After hours of presentations from the applicant, opponents and public comment, commissioners unanimously approved a comprehensive plan amendment at yesterday’s legislative meeting.
The Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously on Monday to approve a comprehensive plan amendment that changes the land use designation for part of the Mira Mar Plaza property from “downtown core” to “downtown bayfront,” clearing the way for an 18-story redevelopment behind the historic building on Palm Avenue.
The decision marks the latest turn in a high-profile and often contentious process that has pitted the public against the development with concerns including the erosion of neighborhood character, new development precedents and an increase in building heights.
Last week, the city voted down another high-rise project just down the street at 1260 N. Palm Ave. The legislative meeting required a super majority vote.
The unanimous 5-0 vote followed a daylong hearing that drew hours of public testimony and detailed rebuttals from the new project’s development team. Proponents of the amendment, including architect Rick Gonzalez and the applicant’s legal counsel, argued that the land use change was essential to fund the rehabilitation of the nearly 100-year-old Mira Mar Plaza, which has fallen into disrepair. Gonzalez, who specializes in historic preservation, said that while the building needs new foundations and structural reinforcement, a full restoration is feasible and already underway in the design phase.
As far as the residential units, each tower will have 35 condos, for a total of 70, as allowable under the current density limits.
The historic Mira Mar Hotel, originally constructed in 1922, was one of Sarasota’s earliest luxury accommodations and later served as apartments and commercial space. Today, it’s home to roughly 48 commercial tenants but has no individual landmark designation. A previous attempt to demolish it in 2022 was denied by the City of Sarasota’s Historic Preservation Board, prompting a shift in strategy by the property’s owners, Seaward Development. They returned with a new proposal: save the building, but increase the allowable height on the rest of the parcel to make the economics work. The applicant argued that a downtown bayfront land use designation was essential to realizing a financially viable plan for preserving the Mira Mar. Increasing the height allowance to 18 stories, they said, would allow two slender residential towers to rise behind the historic structure, creating open corridors for light, air and sweeping views. The applicant also asserted that sales of the upper-floor condominium units—particularly those on floors 14 through 18—would generate the revenue needed to cover the estimated $29 million cost of rehabilitation.
Without the extra height, the applicant team said, the building would likely face future demolition, as simply maintaining it in its current condition would not be financially sustainable. The developers also pointed to planned design concessions: reducing the building’s footprint above the podium level—the ground and lower levels of a building that provide a clearly differentiated base or platform for a tower)—to no more than 60 percent of the site, incorporating landscaping and open-air spaces at street level and preserving the street-facing retail experience by taking advantage of floodplain exceptions granted to historic properties.
Critics of the proposal, including residents of the neighboring The Mark condominiums, argued that an 18-story structure would be out of scale with its surroundings and set a dangerous precedent. Some questioned the sincerity of the preservation effort and suggested the project should be delayed until the city completes its new Downtown Master Plan. Others feared the new towers would obstruct views and diminish the pedestrian character of the area.
Several residents of The Mark condominium objected also said the new towers would obstruct their water views and cast shadows on their pool area. The applicant’s attorney argued that while such concerns were understandable, Florida law does not recognize a private property owner’s legal right to an unobstructed view.
The applicant’s team also insisted that any future proposals to upzone neighboring parcels would be evaluated individually, and that the commission’s action did not establish a legal precedent. The applicant team emphasized that the site, under current zoning, could already accommodate 10 to 13 stories by right—and potentially more if developed under the state’s Live Local Act. Parcels zoned for 18 stories are already common in the neighborhood—for example, the DeMarcay next door.
Other speakers cited environmental impacts. “This project will pour more concrete and glass into a part of the city that’s already overheating,” said resident Liz Greenwald. “We keep talking about sea level rise and the urban heat island effect, but then we approve buildings that block airflow and absorb heat. That’s not sustainable planning—it’s short-term thinking.”
To address community concerns, the applicant agreed to a series of proffers that will be carried into the forthcoming rezoning ordinance. Among them: the historic Mira Mar must be rehabilitated and issued a certificate of occupancy before the new residential towers can receive one; building podiums must not exceed 60 percent lot coverage; second-floor commercial space in the preserved structure must be offered at no more than 50 percent of the market rental rate for a period of 10 years; and the building’s interstitial space (floor-to-floor gap for mechanical systems) must be minimized to limit overall massing.
In addition, the developers said they would forfeit any transfer of development rights from the historic portion of the property and committed to adding pedestrian-friendly ground-floor retail.
While Monday’s vote approved only the land use change, the project still requires a rezoning, which will come before the commission at a future public hearing. City attorney Robert Fournier clarified that if the rezoning is not approved, the comprehensive plan amendment would not take effect. Both ordinances are expected to be considered together, with the rezoning coming first. The second reading of the comprehensive plan amendment would follow only if the rezoning passes. It would not be legislative. The first reading for the ensuing rezone of the site are expected to come before the City Commission in July.
Commissioners described the decision as difficult but ultimately concluded that preserving the historic Mira Mar for future generations outweighed the potential drawbacks of allowing additional height on a portion of the site.
“We’re relying on the applicant’s good faith to uphold the spirit of what’s been promised today,” said Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch. “This is not just about restoring a building. It’s about setting a standard for what kind of development we want in downtown Sarasota—one that values history, design and accountability.”
