Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/332945
On Monday, June 16, the Sarasota City Commission made two large strides toward reinvigorating the rundown Rosemary District. It approved a triple-density plan for about 75 acres in the area. The board also sold the Sixth Street site that used to be home to the community garden, along with a small adjacent parking lot on Fifth Street, to create a mixed-use project on Sixth Street that will include retail, rental apartments and possibly a theater for live performances. The triple-density approval is a change to the city's comprehensive plan, so it must be approved in Tallahassee. That is not seen as an obstacle in Gov. Rick Scott's administra- tion. It initially facilitates plans for 6.3 acres to create about 450 market-rate rentals in two medium-rise buildings with parking on every floor. Ordinarily, the zoning would allow only 25 units per acre, but the "residential overlay district" bumps that to 75 units. Planning consultant Joel Freedman said the apartments will range from 500 to 1,000 A drawing from the Rosemary Square project overview shows how retail space would be incorporated amid residential units on the ground floor. Image courtesy City of Sarasota THE CITY COMMISSION ANNOUNCES ITS INTEREST IN THE LEMON AVENUE/FIRST STREET SITE; THE ROSEMARY DISTRICT'S DENSITY BONUS WINS APPROVAL; AND A RISE IN WATER RATES WILL BE THE FOCUS OF A PUBLIC HEARING By Stan Zimmerman City Editor Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 42