SARASOTA, Fla. — The Sarasota City Commission unanimously approved a plan to purchase two plots of land to build two apartment buildings.
The nearly 200 units would include employees who have been priced out of living in the city where they work.
The city currently owns a parking lot located at 1530 First Street, diagonally across from Sarasota City Hall. The city is working to purchase adjacent properties, 1544 and 1590 First Street, to build attainable workforce housing units.
"We're trying to address the working class individuals that work in Sarasota. Hundreds or thousands of cars and traffic every morning, congesting the roads and individuals are fatigued from driving from Tampa. Sarasota Memorial Hospital has people driving in from 14 different counties," said Commissioner Erik Arroyo during a meeting on Monday.
A majority of the units will be limited to renters at 80%-120% AMI (Area Median Income) to allow teachers, electricians, firefighters, hospitality employees, and more an opportunity to live and work in Sarasota.
It would cost the city $7.4 million to purchase the properties. The Barancik Foundation has already committed $1.5 million toward acquiring the land.
Two other organizations, including the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, are also expected to help with the initiative in a funding partnership agreement.
The City of Sarasota would also use funds from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund to fill any funding gap.
Brian Hersh, CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, supports the attainable housing project. He would like to see employees in the visual arts community included in the project.
"Arts and culture is a large part of the economy here in Sarasota, so for those folks, whether they’re performing, building sets, or making costumes, we want to make sure they have attainable housing," said Hersh.
At a Sarasota City Commission meeting, people spoke out both for and against the project.
The project includes two 12-story buildings and a ground floor of commercial space. In each building, the ground floor commercial space would be sold, with the proceeds paying down a revenue bond issued for the estimated $70-80 million construction costs.
Rent will be based on family size and AMI and will range from about $1,280 for one person at 80% AMI to $1,920 for an individual at 120% AMI.
Construction on the attainable workforce housing building could start in 2025 and be available to residents by 2027.
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