What Does the Future Look Like for Sarasota’s Downtown?

In today’s video, I am standing on the Ringling Bridge with downtown Sarasota in the background. This is a great vantage point to see the city’s construction cranes – an illustration of Sarasota’s expansion and growth underway.

There is a saying that goes “the heart of a community is its downtown” and the heart of Sarasota has undergone many evolutions throughout its history. Downtown Sarasota – just like good software – gets upgraded periodically and right now we are currently on the cusp of Sarasota X.0. But what does that look like in 2015?

More Accommodation, More Investment, More Buzz

For me, this starts with the hotels. Currently, downtown Sarasota is anchored by three hotels, the Hyatt with 294 rooms, the Ritz Carlton with 266 rooms, and Hotel Indigo with 95 rooms.

This total of 655 rooms is about to increase by 60% with the addition of two Sheraton properties: the Westin Sarasota and Aloft Sarasota. It does not stop there, however, as there are plans for 750 more hotel rooms in downtown (which would be another 70% increase).

Condos Underway Mean Downtown Community Growth

In addition to more places to stay there will be more places to live. There are currently permits in place to build 199 condominiums and 139 rental apartments. There are about 2,000 condominiums and apartments in the development pipeline. In the next 3-5 years there will be a lot more places to live, stay and play in downtown Sarasota.

What Does Downtown Growth Mean for the Real Estate Market?

With this expansion in new construction, there will be many changes and hopefully, the majority will make downtown even better. One major takeaway for me is that there will be even more people visiting, experiencing, and investing in our community. I believe that this increased exposure will increase demand and drive up prices – especially for single-family homes in and around downtown Sarasota.

Read our new guide to buying new construction condos in downtown Sarasota.