State of the Market for Manatee, Charlotte, and Sarasota Counties - This time last year, the buzz surrounding Southwest Florida’s commercial real estate market focused almost solely on the opening of the Mall at University Town Center; and whether its pending debut would establish a new center of gravity for the region’s retail sector. 
Today, as the mall officially marks its first anniversary, the fear that it would siphon away shoppers and retail stores from downtown Sarasota has proven unfounded. If anything, with downtown in the midst of a residential building boom and retail renaissance, we’ve learned that our market with its growing population, upscale demographic, and diversifying economy can support several major retail hubs. As the fourth quarter gets underway, here is the latest snapshot of the region’s commercial real estate market as the end of the year begins to close in.
Following are highlights of several commercial projects now underway in downtown Sarasota: 
Michael Saunders & Company is pleased to welcome Matt Drews as the new director of the commercial division. Matt will oversee the day-to-day activities of his dedicated team of agents, whose expertise in all classes of commercial properties spans the Gulf Coast region from Manatee to Charlotte Counties. Drews, a Sarasota native and former professional baseball player, brings a wealth of diversified business, entrepreneurial, real estate and customer service experience to his new role with the company. Since returning to his Sarasota roots, Matt has held several key management, operational and business development positions. Drews graduated with a bachelor’s degree in management from Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida; and has earned several financial licenses. Matt was a first round pick in the 1993 baseball draft, named Pitcher of the Year in 1995 for the New York Yankees organization, for which he played from 1993 to 1996. He also took the mound for the Detroit Tigers from 1996 to 2000. After hanging up his glove, Matt and his wife Ellen returned to his hometown of Sarasota to raise their three children. In his spare time, Matt coaches youth football for the Sarasota Sun Devils organization; as well as baseball for Sarasota Little League.
Today, as the mall officially marks its first anniversary, the fear that it would siphon away shoppers and retail stores from downtown Sarasota has proven unfounded. If anything, with downtown in the midst of a residential building boom and retail renaissance, we’ve learned that our market with its growing population, upscale demographic, and diversifying economy can support several major retail hubs. As the fourth quarter gets underway, here is the latest snapshot of the region’s commercial real estate market as the end of the year begins to close in. To view or print report as a PDF, click here: MSC Commercial 3rd Quarter Report
Regional Trends and Reports
Downtown Sarasota
Following are highlights of several commercial projects now underway in downtown Sarasota: - After a lengthy and extensive rehab, Dolphin Towers is set to reopen. Rents for the building’s street level retail units have risen from $30 to $32 per square foot, triple net.
- Nearby, the new Jewel Condominium tower—at Main and Gulfstream—is nearing completion; but still has two retail suites for sale at $650 per square foot. Also nearby, One Palm, located at Ringling and Palm,—is well on its way to completion. When finished, it will bring 138 hotel rooms and 139 rental apartments to the downtown market.
- Nearby, the 17-unit Sansara condominium is under construction at the corner of Ringling and Pineapple. Further up Ringling, the 41-unit “Q” townhouses are nearing completion.
- Construction continues on several high-profile luxury condominiums in downtown Sarasota, including the 141-unit VUE Sarasota Bay condominium and its companion structure, the 255-room Westin Sarasota Hotel.
- Overall retail occupancies have increased, causing vacancies to decrease to less than 5%;
- Downtown office space is experiencing some upward leasing momentum as well.
- In the historic Rosemary District—the area north of Fruitville Road and west of Orange Avenue—there are at least eleven projects planned or under construction involving rental apartments, condominiums, hotels, retail and office space. Many different types of commercial services are being called for to cater to the expected influx of new residents and tourists. Watch the Saunders in 60 to learn more about the Rosemary District!
- The city has completed several major roadway enhancements and infrastructure improvements in and around downtown Sarasota—notably the new State Street parking garage and the nearby roundabout linking Orange Avenue with Main Street.
- A luxury automobile showroom is one of the new business enterprises that will occupy the ground floor commercial units within the new garage.
- In late August, the city began work on a 5-month, $2.2 million construction project that will widen sidewalks, add ornamental street lights, bury utility lines underground, install brick-paver parking spaces and add trees and landscaping from U.S. 41 to Pineapple Avenue
- Confident in the long-term outlook for the Main Street retail, restaurant and office district, Michael Saunders & Company has taken out a long-term lease and joined Synovus Bank as a principal, ground floor anchor tenant in the Ellis Building, which is now undergoing an extensive facelift and interior renovation at its Main Street and Orange Avenue location.
- Newcomers to Main Street since the last edition of this update include the eateries Evie’s Tavern and Beulah’s Restaurant. Taco Bus, which is expected to open next to Evie’s is still a work in progress. The Office Bar, replaces Evie’s at its former location on Ringling and Washington Blvd.
- Main Street Plaza/Hollywood 20, a mixed-use commercial complex on Main Street between Links Avenue and Washington Boulevard, is currently under contract to a local investment group. Re-development plans are uncertain at this time. But if the deal closes by the end of 2015, as anticipated, the 8.6-acre site is expected to be re-developed into a dining, retail and entertainment complex.
Downtown Bradenton:
- The summer of 2015 saw a multitude of new listings hit downtown Bradenton’s commercial market, as owners and investors grew comfortable putting parcels on the market; confident that they will realize gains from the sales.
