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…
Read MoreMain Plaza sale spotlights east end of downtown
Following the $18.1 million sale of Main Plaza, how might the new owners redevelop the property — and how will that impact the eastern end of downtown Sarasota? Over the past year, stakeholders on the eastern end of downtown have hailed a comedy club, craft beer bar and buffalo wing restaurant as encouraging steps toward creating a distinct identity for the area. With that in mind, the $18.1 million sale…
Read MoreDeveloper purchases Hollywood 20 complex
A local investment group with ties to PGA golfer Greg Norman acquired the Main Plaza/Hollywood 20 complex in downtown Sarasota for $18.1 million, with the aim of reviving the aging office and retail center. The entrepreneurs behind the group, Jesse Biter, Eric Baird and David Chessler, say they have no set plans for the property. The deal closed Nov. 12. “That side of Main Street has really struggled,” Chessler said,…
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 MoreMain Plaza/Hollywood 20 sells for $18.1 million
A local investment group with ties to PGA golfer Greg Norman acquired the Main Plaza/Hollywood 20 complex in downtown Sarasota for $18.1 million, with an aim of reviving the aging office and retail center. The group, comprising of entrepreneurs Jesse Biter, Eric Baird and David Chessler, say they have no set plans for the property. The deal closed Thursday. The 8.6-acre site, anchored by Regal Cinema’s Hollywood 20 theater, a…
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