Historic Sarasota building sold for $17M — a year after buyer backed out

Seaward Development has bought the Mira Mar building in downtown Sarasota — just shy of a year after it backed out of a deal that included plans to demolish the property because of safety concerns and replace it with condominiums.

Seaward President Matthew Leake says his company closed on the sale of the property this week after it reached a long-term agreement with existing tenants and felt comfortable the building was safe. 

Seaward bought the property through an LLC named Miramar Acquisition Co., which it operates with a partner Leake declined to disclose. It paid $17.3 million for it, county records show. The seller is Mark Kaufman and related entities; Kaufman is a longtime prolific developer and landlord in Sarasota.