Pineapple Square project gains extension

The Sarasota City Commission approved a revised development agreement with Pineapple Square, a mixed-used project planned for downtown Sarasota.

The deal gives developer John Simon additional time for the project and the flexibility to build something other than condos, including a hotel, on his property at Lemon Avenue and Pineapple Avenue. The original agreement had firm rules that would have required Simon to build 157 condos and 85,000 square feet of retail space

In exchange for the flexibility, Pineapple Square will return ownership of the State Street parking lot to the city. Commissioners also committed the city to build a parking garage on the State Street parking lot in the next four years. The city is obligated under the agreement to build a garage with at least 300 spaces.

The city will also receive back $4.4 million it contributed to the developer for Pineapple Square.

-reporting by Rob Roy, correspondent