Prime downtown Sarasota property sold to prominent local developers

A pair of Sarasota developers and investors have bought the former headquarters of Michael Saunders & Co. in downtown Sarasota, paying $5.7 million for the nearly one-acre parcel.

The buyers were Jebco Ventures and the Kauffman Family Partnership, according to a statement from Michael Saunders & Co.

The property is at 1801 Main St. and 32 and 40 N. Osprey Ave. along the main downtown commercial corridor. It is in between two major projects — One Main Plaza at 1991 Main St. and Sota at 1703 Main St. — that are bringing major density to the area, including hundreds of new residential units and hotel rooms as well as thousands of square feet of new commercial space.

One Main Plaza, currently under construction, includes two 10-story buildings with 424 apartments and a 23,000-square-foot Sprouts grocery store. And Sota, which is expected to begin construction soon, is a 16-story tower with 35 condominiums, 120 hotel rooms and a 4,500-square-foot restaurant.

These developments, and others that have been talked about, are welcomed by proponents who see them as bringing life and people to the area but bemoaned by others who worry they will change the character of downtown.

Now, with two prolific property owners and developers owning a prime piece of real estate in the heart of that fast-growing stretch of the city, the obvious question is what their plans are.

The answer, for now at least, is, time will tell. The statement says plans for the property have not yet been announced and James Bridges, Jebco’s CEO, did not respond to an email or phone call Thursday afternoon.

The 0.71-acre parcel of land includes two buildings that were headquarters for Saunders until the residential and commercial real estate brokerage firm consolidated its offices earlier this year on two floors of the Wells Fargo building on Main Street and Orange Avenue in downtown Sarasota.