Carter unveils name for Sarasota apartments

Atlanta-based Carter has named its 10-story, luxury apartment project under construction on Second Street in downtown Sarasota The DeSota. The 180-unit rentals, on a site that once was occupied by the United Way, will also contain 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Jerome Hagley, a Carter executive vice president, says the name is intended as a “play off the name of Sarasota, and as a tribute to the city.”

Slated for completion in 2017, Carter's project and the recently completed One Palm apartments are being closely watched as indicators of the overall depth of the Southwest Florida rental market.

One Palm, at Ringling Boulevard and Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota, debuted this spring and is 100% occupied — an unusual status for a project open for just a few months.

The DeSota, meanwhile, is being watched because with upscale amenities such as quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and wine coolers in some units, its units are expected to command the highest rents of any new Sarasota apartment project.

“The renter profile we're looking at in Sarasota is less vehicular dependent than some of the other projects being built in the area,” Hagley says.

He adds Carter and partner Hunt Investment Management have yet to formulate rental rates at the DeSota, though the pair have been studying the “shadow inventory” of condos available for rent to determine its pricing.

In addition to DeSota, Carter also is constructing the 23-story Nine15 rental tower in downtown Tampa. That 362-unit project is expected to be completed at the end of 2017.