Sarasota County leaders to consider land buy for jail expansion

Sarasota County commissioners on Tuesday are scheduled to consider the purchase of land on Main Street, just east of Washington Boulevard in downtown Sarasota, to complete an early step toward an eventual expanded Criminal Justice Center complex.

The county is proposing to buy the half-acre at 2100 Main St. for $4.87 million — an offer that expires on Friday, according to the sales contract. The listing price is $5.8 million and the average of two county appraisals of the property is $3.1 million.

The land is occupied by a church and owned by 2100 Main LLC, a Washington DC-based corporation. The deal with the county, however, is with 2100 Main Sarasota LLC, a Delaware-based corporation. Before the land can become county property, according to documents, a pending sale between the two limited-liability corporations must be completed.