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 MoreMain Plaza plan likely in early 2016, buyers say
The new owners of Sarasota Main Plaza expect to have their redevelopment plans set by early next year. An investment group composed of local entrepreneurs Eric Baird, Jesse Biter and David Chessler paid $18.1 million Thursday for the downtown Sarasota complex, which includes the Hollywood 20 movie theater. Chessler said Friday that the group, called BBC Main Street, will gather ideas over the next three to four months and present…
Read MoreJesse Biter: Let Uber operate in Sarasota
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: In business and in life, you’re either growing or you’re dying. I’ve seen the validity of that statement proven over and over again. When a business stops investing in innovation, or allows bureaucratic red tape to bind its growth and level its trajectory, it is doomed to the kind of mediocrity that leads to failure. Ensuring that Sarasota avoids the mire of…
Read MoreSarasota to consider affordable apartment project
A proposal by Sarasota businessman Harvey Vengroff — one of a slew of apartment proposals and projects in the city — is the subject of a community meeting today. The complex that Vengroff proposes to build at 2211 Fruitville Road, east of downtown, would have 404 units within five six-story buildings. The units would range in size from 350 square feet for an efficiency to more than 800 square feet…
Read MoreWith land buy, Biter poised to start apartment project
Software entrepreneur Jesse Biter has acquired the final remaining parcel needed to bring his vision of downtown apartments to reality. A company owned by Biter bought the property at 1401 Second St. for $850,000 from CRA Holding LLC, a Sarasota company managed by Thomas A. Wood. Biter used a $450,000 mortgage from seller to help finance the deal, court records show. The 5,484-square-foot building and its 0.24-acre lot become Biter’s…
Read MoreJesse Biter: Balancing of competing interests requires mayor’s leadership
A vibrant downtown with no noise … No vagrants without a place for them to go … More jobs without workforce housing… No sprawl and no increased density… Direction and vision without leadership… No, Sarasota, we can’t eat our cake and have it, too. I saw the recent comments by some city officials and city residents who want a revised sound ordinance to stop amplified music after 11 p.m. That…
Read MoreHuB fills up in only a year
After just a year of marketing, the HuB Building on Fruitville Road and its namesake business incubator are full. Owned by Sarasota entrepreneur Jesse Biter, the 40,000- square-foot building is primarily occupied by the HuB collaborative workspace, which occupies the third floor and half of the four-story building’s second floor. With the arrival of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County and the leasing of some remaining second floor incubator…
Read MoreJesse Biter shares his downtown Sarasota vision at Lakewood Ranch
Entrepreneur Jesse Biter took his vision for a more vibrant and affordable downtown Sarasota to this master-planned, city-in-the-making. His Thursday breakfast speech went over well, even considering the receptive crowd — about 130 members of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, most of whom depend at least in part on the continued success of the 33,000-acre planned community. Biter, who sold a $2.5-million-a-month automotive sales software system to Auto Trader Group…
Read MoreJesse Biter becoming a political force
If there were any remaining doubters that Jesse Biter is fast becoming a big deal in Florida politics, it likely ended in South America last week. The 36-year-old Sarasota entrepreneur already has become a key player and campaign donor in local races, played host to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio twice, and headquartered Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign in Florida. Now, Biter is becoming a regular on international trade missions with Florida…
Read MoreSoftware entrepreneur plans pub next to the HuB
Software entrepreneur Jesse Biter wanted a place downtown to have a beer after work with friends and co-workers, but the 36-year-old just couldn’t seem to find the right hangout. Mattison’s on Main Street often is too crowded for him. The Sports Page is closing to make way for condos. Smokin’ Joes is, well, too smoky. So Biter decided to build his ideal place himself. Biter, a multimillionaire who has acquiring…
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