Project to turn Sarasota mall into apartments moves ahead

Benderson Development has taken one more step toward redevelopment of The Crossings at Siesta Key in Sarasota — formerly named Westfield Southgate Plaza and, before that, Southgate Mall. 

The largely vacant, nearly 34-acre property at 3501 S. Tamiami Trail is commercial property desert among a future land use designation of Urban Mixed Use stretching from Hillview Street to the southern city limits.

East Manatee County Benderson, one of the largest developers in the region and largest commercial landlords in the country, plans to change all that. But changing that requires the Sarasota City Commission to approve transmittal of a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment to the state review agencies for comments prior to holding an adoption public hearing later this year. At maximum density, Benderson could build as many as 848 apartments on the eastern side of the property and, at the Planning Board’s request, proffered to price 10% of them as attainable and affordable, or as many as 85 units.

Benderson isn’t seeking a density bonus. It instead plans to develop the residential portion of the site up to the maximum density of 25 units per acre, but it could be less. 

Amending the Comprehensive Plan requires a supermajority 4-1 vote. That vote will come later this year. Commissioners unanimously approved the transmittal to Tallahassee, but not before a lengthy discussion over the timing of the affordable units as the project is developed.

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The agreed upon proffer with the Planning Board, which at its May 8 meeting recommended approval of transmittal by a 4-1 vote, is to include 20 attainable units among the first 400, 50 among the first 450 and 85 among the first 750.

Commissioners questioned why not offer 10% of the units as attainable and affordable at each phase of residential development, particularly since Benderson could decide to stop building apartments after the first 400.

Todd Mathes, Benderson’s director of development, explained that the project requires significant investment in infrastructure on the outset, and that Benderson will need to capture all available revenues in the early phases in order to continue the development. That includes demolition of the mall building and substantial stormwater mitigation, which currently does not exist on the site. 

“The unique burden that we're taking on here, which will yield great results over time, is that when we initially start redeveloping this property, there's a lot to it,” Mathes said. “It’s a big property, there's a lot of infrastructure, there's a lot of upfront costs, and so we're going to bear a lot of those upfront costs very early. It’s about how can we get this property started without bearing the costs associated with those early units.”

No site plan has been devised for public consumption, but a preliminary concept shows all the residential and hidden structured parking along South School Avenue, buffering the commercial area from adjacent residences. The concept envisions a number of restaurants, retail spaces, a hotel and office buildings scattered throughout the property. The plan shows Cinebistro and Connors Steak & Seafood restaurant remaining as part of the new development.

Once approved, it will all likely take 10 to 15 years to build out the project, ultimately resulting in a town center-type of development. Mathes and Philip DiMaria of consultant Kimley-Horn compared the vision for the site to Mercado in Naples and Tampa’s Hyde Park Village.

While applauding the vision, concerns remained among commissioners over how to achieve that 10% threshold of affordable housing, particularly if Benderson decides to stop building apartments after that first 400. That led to more proffering in real time.

“I think the concern from my colleagues is that there's no catch-up provision,” said Commissioner Erik Arroyo. “We understand that the expense is really on the front end, and so in order to be more flexible and allow you to be less on the front end but also have some sort of assurance in the back end to ensure that we get that 10% number.”

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“I think there could be a graceful way of backing into that 10% when we get to a last phase of the project,” Mathes replied. “We really anticipate that we're going to bring these developments block by block by block because there's a lot going on on the property. There are still leases. There is still retail tenancy. We do anticipate owning this property forever, and so if we get toward the end of the project and it ended up being a 400-unit project and not a 600-unit project, could we come up with 20 more units and back into it? That could certainly be done.”

The “graceful” back-in is a clause that would require Benderson — if it doesn’t build enough apartments to reach the 10% threshold — to convert enough of the then-existing units as affordable and attainable if no new plans are submitted five years after the most recent certificate of occupancy. 

Of the attainable units that are included, they must be priced as affordable in increments of one-third each to those earning 80% or less, 81% to 100% and 101% to 120% of area median income.

Benderson first revealed its ideas for redeveloping the property at a July 25, 2023 community workshop. Only two residents spoke about the proposal at Thursday's meeting. Both endorsed the project.

This story originally appeared in the the Sarasota Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer.