The largest workforce housing provider in Sarasota aims to transform a vacant parcel owned by a luxury real estate executive into an attainable apartment complex across from Payne Park as its next development.
One Stop Housing, the builder of some of the lowest-priced housing across Manatee and Sarasota counties, has set its sights on a 0.875-acre property at 295 School Ave. for its next attainable development. The project, aptly named On The Park, is a proposed project that will consist of 48 residential units priced at or below 60% of the area median income, according to site plans.
Mark Vengroff, CEO of One Stop Housing, told the Herald-Tribune that this mixed-use development is in a "beautiful" area across from the 29-acre lush community park
– complete with walking trails, a playground and public art – and will allow for numerous families to "have sustainability and balance in their life."
With slated completion for early 2028, On The Park will include 22 studio spaces and 20 one-bedroom units, along with six two-bedroom apartments. The attainable accommodations range from 397 to 954 square feet, according to the project plans submitted to the city.
About 24 of the attainable units will be reserved for local law enforcement officers, Vengroff said, and there is a dispatch right next to the complex. The remaining half of the units will be open to anyone in need of workforce housing, regardless of profession.
The five-story development will include 1,300 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, which will likely be rented to a small coffee shop or restaurant, he added.
Michael Saunders, founder and CEO of one of the most prominent luxury real estate companies in the region, is the current owner of the property and has committed her land to the project, Vengroff said.
"She could've made a pretty penny on this property," Vengroff said. "But she decided to contribute her land for something like this, to provide affordable housing for people in Sarasota."
Saunders told the Herald-Tribune that she had previously received offers to sell the property for up to $3.5 million but instead wanted to do something to contribute toward solving the lack of attainable housing for Sarasota residents.
Consequently, Saunders said that the project is "near and dear" to her heart. Not only is the development going to create numerous attainable units, but it is also "well-designed and well-located" affordable housing near the downtown core.
"I have always wanted my life to be true to my principles and values. They have always meant more to me than money," Saunders said.
While Saunders plans to maintain ownership of the property, she has donated its use to Vengroff's cause. However, she said that the governmental approval process to make the partnership possible was "very complex, convoluted, difficult and time-consuming," and if the community wants to see more affordable housing in good locations, that the process should be analyzed.
According to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser, Saunders purchased the parcel in 2010 as part of a two-parcel transaction totaling 9.55 acres for $7.6 million. Property records link ownership to Quincy Real Estate Holdings, LLC, an entity connected to Saunders.
The parcel, located within the downtown edge zoning (DTE), was previously approved commercial development space, to be a 100-room hotel, restaurant or office space. Before that, it was initially going to be the headquarters for Michael Saunders & Company, before the 1605 Main St. space became available.
One Stop Housing had its pre-application conference for the project at the city's Development Review Committee meeting on Sept. 16, with thorough permitting and site planning to follow, Vengroff said. The land agreement is set to go before the city commission Oct. 19.
A ripple effect
The partnership between the builder of Sarasota's most affordable housing with a legacy real estate executive representing some of the most expensive has sparked other community leaders to come forward to provide land.
The Venice Pier Group housing project is yet another One Stop development currently underway in Sarasota County that was derived from a similar partnership. Vengroff said that the Pachota family, the people behind the two waterfront restaurants at the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier, approached his team about providing land for an affordable housing project in Venice.
Vengroff said that though One Stop has closed on the capital needed and completed the initial site plan for that project, the next steps include awaiting the rezoning commission hearing scheduled for November to be able to move forward with construction.
Saunders said that she had hoped her decision "could start something among other business leaders downtown," whether they have excess property — that they could dedicate to companies like Vengroff's — or can initiate alternative ways to support the workforce in downtown Sarasota.
"I hope that I can encourage others to be proactive in helping solve the problem of affordable housing by either donating land or by other creative ways to bring more residents into our community," Saunders said.
Saunders added that she hopes private entities like herself, local governments and not-for-profit organizations can work together, like her partnership with Vengroff, to come up with more solutions for the housing crisis.
Meeting a need
One Stop Housing was founded in 2007 out of a need for affordable housing in the community. The concept was initially started by Harvey Vengroff — Mark Vengroff's father — to provide housing for working families and individuals struggling to find a place they could afford to live.
What started as one old hotel being converted to apartment housing for people in the community, has grown into a multi-faceted company providing thousands of affordable units across Florida, along with nonprofit services. One Stop Housing currently provides 2,500 units across Sarasota and Manatee counties, with over 4,000 units in total under management. Four attainable developments are located within Sarasota city limits.
The Nest is one of the most recently completed housing projects by the developer and sits adjacent to Robin’s Apartments – a former hotel that One Stop restored into 240 workforce units. The constructed, white-and-teal three-story, concrete-block community offers affordable studios, and one- and two-bedroom apartments.
At The Nest, studios are starting at $1,170 a month, one bedroom at $1,395, and two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments at $1,735 a month. All of the floorplans have utilities included in the rental rate.
The cost of living has soared for local residents in recent years, pushing the survival budget for a family of four to more than $104,000 in Sarasota County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median income in the area was $83,367 in 2024.
However, median rent in downtown Sarasota tops $4,775 a month, which is a 6.11% year-over-year increase, according to a September market report from Realtor.com. This indicator is 13% more expensive than the national average. More specifically, RentHop reports that median rent for a one-bedroom apartment is roughly $2,900 with studios at $1,965.
As previously reported by the Herald-Tribune, the Sarasota Housing Action Plan outlines the scale and scope of a housing emergency that is pricing out seniors as well as teachers, nurses, and restaurant workers.
A recent report released by the Florida Housing Coalition showed that Sarasota County is behind on provision of affordable housing units, estimating that 15,000 new affordable housing units must be built in the next decade to meet current and future needs.
According to a news release from One Stop Housing, the lack of workforce housing has "far-reaching consequences." Not only does it negatively impact local economies, as businesses struggle to attract and retain employees who cannot afford to live nearby, but it also forces local workers to move away from the communities in which they work.
As an employer, Saunders has noticed this firsthand.
"It's been a growing concern to all of us who employ people in the downtown core, and it's an increasingly challenging problem for people who are in the workforce downtown and can't afford to live here," Saunders said. "Some of our staff live so far away."
For Saunders, the numerous luxury developments being built, several with the added bonus density of incorporating a few attainable units, "isn't a solution."
"When you throw in six or eight units into a luxury condominium build, that isn't the way to go about affordable housing," Saunders said. "The numbers are just astounding with how few we're bringing to the market and how the community isn't up in arms about it and demanding more. Without good incentives, why would a developer build affordable housing when they can build a for-sale product and make a lot of money?"
Vengroff told the Herald-Tribune that as luxury developments continue to rise throughout Sarasota, there is "a huge gap" in available attainable housing for working-class residents.
"For every luxury tower you see being built, for about every hundred units, it creates a need for about 14 to 18 people in the workforce to support those lives," Vengroff said. "Unless we create this kind of housing, there's going to be a deficit. With all the development coming in, it's pushing people out."
Kendal Asbury is the real estate and development reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Have an idea, tip or question about development? Send her an email at kasbury@usatodayco.com. Connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on Instagram @wordsbykendal, and support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Luxury real estate exec backs downtown Sarasota affordable housing
