A plan to preserve the historic façade of the Mira Mar Plaza in Downtown Sarasota cleared a hurdle this year in Sarasota
City Hall.
The Sarasota City Commission voted unanimously to approve a comprehensive plan amendment that changes the land use designation for part of the Mira Mar Plaza property from “downtown core” to “downtown bayfront,” which will then allow an 18-story redevelopment behind the historic building on Palm Avenue.
The unanimous 5-0 vote followed a hearing that drew hours of public testimony and detailed presentations from the new project’s development team.
Proponents of the amendment, including architect Rick Gonzalez and the applicant’s legal counsel, argued that the land use change was essential to fund the rehabilitation of the nearly 100-year-old Mira Mar Plaza, which has fallen into disrepair. Gonzalez, who specializes in historic preservation, said that while the building needs new foundations and structural reinforcement, a full restoration is feasible and already underway in the design phase.
As far as the residential units, each tower will have 35 condos, for a total of 70, as allowable under the current density limits.
The historic Mira Mar Hotel, originally constructed in 1922 and located at 47 South Palm Avenue, was one of Sarasota’s earliest luxury accommodations and later served as apartments and commercial space. The hotel hosted the rich and famous, and a Sarasota Times article stated: “It is safe to say that the erection of the Mira-Mar Hotel has meant as much to the development of Sarasota as any one enterprise that has yet located here.”
Seaward Development plans to save the building, but increase the allowable height on the rest of the parcel to make the economics work. The applicant argued that a downtown bayfront land use designation was essential to realizing a financially viable plan for preserving the Mira Mar. Increasing the height allowance to 18 stories, they said, would allow two residential towers behind the historic structure. Seaward says the condominium units will help fund the estimated cost of rehabilitation.
