Van Wezel and the lawn bowling and garden clubs, Ross and Zorgan said.

The project is light on specifics about those plans and the financing, but those will develop as Sasaki returns for more feedback in February and then again in April. Draft plans will be presented in May and June.

“We haven’t done it yet, but one option is you in perpetuity establish the site as a Sarasota Land Trust or whatever and you govern it under certain standards,” said A.G. Lafley, chairman of the planning organization and former CEO of Proctor & Gamble. “I’m not making this up off the top of my head — this is done in cities across America and around the world.

“We’re not just going to show a fancy plan from Sasaki and Bill Waddill,” he continued. “We’re really going to work on the financing piece and government piece and the sustainability piece.”

Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie stressed to the group at its presentation to the commission Monday night that the public continue to be able to provide feedback on the versions of the plan as they develop.

Ultimately, the City Commission will have the final say on the plan, City Planning Director Steve Cover said during the forum.

“It needs to provide accessibility to the water, it needs to be accessible to everyone, it needs to be accessible across (U.S.) 41 and it needs to be a transparent process,” Cover said. “Those are the things we’ll be focusing on. Plus when we get to the end we’ll have to address any regulatory problems involved.”

“The goal is a master plan that represents, as I said, what the community needs and wants that’s executable because we can afford it we can do it and it’s environmentally sustainable,” Lafley added later. “Ultimately the city controls the land.”

Herald Tribune December 6, 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Construction, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Sarasota-Manatee New Home Starts at Post-Recession Highs

November 17, 2017 by

New Home Starts SarasotaThe third quarter of 2017 proved to be a gem for housing starts in the Sarasota-Manatee market.

“Despite Hurricane Irma, quarterly starts were the best we have seen post-recession,” Metrostudy reported Tuesday.

The company, which provides market information to the housing and related industries nationwide, said the two-county market is building at about 120 percent of the 20-year moving average. And the growth is next expected to stop next year.

“Irma may push some closings into 2018, but she did not materially impact our forecast for increasing housing starts in 2018 for Sarasota,” said Tony Polito, regional director of Metrostudy’s Sarasota-Bradenton market.

The research, data and analytics company’s third-quarter survey of the Sarasota-Bradenton housing market found that 1,514 single-family units were started in the quarter, an increase of 3.4 percent compared with last year’s third quarter. The new figures also are 4.1 percent more starts than in this year’s second quarter.

Single-family closings in the quarter were 1,327 units, which was 2.2 percent higher than third quarter of 2016. Irma likely affected closings, which fell by 211 from the second quarter, according to the study.

The survey also found the problem of workforce housing is getting worse. “Affordability is getting squeezed in the lower price points as new home starts under $250,000 are down 20 percent year over year.”

For the 12 months ending Sept. 30, starts of new under $250,000 totaled 1,211, down 20 percent from the third quarter of 2016. Annual new-home starts over $250,000 increased 6.9 percent, the survey found.

“Hurricane Irma impacted jobs and the local economy in September,” Polito said, “but this is expected to be a short-term impact, although with a 3.3 percent local unemployment rate, new job creation is highly dependent upon new population growth.

This quarter, 1,763 lots were delivered to the Sarasota-Bradenton market compared with 1,251 in last year’s third quarter. Vacant developed lot inventory stands at 36,977 lots, an increase of 0.2 percent compared to 36,904 last year.

“Based upon the annual start rate, this level of lot inventory represents an 80.1-month supply, an increase of 0.5 months compared to last year,” Polito said.

During the recent third quarter, Manatee County recorded 747 housing starts, up 19.5 percent over the second quarter and up 19.5 percent compared with 2016′s third quarter. Sarasota County logged 600 housing starts this past quarter, up 24.5 percent versus this year’s second quarter and up 7.1 percent compared to last year’s third quarter.

Herald Tribune November 7, 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota New Construction, Sarasota Real Estate Market News Tagged With: , ,

Makeover for Sarasota’s North Trail

November 11, 2017 by

Highway improvements, new businesses and multi-million-dollar projects may finally revitalize North Trail.

North Trail - Downtown Sarasota Real EstateMedians full of trees and flowers, and the absence of unsightly strip malls, North Tamiami Trail has enormous potential as the major entrance to downtown Sarasota.

Lining the highway are institutions that have put Sarasota on the map. New College of Florida, the John and Mable Ringling Museum, the Asolo Repertory Theatre and Ringling College of Art and Design call U.S. 41 in north Sarasota home.

Now, that vision is starting to come into focus. This year, along with a public investment in infrastructure, developers and business owners are taking a fresh look at neglected properties.

Before the end of the year, the Florida Department of Transportation will embark on two multimillion-dollar roundabouts, one on 10th Street and one on 14th, to improve traffic flows.

Entrepreneurs have surfaced. In January, Jessica Simmons and Kim Cressell opened The Reserve, a coffee shop and bookstore at 1322 N. Tamiami Trail, that has become a popular gathering place for college students and residents of surrounding neighborhoods.

