Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/105484
Sarasota News Leader January 25, 2013 If it is populated by low-rise condominiums like those on South Palm Avenue, the value for tax purposes jumps to $92,500. For a highrise, multi-use building such as the complex at 1350 Main St. — with a mix of high-end commercial and residential units — the value in taxes is $1.2 million. Page 31 and looking at increasing density downtown. They've identified it as a strategy." The district's operations manager, John Moran, asked, "Should land use be merged into the transit [mobility] study?" Shaw chimed in, "We recommend that. We're Shaw proposed an "overlay district" for his looking at the hypothetical need for an over"transit-shed" that would provide incentives lay [district]." for developers to build in the area. He suggest- Ironically, there was a Downtown Residential ed it could allow 200 dwelling units per acre, Overlay District (the DROD) that recently exor four times the allowed density in the pri- pired. Only hours after the district meeting, mary downtown area today. "Transit-oriented the Sarasota City Commission passed a zoning development would allow affordable housing text amendment that deleted all reference to in the downtown core," he said. "With the curit in the city's body of regulations and rules. rent zoning, it's nearly impossible to do that." But like a phoenix, as it dies, so it comes back. CONVERSATIONS STARTING At a retreat late last year, the Sarasota City Commission set a goal of attracting new residents. City Manager Tom Barwin says he is interested in at least 100 new residents per year. But some are more ambitious than that. Unlike most coastal Florida communities, Sarasota still has undeveloped land on or close to the water. Some is tied up in litigation or foreclosure proceedings. But there are already signs the "cranes" are coming back. Tom Mannausa's 18-story tower "The Jewel" Chief Planner Steve Stancel told the Down- at the corner of Main Street and Gulfstream town Improvement District members, "The Avenue is about to break ground. Prices start City Commission is developing new goals at $1.5 million for one of the 18 units. % The November 2012 downtown mobility study shows ridership estimates for one route proposed for downtown circulators. Image courtesy City of Sarasota