Quay sale offering details released

SARASOTA — Just a few days after the Irish government took ownership of the vacant former Sarasota Quay property, a clearer picture has emerged of the extras that are up for sale with the waterfront property.

HFF, which is marketing the high profile downtown property for more than $35 million, is highlighting a development agreement with the city and zoning on the property for an 18-story development. Its current entitlements would allow for 695 residential units, 175 hotel rooms, 38,300 square feet of restaurant space and 150,750 square feet of retail.

The property itself is 12.5 acres with another 1.5 acres of submerged land, but its location on U.S. 41 in the center of downtown puts its next to The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, Hyatt Regency and several upscale condominiums, including Condo on the Bay and Beau Ciel.

The foreclosure sale on Monday allows the property to go back on the market after sitting vacant since 2007.

Developer Irish American Properties Inc. purchased the large retail center in early 2004 and demolished it for development of a large mixed-use project, Sarasota Bayside, just prior to the real estate market crash. Irish American Properties eventually defaulted on more than $90 million in loans from Anglo-Irish Bank Corp., which is now owned by the Irish government.

Paul Shelowitz, an attorney with the Miami law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan representing the Irish government's interest in the property, told the Sarasota Observer that the new owner is under no pressure to sell the property quickly.

“As the market continues to rise, and as the value continues to rise, eventually you'll [see] the type of offer that's being sought,” says Shelowitz.

That said, without an extension, the property's entitlements are set to expire October 2017.

Working in the new owner's favor, the commercial market in downtown has improved recently and the condominium market is following. HFF says that condominium sales in downtown through the first four months of the year are up 15.5% over last year to 141 sales, a several year high.