In downtown Sarasota, the only thing rising faster than the morning sun is the number of cranes dotting the skyline. Now, one of the city’s most prominent holdouts—the  monolithic Zenith Building at Five Points—is set to be torn down, clearing the way for a mixed-use residential-commercial building, according to the developer's recent application with the city.

The 12-story Zenith Building, currently vacant, is a relic from 1972 at Five Points, perhaps Sarasota’s most iconic intersection—the roundabout where Main Street, Pineapple Avenue and Central Avenue converge. It's slated for demolition to make way for an 18-story tower that its developers say will help stitch downtown together. 

The project, for now named Zenith Redevelopment, will rise on the 1.19-acre site formed by 1390 Main St. and 40 S. Pineapple Ave. next door. The applicant, Sadek Omar, managing partner of Jebcore Z Tower, LLC (a subsidiary of long-time Sarasota-based developer Jim Bridges), is the same name behind downtown mixed-use project The High Line and luxury condo project The Edge, currently under construction nearby. The Pineapple Avenue address is owned by an LLC linked to the Kauffmans, also long-time Sarasota-based commercial developers and real estate owners. They recently sold the historic Mira Mar Plaza and future site of the now on-hold Obsidian, also downtown. 

In 2023, the Zenith Building and its adjoining parking structure were sold for $24 million to WMG Development, a national firm based in Winter Park, Florida, with another Illinois location. The acquisition included the 1.1-acre site at 1390 Main St., and a detached parking garage with an additional 15,000 square feet of office space. WMG remains the property owner.

Omar calls the Zenith parcel the most important piece of the puzzle that hasn't been improved to benefit the City of Sarasota, noting that its prominent location at Five Points deserves better. “We always dreamed of what that site could be,” he says.

Its hulking mass and deep setback have been criticized for stifling street-level life. “We’re going to get rid of the fence and make all the retail accessible from street-level,” Omar says. “It’s going to be walkable, interact with the streetscape and add value to the downtown experience overall.”

According to the proposal, which seeks no special exceptions, the new building will bring 96 residential units, including seven designated as attainable housing—one more than the city’s bonus density program requires. The proposed project is utilizing the city’s zoning code, which allows developers to exceed the base residential density of 50 units per acre in exchange for including attainable units. In this case, the project density climbs to roughly 81 units per acre. 

The attainable units will be distributed across income tiers: two reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), two at 100 percent AMI, and three at 120 percent AMI. For a two-person household in the Sarasota metro area, that means income caps of $68,880 at 80 percent AMI; $86,100 at 100 percent AMI; and $103,320 at 120 percent AMI, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The corresponding maximum monthly rents (excluding utilities) would range from $1,148 to $1,723 for a one-bedroom unit. The attainable units will be offered as rentals, while the remaining 89 market-rate residences will be for sale.

“We think attainable housing is important not only for those who live there but also for our downtown retailers and employers who struggle with finding workers,” Omar says. “Those workers are often forced to travel from further away just to get to work.” The High Line also incorporates attainable housing units. And just across from that site, Omar says the team intends to preserve Reese’s Service Station—an iconic, beloved throwback gas station that sold in September 2022—as part of future plans to redevelop that parcel.

The design for the Zenith Building's redevelopment is led by Hollywood, FL-based architecture firm ODP. The ground floor focuses on pedestrian activation, replacing the existing walls with 100 percent retail frontage, wide sidewalks, shade trees and canopied awnings. The building includes more than 41,000 square feet of commercial and office space, with the retail spaces aimed at what Omar described as “best-in-class providers of all kinds,” along with aspirational fashion tenants. “Ideally five to seven tenants,” he says, “but it’s still early.”

The building’s 18 stories will sit entirely on the larger, downtown bayfront–zoned parcel, while the adjacent downtown core–zoned parcel will remain under the city’s 10-story height cap. The fourth floor will feature an outdoor amenity deck—a podium-level park of sorts—with a pool, club room, fitness studio, and rooftop garden. A large porte cochère is planned on Mira Mar Court, and the project includes a five-level parking garage, with one level underground, containing 259 parking spaces and a subterranean loading area with a turntable for delivery and refuse access.

Omar says the team has been meeting with neighboring property owners, including those from 1350 Main, First United Methodist Church next door and the DeMarcay condo tower residents, among others nearby. Though not required, the developers are also planning a community workshop, with engineering, planning, and design consultancy Kimley-Horn coordinating outreach.

Not all of the site will be developed, Omar notes. The remaining space will be reserved for green space for residents. “We created big step backs because we want to leave room for our neighbors, light and air—not just structures,” he says.

The application details are within what is allowed per the zoning code, and if the site plan proceeds as proposed, demolition could begin as early as June 2026.

Weakening market conditions remain a factor, Omar adds. “There’s a lot of uncertainty due to things like tariffs affecting costs, and we’re seeing a pullback in the condo market,” he says. “But we hope that when delivering a product of world-class quality, that prevails.”

Asked about the trajectory of downtown development in Sarasota, Omar says, “The ultimate answer needs to be responsible development. It’s not impossible to provide a well-thought-out product that works for the city and the developer at the same time. Sarasota has a bright future. We all chose Sarasota as home—it’s the best place to live. Its downtown is clean, safe, friendly and beautiful.”

For those who remember, before the Zenith building rose in the 1970s, the Five Points site at 1390 Main St. was home to Badger’s Drug Store, a local pharmacy in a distinctive two-story Neoclassical structure built in the early 20th century. That brick building—part of Sarasota’s early Main Street streetscape—exemplified the neighborhood’s pedestrian-oriented, small-scale character. When the Zenith Building was erected in 1972, it replaced that storefront tradition with a monumental office tower. Now it's changing again.