Developer Plans Start for $300M Mixed-Use Project

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SARASOTA, FL-Bayonne Development plans to break ground within the next four months on the Shoppes at Grand Bay, a $300-million mixed-use project on 30 acres off of US 41.

The first phase of the project will include a three-level open air shopping district with New Orleans-style architecture. The Boston-based architect on the project is Cubellis. The first level of the project will contain more than 120,000 sf of retail, restaurant and service space. The second and third levels will contain over 150,000 sf of class A office and medical office space and 68 condominiums with views of Little Sarasota Bay and the project’s courtyard. The project will also include 152 bayfront condominiums priced from $500,000s to more than $2 million to be constructed in a separate location.

“We’re about four months away from groundbreaking,” a project spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com. “We’ve gotten most of the approvals in place. We’re just waiting for the final approvals.”

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in spring 2008. Plans for the second phase of the project on 70 acres include 700 condominiums, retail space and a high-end hotel.

The spokeswoman says marketing efforts for the commercial space, some of which will be leased and some of which will be sold, have started. Prices for the office condominium space will start from $350 per sf. “We’re targeting upscale national retailers and restaurants,” she says.

Among attributes of the project is the demographics in the area it is located. Average household income is more than $82,000 and expected to grow to more than $103,000 by 2010. Over 23% of the primary trade area earns income in excess of $100,000. Over 120,000 cars pass each day on US 41 in front of the project site.