Lion's Gate has met with city commissioners regarding theproject and will be conducting charettes with city staff, followedby meetings with the Sarasota Development Review Committee andneighborhood groups. The residential units will be for sale. Salesand marketing efforts for the project have not yet started, Lion'sGate Development co-partner Karen Cook tells GlobeSt.com.

The approval process is expected to last approximately one year,after which construction will begin, Cook says. "It's extremelyrare that you can assemble six acres of property Downtown withfrontage on US 41," she says. "The project will be a gateway intoDowntown."

The complex is expected to be completed in fall 2010. Architectson the project are New York-based Perkins Eastman and the locallybased Lawson Group. "The emphasis of the project is apedestrian-friendly mixed-use development," says Lion's GateDevelopment co-partner Gary Cook.