Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/149186
Sarasota News Leader August 9 & 16, 2013 A combination hotel/condominium building is inching forward for the intersection of Palm Avenue and Charles Ringling Boulevard. It has received three "adjustments" in design, courtesy of the Sarasota Planning Board, and is starting to firm up. And a boutique hotel is proposed for the parking lot immediately north of the historic Sarasota County Courthouse. No formal paperwork has been filed for the latter project, but developers are talking about 150 rooms with a restaurant and 7,000 square feet of meeting space. Stancel also related good legal news regarding the Floridays hotel planned for the intersection of Palm and Coconut avenues. The project has been stalled because of two lawsuits filed by a developer who tried, but failed, to put something else on that site. Stancel said a court hearing had been scheduled for the day before the DID meeting, but it was suddenly cancelled at the request of the Buck Leiter development team. "It looks like the suit may be dropped," he said. Page 33 If so, that would allow the Floridays initiative to begin moving forward without any cloud over the title to the land. Two outstanding agreements between the city and Floridays have been hammered out; they will go to the City Commission on Sept. 3, Stancel noted. SECURITY TO BE DETERMINED The presence of the homeless and vagrant populations has forced several downtown merchants to band together and hire private security to provide customers a sense of safety. For the same reason, Sarasota County hired private security for the downtown Selby Public Library and the Sarasota County Area Transit bus transfer station on Lemon Avenue. The DID board this week was prepared to hear a pitch for broader participation in the security-for-hire scheme from Norman Gollub, the city's downtown economic development coordinator. However, Gollub asked that the issue be deferred to the next meeting of the group. He said he wanted to present crime sta- Plans may start moving again on the Floridays hotel project next to the Palm Avenue parking garage. Photo by Norman Schimmel