- As fall gets underway, activity is picking up in all commercial sectors, especially vacant land.
- A new BB&T freestanding bank branch recently opened in downtown Bradenton.
- A 90-unit apartment/loft project is in pre-development at Bradenton’s Village of the Arts.
- A 530-unit apartment-condo-loft/ mixed use project is in pre-development for Bradenton’s historic district
- The office market in downtown Bradenton continues to absorb large blocks of available space by subdividing them into smaller suites.
- Within four to five weeks of being broken into smaller spaces, at least two large office tracts that had sat vacant for a long time became fully rented.
- Look for more of these subdivided spaces as downtown Bradenton continues to attract solo entrepreneurs and new business start-ups in search of smaller, more affordable blocks of office space.
- Office vacancy rates closer to I-75 are also falling.
East Manatee & Sarasota Counties:
- The off-the-chart success of Lakewood Ranch—now celebrating its 20th anniversary—continues to have major ripple effects throughout the region. New Lakewood Ranch developments that were originally included in Sarasota County’s 2050 Plan—along with the creation of The Mall at University Town Center—currently form the backbone of new residential and commercial real estate development throughout the I-75 corridor.
- Although officially issued in 1995, the 2050 Plan saw no actual residential development until 2012, when Neal Communities began its 1,999-unit Grand Palm community near Venice.
- Meanwhile, Lakewood Ranch’s “Villages” project is the first village plan to be approved by the County under the 2050 Plan village guidelines. The 5,000+ home development should begin seeing move-in ready homes by 2017.
- The Mall at University Town Center has been instrumental in attracting several major luxury-branded retailers to Southwest Florida.
- 50% of these retailers are new to the market and most are expected to eventually operate more than a single location in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area.
- As such, competition in the local retail sector is heating up. Westfield, for example, is working hard to entice these retailers to its re-vamped and re-branded malls in South Sarasota and Southgate.
- CineBistro, a new concept involving dine-in cinema, is now under construction at Westfield’s Southgate Mall, near downtown Sarasota.
- The mall itself is re-branding as Westfield Siesta Key no doubt to use its name to remind prospective new retailers of its superior location on a highly-trafficked artery leading to the upscale, tourist-rich island.
- Anchored by Walmart, River Club Plaza on State Road 70 is completely leased.
- Ranch Lake Plaza, previously anchored by Sweetbay Stores, now has a Goodwill retail store to generate traffic.
- With Lakewood Ranch anticipating approximately 1,000 new homes annually, the spillover activity into other neighborhoods is quite understandable. The entire commercial real estate market along the I-75 corridor is being stretched beyond its boundaries.
South Sarasota County:
- South Sarasota County is also poised to benefit from the influx of national and regional retail and restaurant brands opening in or near the Mall at University Town Center, as these retailers recognize the need to create additional in-fill locations in areas exhibiting the most new growth.
- The southern reaches of Sarasota County, once thought of as sleepy suburban communities, are enjoying so much new growth that residents are expressing their desire to avoid long trips and road congestion by having their own retail-rich shopping centers and strips.
- Quick Service Restaurants (QSR’s) including Culver’s and other national and regional chains are jockeying to find new sites along the South Tamiami Trail corridor, which now boasts a growing Average Daily Traffic count (ADT) in excess of 40,000 vehicles.
- Retailers of ready-to-wear, gaming, cell phone services, pet supplies, etc. are also acting on the need for more locations to properly address growth.
- Investors are also stepping-up during this period of growth with an eye toward snapping-up commercial properties focused on retail, restaurants, self-storage and other customer service businesses.
- An on-going issue continues to be the lack of commercially-zoned property along the residential growth zone on Rte. 41 between Jacaranda and River Roads, in South Venice. The result is a bar bell effect, with a large cluster of demand for space in the existing structures at Jacaranda and developers seeking to move earlier than expected on vacant property at River Road.
- Spillover growth is already creeping into North Port and Englewood, with both communities offering more affordable residential housing for workers who commute to Sarasota.
- The need for inexpensive industrial space is currently being met in South County, but the growth projections are for current high industrial vacancies to be absorbed sooner than anticipated.
Welcome Matt Drews, Director of the Commercial Division
Michael Saunders & Company is pleased to welcome Matt Drews as the new director of the commercial division. Matt will oversee the day-to-day activities of his dedicated team of agents, whose expertise in all classes of commercial properties spans the Gulf Coast region from Manatee to Charlotte Counties. Drews, a Sarasota native and former professional baseball player, brings a wealth of diversified business, entrepreneurial, real estate and customer service experience to his new role with the company. Since returning to his Sarasota roots, Matt has held several key management, operational and business development positions. Drews graduated with a bachelor’s degree in management from Eckerd College, in St. Petersburg, Florida; and has earned several financial licenses. Matt was a first round pick in the 1993 baseball draft, named Pitcher of the Year in 1995 for the New York Yankees organization, for which he played from 1993 to 1996. He also took the mound for the Detroit Tigers from 1996 to 2000. After hanging up his glove, Matt and his wife Ellen returned to his hometown of Sarasota to raise their three children. In his spare time, Matt coaches youth football for the Sarasota Sun Devils organization; as well as baseball for Sarasota Little League. Visit our website to learn more about our MSC Commercial Real Estate Team.
What developments are you most excited about seeing? Comment below with your thoughts.
