New condominium projects are rapidly changing the look and feel of downtown Sarasota, perhaps none more dramatically than the Mark Sarasota. The big, bright white 157-unit tower that stretches for most of South Pineapple Avenue between Main Street and Lemon started welcoming its first residents in mid-November. As of mid-January, 89 units had closed and nearly 40 of those units were occupied. It is expected that all closings will be completed in March.

Three of the 157 units are back on the market as resales. Julia McClung and Georgia Kopelousos of Michael Saunders & Company have co-listed a 1,891-square-foot sixth floor unit with two bedrooms, two baths and a den at $1,329,000. And Joan Koplin of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty has two resale listings: an eighth-floor unit with two bedrooms, two full baths and one partial bath in 1,575 square feet for $954,000; and the unit right next door for $959,000.

Koplin says she had 10 showings of one unit in the first two weeks of listing. “There’s huge interest in the building,” she says. Among the prospective buyers have been a couple from Longboat Key, a family relocating to Sarasota and people from other downtown condominiums. “Urban living is in, and downtown is attracting a very lively group of people no matter what their age is,” says Koplin.  “You’re literally in the heart of downtown here. Value, value, value.”

Condo availability overall downtown is tight, Koplin says, and prices are climbing, even at the older buildings on Gulfstream and Sunset Drive. She credits the Vue, the modern condo project that was completed in 2018-2019 and was developed by Kolter, the same developer of Mark Sarasota. “The Vue has really had an impact on prices overall because the prices in the new buildings are so high,” she says.

The Mark Sarasota has a sophisticated, resort feel, with amenities like a sweeping west-facing pool deck, fitness center and community room. The residences are finished in quiet gray and white tones.

“We show it every day and sometimes more than once,” says McClung about her sixth-floor listing. “Everyone who comes into the building loves it.”