324-unit downtown Sarasota apartment complex proposal wins key approval

A proposal to develop an entire block along Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota where a current bungalow village of small businesses now stands took another step forward with two adjustments unanimously approved by the Sarasota Planning Board.

At its Aug. 19 meeting, the board granted Bristol Development Group code exemptions as 1899 Fruitville Road apartment complex progresses toward administrative approval. The 324-unit apartment building will cover 3.44 acres between Gillespie Avenue and North Osprey Avenue, and will include 36 attainable housing units per the city’s bonus density ordinance.

The project has received partial sign-off of the city’s Development Review Committee. No residents of the Gillespie Park neighborhood spoke against the adjustment requests.

Because the property is bounded by three primary downtown streets — from which driveway cuts are not permitted — by code the site's internal parking garage may be accessed only from Gillespie Avenue. However, that’s the location of a pair of grand trees, which the developer is required to preserve unless otherwise justifiable, also per code.

Courtesy image

Bristol’s design shows driveway access into the parking structure off both Fruitville Road and Fourth Street. In exchange for the adjustments, the developer proposed a publicly accessible green space at the northeast corner of the site, shaded by the massive oaks City Arborist Jackie Hartley says are perhaps the oldest grand trees in the city.

“If the trees weren't there, we would likely to be taking access off of Gillespie,” Philip DiMaria of project consultant Kimley-Horn told board members. “That's the reality of it. We would likely have two access points off of Gillespie.” 

Bristol also received an adjustment to allow a small number of parking spaces on the second level, which by code is otherwise reserved for habitable space. 

“Those grand trees are beautiful, 67-inch and 70-inch grand trees,” DiMaria says. “They’re really important environmental and placemaking structures that we felt were important to preserve.”

Development Services General Manager Allison Christie says Bristol may have been able to make a case for removing the trees based on one of the four criteria in the code, in this case the pair covering a requisite percentage of the buildable area of the site.

Photo by Andrew Warfield

Staff told planning board members Bristol’s intent from the beginning of conversations was to preserve the trees. Bristol Senior Partner and Chief Investment Officer David Hanchrow, who was present for the hearing, confirmed that commitment as required by the highest of authorities.

“We've gone through a lot of pain to get here. We love having these two trees,” Hanchrow told the board. “When I first showed the aerial to my wife she said, ‘If you take those two trees down, I'm going to kill you!' So there's that. 

“We are committed to the trees. We are committed to this building, and we are committed to having an area of public space here.”

To Hanchrow’s latter point, the Planning Board pressed Bristol to provide that public space, setting off a debate between members and attorney Patrick Seidensticker on just how that space is to be defined — primarily the hours of access and size of the area. To avoid delaying the vote, Seidensticker suggested a proffer in general language committing to the space and its public availability, with final details to come in the building permit stage.

Continuing the hearing, Seidensticker told the Planning Board, could disrupt Bristol’s timing in its planned acquisition of the 22 parcels owned by Alex and Marlene Lancaster.

The matter was settled when both sides agreed to a proffer that specified the building footprint will remain as is, plus or minus 5% as final design is completed. The grand trees will be retained and the green space is promised to be publicly accessible.

In offering his assurance to those commitments, Hanchrow says, “In 27 years and 12,000 units of Bristol development, we have always kept the commitments that we make once we say we're going to do something.” 

A version of this article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.