Sarasota Livin'

Pineapple Square will surely be a boon for shoppers and provide lots of jobs in construction ($157 million project) then upscale retail (I am sure all well above minimum wage). A real issue is where will these workers live. We as a city need to move on workforce housing (for sale and rental)

This is the first formal step in the approval process. The city will get a good deal on parking with lots of spaces in an important area of need...

City looks at parking project

Sarasota decides to continue talks over Pineapple Square
By KEVIN MCQUAID

SARASOTA -- City commissioners have unanimously agreed to postpone plans to develop a garage on State Street, in favor of continuing talks with an Ohio firm that wants to add $157 million worth of retail, residences and parking downtown.

The city set a deadline of Nov. 21 to create binding terms with Isaac Group Holdings LLC, whose mixed-use Pineapple Square project would transform a large swath of downtown.

Although Mayor Mary Anne Servian praised Isaac's proposal as the "best opportunity we have to bring a critical mass of retail to downtown," commissioners acknowledged Tuesday night that numerous questions about the project and the city's involvement remain.

In other news Burns Court won its battle.

Burns Court can go high-rise

Sarasota City Commission votes 3-2 to double the cap to 10 stories
By MIKE SAEWITZ
SARASOTA -- Facing an active lobby from property owners and the threat of a lawsuit, city commissioners voted to let buildings near artsy Burns Court go up to 10 stories.

It was a reversal of a vote just last month, when a majority of commissioners decided to cap the height limit at five stories in the city's largest rezoning effort since the 1970s.

The Burns Court area, they acknowledged, seemed to bring together all of the complexities of zoning: It pitted a residential neighborhood clamoring for stricter height limits against a group of property owners whose building rights were being dramatically decreased.

Thanks Sarasota Herald Tribune...