Merchants face losing stores during 18-month condo tower repair project

The former Dolphin Tower in Sarasota is about to undergo major structural repairs that will close parts of the building at separate intervals for an estimated 18 months, causing some distress for residents and uprooting retail tenants.

The work, on a building shuttered and evacuated 12 years ago over fears of collapse, is designed to address structural issues in the building’s garage that the property manager and association president believe should have been done several years ago. The fixes are part of a broader project that will update the outside of the building, which opened in 1975 and is now called The 101 Condominium, and transform the waterfront tower from its familiar pink frontage to white. Building officials estimate the project will cost about $2 million.