Development

It will serve as a six-week testing ground for a transformation aimed at making the city’s oldest public space a year-round destination.

Residents seemed equal parts enthusiastic about the investments being made in their Sarasota community but skeptical about how this promised change could attract outside developers.

Sarasota County wants to turn the closed Gulf Gate golf course into a regional stormwater facility and wildlife habitat, but the county and developer remain far apart over the land’s value.

The original North Ward Elementary School building was constructed in 1915.

The developer, JPV Hotel Property LLC, has said the Marriott Tribute Collection hotel will open its doors sometime in 2028.

The initiative is designed to support local businesses and entrepreneurs.

The fate of a more than century-old downtown Sarasota building could be headed to court following a last-ditch effort from a preservation group trying to stop it from being razed for luxury condos.

The long-discussed rowing facility has evolved into a proposed 100,000-square-foot recreation complex expected to cost as much as $70 million, with Sarasota County already committing $20 million in tourist tax dollars.

A long-running fight over a proposed subdivision next to Sarasota’s Celery Fields has escalated into a lawsuit, with D.R. Horton abandoning an arbitration process and suing Sarasota County after officials repeatedly rejected its scaled-down plans to build up to 170 homes on nearby Smith Farm.

Three times now, environmental advocates hoping to stave off a housing community proposed next to the Celery Fields bird sanctuary have seen huge victories in the Sarasota County Commission chambers. But a developer that calls itself "America's largest homebuilder” is still carrying on with its plans.

Sarasota County Commissioners said they were reacting to a steady barrage of concerns from residents over the impact of the proposed developments.

The Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously to add a referendum to fund the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program through 2049. It'll need a simple majority of votes to pass.