High-stakes plan to save downtown Sarasota building will cost $29M

Historic preservation isn’t for the feint of heart, especially for those paying for it. 

Having been denied permission to demolish the Mira Mar building at 49 S. Palm Ave, in downtown Sarasota in 2022, area developer Seaward Development still purchased the century-old building in 2023, for $17.3 million. That was a key step in what now has been about an 18-month effort to determine how it could save the Mira Mar and still redevelop the property.

That endeavor led to partnering with East Coast architects Rick Gonzalez and Igor Reyes to devise a plan to restore the Mira Mar to its 1923 origins and pay the bill by building two 18-story residential towers behind it. Gonzalez, of West Palm Beach, has 40 years of expertise in historic building restoration while Reyes, of Coral Gables, specializes in designing projects that help monetize such efforts.