Next door, just north of The Reserve, is the proposed Whitaker Lofts, the first project being developed by architects Michael Halflants and John Pichette of Halflants + Pichette Studio for Modern Architecture. The pair is looking for an investor, but site improvements have already started on the vacant lot along North Tamiami Trail between 14th and 15th streets. “We purchased the property with the intention to develop it with 21 condos over retail,” says Halflants. The pair likes the location. It’s close to the Rosemary District and faces Whitaker Gateway Park, Halfant says. Traffic flow should improve after the roundabouts are finished. And, in the future, Halfants hopes, an old rail line, not too far away, will become an extension of the Legacy Trail, an 11-mile paved trail for biking and walking. There’s also a plan to connect Whitaker Gateway Park to Centennial Park, the Van Wezel and the rest of the city-owned waterfront.

On the west side of the Trail, at 1889 N. Tamiami Trail, is The Strand, a development proposed by Sarasota developer Jebco Ventures, which is building the Embassy Suites on the North Trail at Fruitville Road. The Strand will be a 152-unit condominium of two buildings and will include 47 private boat slips, a pool, a fitness center, a dog park, a boardwalk and a paddleboard launch.

Designed by Hoyt Architects in a coastal contemporary style, the project was set to start marketing in November and is expected to break ground first quarter 2018 and be finished 15 months later. Prices for the units start in the low $300,000s.

“The North Trail is so convenient,” says Jebco CEO Jim Bridges. “It’s close to the airport and the Sarasota Bayfront 20:20 project [a 42-acre city-owned bayfront property]. It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity for developers and people looking for new homes.”

Benderson Development has also taken an interest in this section of North Trail. Benderson is under contract to purchase the site where the rundown Monterey Village at 2413 N. Tamiami Trail used to stand. The developer has submitted a site plan application to the city of Sarasota to lease the property to Starbucks, says Ryan Chapdelain, the city’s manager of Neighborhoods, Redevelopment and Special Projects.

Ringling College of Art and Design, which has purchased several commercial buildings and a large vacant corner lot along the Trail, has been a key player in transforming the area. Now the college has big plans for the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. More than a decade ago, the college purchased a Shell gas station and made it into a sculpture garden.

Ringling College president Larry Thompson says a major “signature” building is being planned for this lot and will house computer animation, game art and motion design. “It will be the defining entrance of the Ringling College of Art and Design,” Thompson says.

 

941CEO – November 2, 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Condos, Downtown Sarasota Construction, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Hurricane Irma Slaps Sarasota-Manatee Housing Market

October 22, 2017 by

Sarasota Real Estate Market NewsEarly comments from Sarasota and Manatee real estate agents indicated that Hurricane Irma had little impact on home sales, but the September market report showed the two counties suffered decreases in closed sales, pending sales and new listings despite the region mostly escaping major damage from the storm.

Combined closed sales dropped by 16.8 percent in September compared with the same month last year.

The Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee cited office closures, re-inspections and tight scheduling for new appraisals as the reasons for the real estate market stall. September’s decline in sales isn’t an effect of the current housing supply and demand but is directly connected to the business and school closures around the hurricane, the association indicated.

“With Labor Day and office closures, there were 20 percent fewer business days in September to complete a sale,” association president Xena Vallone said. “When a storm like Irma comes around, our focus shifts from day-to-day business to the safety of our homes and loved ones.”

September also witnessed a decline in the number of properties put on the market, with new listings for single family homes falling by 31.8 percent. New listings of condos dropped by 20.9 percent in the two-county area.

“We typically start to see more listings in September as buyers prepare for season,” Vallone said. “But when the storm started its path toward Florida, sellers weren’t preparing to list their house, they were preparing to keep it safe.”

Inventory

Housing inventory dropped marginally from August, but overall inventory does show a slight improvement from this time last year. Single-family home inventory in the combined two counties rose by 1.9 percent, while condos increased by 2.9 percent. Inventory supply typically starts to grow in the fall, which brings good news for post-Irma market recovery, the association said.

Pending Sales

New pending sales plunged, with the blame going to Irma causing fewer shopping days. Properties under contact slumped by 29.8 percent in Sarasota County and 26.2 percent in Manatee. Because of those declines, the hurricane will effect closed sales in October, the association noted.

Median Prices

The sunshine amid these dark clouds is the rise in median sales prices, indicating that Florida’s housing market has only stalled, not crashed, the association said. The median price of single family homes in Sarasota increased by 8.4 percent, reaching $269,000, while Manatee topped those figures by rising 9.3 percent, to $295,000. The reverse occurred in condo prices, increasing by 11.2 percent, to $220,000, in Sarasota and 2 percent, to $181,500, in Manatee.

Herald Tribune, October 20, 2017

Filed Under: Downtown Sarasota Condos, Downtown Sarasota Real Estate, Sarasota Real Estate Market News Tagged With: , ,
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