Downtown Sarasota has hundreds of new homes on the drawing board, from apartments and condominiums to small clusters of single-family houses. The proposals come amid mixed signals from the rental market: Apartment vacancies remain elevated and incentives are among the most widespread in the country, even as vacancy rates in Sarasota have declined over the past year.

The latest plans for 2101 Ringling Blvd., the former Checkers restaurant site at the corner of East Avenue, call for a seven-story mixed-use building with 26 apartments, up from 22 in an earlier proposal.

The project comes as developers continue pursuing hundreds of new residences in downtown Sarasota, even as apartment operators across the broader metro compete for tenants with some of the country's most widespread rental incentives.

In September, 63.81 percent of multifamily properties in the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton metropolitan area tracked by Apartment List advertised rent concessions worth at least one month's rent. That was the third-highest rate among 96 U.S. metros, more than double the national rate of 31.30 percent.

Apartment List, a national apartment-search website that publishes rental-market research, also found elevated vacancies. Its September 2026 vacancy index placed the local metro area at 10.36 percent, fifth-highest among 125 metropolitan areas tracked, compared with 7.01 percent nationally.

Those numbers raise a question as more housing works its way through the development pipeline: How much additional residential development can the market support?

Although apartment vacancies remain high, rates have declined over the past year in Sarasota and the broader metro.

Ringling Boulevard Development

Developer MRM Management LLC received partial sign-off from Sarasota's Development Review Committee on Oct. 21 for the Ringling Boulevard project, which remains under city review.

The latest plans include a 3,100-square-foot restaurant and 800 square feet of retail space, along with outdoor dining, a rooftop swimming pool and a dog walk. The application materials do not identify any commercial tenants.

To accommodate the additional apartments without using the city's attainable-housing density bonus, the developer plans to use available residential density from a neighboring property at 2129 Ringling Blvd. Both properties are associated with companies managed by Don Murphy.

Hundreds More Residences Proposed

The Ringling Boulevard development is modest compared with some of the other projects moving through Sarasota's approval process.

Among the largest is Saravela, a proposed 282-residence development at 430 N. Tamiami Trail, between Fourth and Fifth streets. The project would replace eight existing buildings with an 18-story mixed-use development that includes an 11-story section and approximately 10,450 square feet of commercial space.

Its plans call for 242 market-rate residences and 40 attainable units, although only 28 attainable units are required to qualify for the city's density bonus. Of the proposed attainable homes, 10 would be reserved for households earning no more than 80 percent of area median income, 10 for households earning between 80 and 100 percent, and 20 for those earning between 100 and 120 percent.

A smaller project is proposed at 628 N. Orange Ave. and 1606 Seventh St., where two existing houses occupy property that a developer wants to divide into eight single-family lots. 

Just south of downtown, the Sarasota City Commission voted on Oct. 19 to approve redevelopment of the southern portion of Midtown Plaza. The 3.32-acre project, along South Tamiami Trail between Bahia Vista and Prospect streets, would replace a long-vacant grocery store with 91 apartments, including 23 attainable units and a 145-room hotel. 

At 1360 Ringling Blvd., Lumora, previously known as Adagio, is proposed as a 10-story mixed-use building with 178 residences, including nine attainable units, and about 32,740 square feet of nonresidential space.

Farther east, at 1776 Ringling Blvd., plans call for a 10-story condominium building with 52 residences, including four attainable units.

A Softer Rental Market with Widespread Concessions

Although Sarasota's apartment vacancies remain above the national average, the latest Apartment List figures show they have declined over the past year.

The metro area's vacancy rate fell by 1.74 percentage points between September 2025 and September 2026. Within the city of Sarasota, the rate dropped from 13.22 percent to 9.85 percent, while Sarasota County's rate fell from 16.17 percent to 10.70 percent.

Manatee County moved in the opposite direction, with vacancies rising from 8.83 percent to 10.07 percent.

Rental concessions, meanwhile, have become more widespread. The share of metro-area multifamily properties advertising incentives worth at least one month's rent increased by 4.26 percent from September 2025 to September 2026. In Manatee County, 68.89 percent of properties tracked by Apartment List advertised concessions in September. Those incentives can include a free month of rent or comparable discounts. 

The figures show a mixed picture: Rental incentives are widespread and vacancies remain above the national average, but Sarasota's vacancy rates are declining. How much of the proposed development moves forward, and how quickly those homes are absorbed, remains to be seen.