Construction begins for 208 affordable units near downtown Sarasota

As heavy equipment and construction workers circled around an 18-inch-high dirt pile, the multiple parties involved in helping the Sarasota Housing Authority build two new low-income residential projects flipped ceremonial soil in dual groundbreaking ceremonies on Sept. 17.

The first photo op came amid the concrete block construction forming the shape of Cypress Square 2 (formerly Amaryllis Park Place III) before boarding trolleys bound for nearby Lofts on Lemon II for a second dig, that project in an earlier site clearing stage. Both projects are north of downtown Sarasota.