An empty plot of land on Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota, surrounded by condos, commercial buildings and construction sites prepping for more, looks downright suspicious in the current market. Especially since much of what’s left of open spaces is getting quickly filled in with new high-rises, like the upcoming condo project, The Edge, headed for the corner of Fruitville Road and Cocoanut Avenue.

But across the street, after five years of 1351 Fruitville Road lying vacant, the empty lot will soon cast those suspicions aside and conform to its neighbors.

Perhaps the word “soon” is presumptuous. Tom Bradley, president of real estate investment firm ERES Capital, that bought the roughly .6-acre lot, says it’s too early to know when they’ll break ground on the condo project. He added it’s also too early to divulge a price range “since the market is moving so quickly. We’re not ready to put out prices just yet,” he says. The deal closed in December of last year for $3.2 million.

What we do know is that it will house roughly 25 units, and be a minimum of five stories high. A builder and architect have yet to be chosen, and presales will kick off sometime later in the year.

The project will back onto the Rosemary District and is less than a mile from all the high-rise hullabaloo headed to the downtown Sarasota bayfront, offering residents prime location amenities by being close to all the dining, shopping and entertainment one might want.

Previously headquartered in Colorado since 2014, the project is a first for ERES in Sarasota, and the firm is setting up another headquarters here. It’s full circle for Bradley, who spent his formative years attending The Out-Of-Door Academy on Siesta Key, where his three kids are now enrolled.

“I always wanted to figure out a way to get back to Sarasota,” Bradley says. “We're focusing on places we want to live and work and markets with high growth. Sarasota became a prime target for both. It really has all the things the big city might offer but still has that smaller town feel.” 

Bradley also revealed there’s a second project in the works for ERES on the Gulf Coast, but “we can’t share too much on that one yet,” he says.