For Land's Sake

A Sarasota Environmental Program Has Saved Miles of Open Space From Bulldozers

But will voters renew it?

04/01/2026 By Brad Edmondson

Mira Mar Recast

Plans for Luxury Condos Behind the Historic Mira Mar Plaza Move Ahead

After years of debate over demolition, preservation and height, the Palm Avenue project is now entering its sales phase with plans for two 18-story towers behind the restored historic structure. Prices will start in the high $3 millions.

03/24/2026 By Kim Doleatto

New Development

New Development Bringing Attainable Housing to Sarasota-Manatee Border

Milhaus plans 231 apartments near SRQ Airport, including 92 workforce units, thanks to the state's Live Local Act.

03/18/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Stats

As Building Permits Cooled Nationwide, Sarasota County’s Housing Permits Rose

Our region is No. 1 among large U.S. metros for per-capita multifamily permitting

03/02/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Suncoast Searchlight

Judge Rejects Challenge to Controversial Siesta Key Land Swap

The ruling clears the way for a home to be built on property the county once bought to preserve.

02/20/2026 By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight

Breaking Ground

Sarasota Station Breaks Ground After 12-Year Road to the Finish Line

The 202-unit workforce housing project on Fruitville Road is moving forward under Florida’s Live Local Act and is expected to open in 2028.

01/19/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Suncoast Searchlight

Florida Bill Would Give Benderson Development Its Own Taxing District at UTC

House Bill 4091 would give Benderson the ability to finance and oversee future expansions of the shopping hub, as well as the rowing park.

01/17/2026 By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight and Christian Casale/Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Affordable Housing

Sarasota County Approves $26.9 Million in Affordable Housing Awards

Commissioners funded four multifamily projects using disaster recovery dollars and directed staff to seek more information on whether the remaining $3.1 million could help advance a 158-unit plan tied to Sarasota's U.S. Recycling site.

01/14/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Concrete Rising

What’s Going Up on U.S. 301 Near Ringling Boulevard?

A 50-unit, all-rental townhome project next to Payne Park is now expected to complete construction by the end of the year, with two U.S. 301-facing retail spaces to fill.

01/13/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Downtown Report Card

Did Sarasota Pass or Flunk New Urbanism?

Twenty-five years after the much-buzzed-about master plan to remake downtown Sarasota, our readers grade the city’s progress.

01/05/2026 By Kim Doleatto

Go South

Render Legacy Trail Opens in Nokomis as South Sarasota County Continues to Grow

The 450-unit rental community joins a series of large projects reshaping South Sarasota.

12/22/2025 Photography by Kim Doleatto

Wellen Up

Benderson Plans 52-Acre Commercial District in Fast-Growing Wellen Park

The new mixed-use project will add 500,000 square feet of retail, dining and services as the master-planned community undergoes a new wave of residential and downtown development.

12/15/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Preservation Nation

The 2025 'Six to Save' List Sounds the Alarm for Sarasota's Vulnerable Historic Buildings

The list reveals how quickly Sarasota’s historic fabric is thinning under the pace of today's redevelopment.

11/20/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Five Points Reset

Downtown Sarasota's Zenith Building to Be Replaced by Waldorf Astoria Residences

The project marks Waldorf Astoria’s first entry on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

11/19/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Tamiami Turn

A Stretch of South Tamiami Trail Draws a Major New Housing Investment

Arlington Properties and Battery Global Advisors paid $18.42 million for 18 acres west of Palmer Ranch, where a 325-unit apartment project and a 57-unit waterfront townhome community are taking shape.

11/17/2025 By Kim Doleatto

Make the Grade

Here's Your Chance to Fill Out a Report Card for Downtown Sarasota

You tell us: What do you think of the City of Sarasota’s progress on New Urbanism visionary Andrés Duany’s 2001 master plan?

11/05/2025

The 1920s

Sarasota and the Roaring '20s

Historian Jeff LaHurd describes the transformational decade that shaped Sarasota forever.

11/03/2025

Circle of Dreams

John Ringling's Vision of St. Armands Circle Lives on Today

Ringling planned to turn the tiny, isolated archipelago into a grandiose European-style residential and shopping destination.

11/03/2025 By Jeff LaHurd

Going Up

Sarasota's Skyline Rose in Stucco and Barrel Tile

The results left Sarasota with a built environment that was theatrical and forever marked by the speculative optimism that evaporated when the boom went bust in 1926.

11/03/2025 By Kim Doleatto