Sarasota developer reflects on lead-up to Waldorf project

Working for a general contractor was “probably the most influential experience in my life,” says Sarasota developer Sadek Omar. “Every nuance matters.”

He says he started as an assistant at a firm in Washington, D.C., scrubbing floors and putting water on the table for those attending meetings. Later, he began running his own projects and eventually, he wanted more.

Photo by Mark Wemple

“As time progressed, I felt like I wanted to try something bigger, different, and so with the help of my family,” Omar says, “I was able to get started and met my partner Lee [Smith], and the rest is history.”

Smith and Omar are partners in Ore Development. Before Omar moved to Florida five years ago, Ore developed more than $1 billion in assets outside the state, Omar says, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area, including a more than 2-acre redevelopment project called Central Armature Works in Washington, D.C., that included apartments, a hotel, retail and pocket parks.

One of Ore’s major projects now with development partner WMG is the Waldorf Astoria Residences Sarasota, which will be at the Five Points intersection at Main Street and Pineapple Avenue where the Zenith building is downtown. It will have 86 condominiums in an 18-story tower, with units starting at $2.2 million, plus more than 40,000 square feet of commercial space. 

Getting the Waldorf brand to put its name on the Waldorf Astoria Residences Sarasota, which has a projected completion of 2029, was a “serious undertaking,” Omar says. His firm had to prove its business case, show it had the finances and ability to execute and present a design worthy of both the Waldorf and Sarasota, he says.

“Sarasota is a very important place for us. We love it,” Omar says. “So we had to do something really special.”

Along the way, Omar says he has had two mentors: former COO of Marriott International Bob McCarthy and Jebco Ventures CEO Jim Bridges.

He met McCarthy when he moved from Qatar, where he grew up, to the U.S. for college. McCarthy, who was his college best friend’s father, helped him develop a business plan and primed him for growth, ultimately partnering with him in a deal, he says.

“He taught me everything I know about the hotel business,” Omar says.

When he came to Florida, Omar was introduced to Bridges. Omar describes Bridges as a “gentleman” and “one of the good guys.”

One piece of advice Bridges has instilled in him is this, Omar says: “Doing one bad deal kills two or more good deals.”