The news that Sarasota has no less than 24 construction projects in the pipeline confirms that the Florida housing market is once again surging ahead. It’s nearly ten years since Sarasota experienced construction potential on this scale and the news was warmly received by the city’s business community.
The developments are either in construction or at the planning stage and while it’s unlikely that all 24 will come to fruition, the total value of these developments – in excess of $250 million – represents a massive boom to the area’s economy. Furthermore, it’s clear that Sarasota has firmly established itself on the radar for construction companies. Nationwide companies have earmarked the area as key for investment on the back of increased demand for property in Sarasota. For the first time in many years, this demand is outstripping supply.
A sizeable part of this demand comes from America’s baby boomers who have now reached retirement or plan to retire in the near future. Sarasota with its leisurely lifestyle and year-round pleasant climate is an obvious first choice for a retirement location and as a result, new construction in the state is booming.
Sarasota’s building future includes a wide variety of projects from small townhouse complexes to twin-tower luxury developments. All in all, over 1,500 housing units are planned along with 850 new hotel rooms and over 50,000 square feet as designated retail space.
The expansion of hotel accommodation comes in response to the shortage of rooms – Sarasota has seen little growth in the hotel sector over the last decade. Five new hotels are currently under construction including One Palm Avenue where investment in the 138 rooms and 140 rental apartments runs to $31.1 million. The Vue development next to the Ritz-Carlton plans to add 250 new hotel rooms to the city’s tourist accommodation under the Westin brand.
Further evidence of the surge in property development in Sarasota comes in the quarterly results published by the Venice-based window and door company, PGT Inc. Their figures for the first quarter of this year highlight a 27 per cent increase in sales on the same period for 2013. According the PGT spokesperson, these are the best results for the company since 2007. All signs point to an excellent 2014 in the Sarasota construction industry.
Source: Herald Tribune
