Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/198837
Sarasota News Leader October 25, 2013 He also wonders how the city will replace the current 139 parking spaces on the surface lot at State Street once construction begins. "Where will these be replaced during construction?" he asked. Page 55 'PAD LITE' IS ...? The plan the commissioners selected divides the narrow lot in two parts. The portion next to Lemon Avenue could be developed separately. It would be only 25 to 30 feet deep, with retail on the first floor and six dwelling units on the upper levels. The city would create a "pad" with appropriate plumbing and electrical "stub-ups." A developer would simply tie into the utility connections. Simon predicts the Southgate Mall at U.S. 41 and Siesta Drive "will implode" under the pressure of the Benderson complex. "It will lose its department stores," he said. And he is concerned that without easy parking downtown, the multi-million-dollar investment by Pineapple Square is in jeopardy. Of the city The much larger, remaining parcel would be commissioners, he added, "They don't under- home to a six-story building with four levels of parking (345 spaces) and 16,000 square feet stand the real world." of retail space occupying the bottom floor. At one time, the City Commission agreed Because of the height of the bottom floor, that to sell the State Street garage property to level counts as two stories under the zoning Pineapple Square, and it offered development and building codes. incentives. However, the deal now keeps ownership of the property in city hands (e.g., no With this option, the city could move ahead property tax receipts). quickly to get the parking structure built. An Aug. 29 presentation to the City Commission incorporated 'Option C,' which was referred to at the time as the 'Pad Site' alternative. Image courtesy City of Sarasota