DOWNTOWN HOMES & REAL ESTATE
“You have a little more affordable price point in Alta Vista,” Crawford says, noting townhomes are available for even young workers and singles looking for a place to own for under $300,000. “There’s growing interest in homes, in particular that boast east access, both to Payne Park and to east Downtown. “There’s a lot of pull for a place where you are able to walk to Payne Park or to the Bayfront.” Different neighborhoods will allow different types of construction around Sarasota. As just a short primer on local zoning, Gillespie Park is considered by the city as a Downtown Neighborhood, which means you can build single-family houses and even put a guesthouse on the lot, but don’t expect any mixed-use construction with restaurants and condos in the same structure. Mixed use can be found in the Rosemary District, which is zoned as Downtown Edge. Laurel Park has its own zoning overlay district, allowing a range of developments but with some hoops that builders must jump through to get permission in the city. Alta Vista is zoned as a traditional residential neighborhood, so single-family homes rule there. As for what buyers want in homes, there’s definitely a hunger for the new, Lambert said. “People want all the toys,” he said. Whether that’s smart home security and integrated home entertainment, there’s a premium placed on new technology and creature comforts. Abrams said many people in search of new homes insist on a pool, more important in the downtown outskirts neighborhoods than the views hungered for by the condo dwellers on Palm Avenue. “It doesn’t have to be a huge pool, but maybe a splash pool,” he said. There seems to be no slowing in the push for coastal contemporary architecture and finishes on homes. White and gray paints and Shaker cabinets hang in the kitchens of many units. And with Sarasota’s clientele, Lambert says one piece of home technology in recent years has become a must: an elevator. Particularly when clients build on the small lots around downtown, sometimes on lots of less than 6,000 square feet, where more home gets packed in with a second or third story. With many newcomers to Sarasota arriving at the age of 70 or older, flights of stairs don’t make for a great selling feature. “Elevators have become the norm in multistory, even in single-family homes,” he says. “Our market needs that.” He recalls a few years ago realizing when a three-story condo unit opened in the Rosemary District with a rooftop bar but no lift, even many active culture-philes had no interest. “There’s lots of those people who are in their 70s and want a cocktail before they go to the opera, but they don’t want to walk up three flights of stairs.” Of course, there’s still always a place for those city dwellers who want to overlook the Bay. Abrams right now is selling units at The Collection, a luxury condominium tower being completed in May with a penthouse unit still available with a $4 million asking price. With views of the city skyline and the Bay from its Second Street location, he sees it further raising the bar on condo life downtown, which continues to see more luxury each year. It seems there’s a place for the well-monied retiree and the upstart young professional within walking distance of downtown, with price depending only on how many fancy elements you want at move-in and how many steps you are willing to walk to reach the Sarasota Opera House. That’s ultimately the great attractor to the area, Balaity says. It’s a way to enjoy the independence, privacy and primacy that comes with a home, while also benefiting from the amenities living in the heart of the city. He notes that before deciding to build in Gillespie, he and his partner looked around Sarasota, both toward townhome developments in the area or to condos. “Nothing seemed like a good value compared to a custom home that’s still only four blocks from Main Street,” he says. SRQ Left: David Crawford of Catalist Realty.
srq magazine_ FEB21 live local | 69
FEATURE_SRQFEB21-Neighborhoods.indd 69
1/19/21 1:32 PM