Apartments, New York restaurant coming to former Sarasota Checkers site

A former fast-food restaurant on Ringling Boulevard in downtown Sarasota is being transformed into a five-story building that will include residences and a popular upstate New York eatery.

MRM Management, which has owned the property since 2002, says when complete, the project will feature rental apartments, retail space and a restaurant venue.

The property is at 2101 Ringling Blvd., across from the Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center. Until about a year ago it was occupied by Checkers. The Checkers, on a much-trafficked site a block down from the Sarasota County jail, sat empty for months; it was protected by a wrap-around fence. The building was recently demolished.