Diamond Days

Nearly everything about Tom Mannausa's luxury downtown Sarasota condo project says new, fresh and sleek.

But the fact that the developer is even building condos in downtown Sarasota, which has lacked new projects for more than five years, is historic in and of itself. It's reminiscent of the old days, circa 2000-2004, when projects came out of the ground on a regular basis.

Mannausa's project is The Jewel, a 17-story tower planned for Main Street and Gulfstream Avenue. The location is a short walk from the bayfront and in the middle of the cultural and arts hub of downtown Sarasota. “It will be a very modern design, but not a spaceship design,” says Mannausa. “We think it fits very appropriately with downtown Sarasota.”