Robert Young is a lawyer in downtown Sarasota with no plans of leaving the area anytime soon, but that wasn’t always the case. “I didn’t have the job that I wanted, and I couldn’t afford to live here,” said Young. “I was crashing on people’s couches. I was trying to make ends meet. It was just so expensive.” Now Young has a place to live on the outskirts of the…
Read MoreCask & Ale aims to bring live music to Main Street
The upscale St. Petersburg craft cocktail and tapas lounge has confirmed its interest in a location in downtown Sarasota. About a month after Taco Bus pulled out of plans to open on Main Street, another popular St. Petersburg concept has officially started the permitting process to open in downtown Sarasota. Cask & Ale, and upscale craft cocktail and tapas lounge, applied for a community workshop this week to present plans…
Read MoreSoftware millionaire acquires Sarasota properties
Jesse Biter, a 36-year-old software businessman and a millionaire, has bought downtown commercial properties in Sarasota with plans to create more retail space and residences. Biter, who made most of his earnings through an auto sales software business, acquired properties on Main Street downtown along with commercial properties and a penthouse condominium, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune said. Two companies connected to Biter bought properties ranging from the Pho Cali Vietnamese café…
Read MoreApartment complex with 152 units sold for $13M
The Springdale Apartments in Palm Springs were acquired by a Tampa-based company for $13.25 million. Advenir@Pines, part of Stephen Vecchitto’s Aventura-based apartment developer Advenir, sold the 152-unit complex at 2300 Springdale Blvd. to 2500 Springdale LLC and 1746 10th Way LLC. The new co-owners are Tampa-based Avesta Homes and the Sarasota-based Jesse M. Biter, a software entrepreneur and real estate investor. Berkadia Commercial Mortgage provided an $11 million mortgage to…
Read MoreReaders pitch ideas for Hollywood 20 redevelopment
A Dave & Buster’s arcade and restaurant remains the most popular idea for the redevelopment for Sarasota Main Plaza, while other survey respondents pitched even more grandiose plans. While the three entrepreneurs behind the recent $18.1 million purchase of the Hollywood 20 complex on Main Street begin searching for an architectural team to oversee redevelopment of the property, some creative Sarasota residents have ideas of their own. The Sarasota Observer…
Read MorePlans for BBC Plaza Revealed
A redevelopment project that could bring new life to east Main Street in Sarasota will be built in phases, according to a development team that just bought the property. Developers Jesse Biter, Eric Baird and Davis Chessler have a request for architectural proposals on the street right now and have revealed parts of their plan to reshape the northwest corner of Main Street and Washington Boulevard. The development group bought…
Read MoreVideo: Big changes coming to east end of Sarasota’s Main Street in 2016
It’s one of the most talked about re-developments in downtown Sarasota. The plan by three local entrepreneurs to re-do the massive 8 and a half acre Main Plaza that includes the Hollywood 20 theaters. David Chessler, acting as spokesman for the trio that includes Jesse Biter and Eric Baird, says phase one of the three phase project includes upgrading the retail appearance along Main Street. “Right now you walk by Main…
Read MoreChanges proposed for Sarasota’s Main Plaza
The new owners of Sarasota Main Plaza plan to redevelop the downtown center in phases, starting with adding retail tenants and redesigning the Main Street entrance. The three investors — who bought the office-retail-cinema complex last month for $18.1 million — also put out a call Monday for architects to submit proposals for the initial phase of work. The group hopes to select an architect and builder in the next…
Read MoreHollywood 20 property owners announce three-phase redevelopment plan
The new owners of Main Plaza are plotting improvements to retail spaces, rehabilitation for the movie theater and a potential housing, hotel or conference space project on the property. Following an $18.1 million purchase earlier this month, the new owners of Main Plaza have revealed some insight into their plans for the 8.6-acre site. BBC Plaza, the ownership group consisting of entrepreneurs Jesse Biter, Eric Baird and David Chessler, announced…
Read MoreMain Event
Main Plaza has anchored one end of Sarasota’s downtown for the past three decades, always teeming with potential but often mired by a lack of cohesion and vision. Mostly, in the two decades since Regal Cinemas debuted its Hollywood 20 cineplex at the 1991 Main St. site, Main Plaza has largely languished. Case in point: Though two of the three partners comprising new owner BBC Main Street have lived in…
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