Developer seeks to build six-story hotel, apartments next to Michael's on East

The owner of a prominent Sarasota shopping center, just south of downtown, is planning to redevelop part of it, years after seeking a change in zoning that will allow for the shift.

At Midtown Plaza, the owner seeks city approval to construct apartments, a parking garage and hotel, according to newly submitted site plans for the property at 1299 S. Tamiami Trail.

John Meshad of Midtown Associates, who owns Midtown Plaza near the intersection of U.S. 41 and Bahia Vista Street, plans to redevelop about 3.52 acres of the 7.51-acre property. While the retail and office space on the north half of the shopping center will remain intact, the portion where changes will occur is at the south end — including the former Winn-Dixie that's been empty for seven years. 

“The redevelopment will require the demolition of the existing grocery store,” Joel Freedman, development consultant with Freedman Consulting & Development LLC, writes in a letter to city officials accompanying the application for site plan approval.

In 2018, Winn-Dixie moved out of the more than 40,000-square-foot grocery store space, sister paper Your Observer reported. That year, Freedman and the owner sought to change the zoning of the property from commercial shopping center community to commercial general district. That change was granted. 

“The new development will include the development of a mixed-use building where the grocery store is today,” Freedman writes. 

Photo by Elizabeth King

The new building will include 112 apartments as well as 5,800 square feet of first-floor retail, according to Freedman. In accordance with the zoning regulations, 28 of the apartments, or 25% of the total units, will be designated as attainable housing units.

A parking garage is proposed in the site plan between the north side of the shopping center and the apartment building. The parking structure will be 51,100 square feet, according to documents submitted to the city, which say the proposed build-out date for the project is 2025.

“In addition, a new 145-room hotel is proposed to be constructed in the southwest corner of the site,” Freedman writes. It will be erected to front US 41, according to the site plan, which shows it as a six-story Courtyard by Marriott hotel with a pool between it and the apartment building behind it.

Submission of the site plan marks the beginning of the development process. It will be followed by an appearance before the Development Review Committee. As of May 17, Midtown Plaza has not yet been added to the published agenda of the Development Review Committee.