Two grand trees in downtown Sarasota — a district where development often comes at the expense of greenery — have been granted a stay of execution.
Plans for the 1899 Fruitville apartment complex in downtown Sarasota moved forward when the Sarasota Planning Board approved garage-access changes designed to preserve the two grand trees.
Bristol Development Group, the developer seeking to build a five-story, 324-unit residential complex on a 3.5-acre parcel bounded by Fourth Street, Gillespie Avenue, Fruitville Road and Osprey Avenue, has always envisioned preserving the two trees.
But to do so, it needed an adjustment from city codes that would have required the complex’s only access point to be on Gillespie Avenue, jeopardizing the two trees.
To
avoid that, the Planning Board approved an adjustment allowing two garage access points from Fourth Street and one from Fruitville Road.
The board also granted an adjustment to allow parking to start on the second level inside the garage.
The development received partial approval from the Sarasota Development Review Committee on June 17, with a traffic impact study the last major hurdle.
Grand trees at 1899 Fruitville tied to parking access change
The Franklin, Tennessee-based developer, which was represented at the meeting by Senior Partner and Chief Investment Officer David Hanchrow, also agreed to a “proffer” guaranteeing the creation of a courtyard containing the two grand trees.
“We love having these two trees,” Hanchrow told the planning board.
“When I first showed the aerial to my wife, and showed her this site, she said ‘if you take those two trees down, I’m going to kill you,’ so there’s that,” he jokingly added.
“We are committed to the trees, we are committed to this building and we are committed to having an area of public space here,” Hanchrow said.
While the courtyard will be open to the public, the hours it will be open will likely be decided later in the process.
The two trees measure 67 inches and 70 inches in diameter.
“We think they might be some of the oldest ones downtown,” Kimley Horn planner Philip DiMaria added.
Downtown Sarasota apartment complex would replace near-century-old bungalows
Bristol Development plans to build a complex that would contain 324 residences, including 36 priced as attainable housing, along with first-floor retail space, a six-level parking garage, a gym, clubhouse, and pool.
It would replace a collection of 1920s and 1930s bungalows that once served as housing but later became a collection of 17 shops and restaurants on a 3.5-acre parcel bounded by 4th Street, Gillespie Avenue, Fruitville Road and Osprey Avenue.
All 17 shops and restaurants on the 3.5-acre parcel remain open for business.
Five of those bungalow businesses, including two well-known restaurants, plan to relocate to a site at Fruitville Road and Briggs Court and create a new dining and shopping village.
They include The Breakfast House, operated by Wendy Goldberg and her daughter, Jazz Wingard; Siegfried's Restaurant and Biergarten, operated by René and Kim Zimmermann; The Cookie Cottage, operated by Cathy Vande Mheen; Discover Sarasota Tours, operated by Tammy Hauser; and The Artful Giraffe, operated by Tess and Tim Craig.
Where will the Bungalow businesses go?
Wendy Lee Goldberg, owner of The Breakfast House, purchased a house at Fruitville Road and Briggs Court, about a mile east of the current location, with an eye toward rebuilding the restaurant there.
Other business owners hope to move their existing cottages to that site.
Goldberg, who did not plan to address the Planning Board on Aug. 19, noted that the group’s proposal is currently being reviewed by city officials for the appropriate permits.
The group established a website: sarasotabungalowvillage.com, where people can view a draft site plan of the new location, read about the five businesses or donate to the effort to establish Sarasota Bungalow Village.
Because it is a for-profit effort, donations are not tax-deductible.
The fundraising goal is $2.43 million, though the cost of moving the bungalows has not yet been established.
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Two grand trees saved from major downtown Sarasota development
