Two developers: Jim Bridges

When Jim Bridges, CEO of Jebco Ventures Inc., looks at the downtown parcel adjacent to the Palm Avenue parking garage, he envisions something unlike any other project he’s handled.

A longtime commercial builder, Bridges wants to erect a hotel on the site, with the help of the well-known McKibbon Group, which either manages and/or has helped build more than 60 hotels.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Bridges started out as an apartment developer. He founded Jebco Ventures in 1975 and branched out, constructing shopping centers, grocery stores, office buildings and some residential complexes. Among them has been a 225,000-square-foot facility for Caterpillar Inc.
But Bridges is eager to try something new.

“We are a diversified company, and we change when the market changes,” Bridges said.

The market has changed so much that Bridges hopes not only to build a hotel on Palm Avenue, if the city selects his proposal, but he also is under contract for a project on Ringling Boulevard (the location of the former Atrium project). There, he hopes to construct 75 apartments and a mix of low-rise office buildings.
“I haven’t done rental apartments in quite a few years,” he said, “but there’s a need for them in downtown Sarasota.”

Bridges, who lives in the Jebco-built Vista Bay Point on Golden Gate Point, has been a full-time Sarasota resident for seven years. He steadfastly believes a flag hotel is what the city needs to attract more people downtown.

The hotel plan isn’t the first time Bridges has focused on Palm Avenue. He wanted to construct the parking garage, though the city did not choose his company for that work.

“But I took a very serious look at the hotel site and decided I wanted to do something I hadn’t done before,” Bridges said.

Although he doesn’t have a letter of intent from Embassy Suites to construct a 175-room hotel with its name, Bridges said the Hilton-based chain is willing to partner with him, if Jebco wins the city’s nod this time.

“It’s a done deal if we are selected,” Bridges said. “In this market, I believe it’s very important to have a flag hotel to attract guests, and we have one of the best.”

Bridges said he wouldn’t call the hotel an exclamation point on a career that spans more than four decades.

“But I am in the beginning stages of starting to wind down a career and would like to build something in the city where I live that I think Sarasota would be proud of,” Bridges said.

Jim Bridges
Age: 64
Occupation: CEO of Atlanta-based Jebco Ventures Inc.
Birthplace: Manchester, Ga.
Hometown: Atlanta
Current residence: Sarasota
Hobbies: Golf, developing properties
Sarasota Impact: Jebco has built Family Dollar stores; the Lido Key home Pal Azzi Almare; and The Phoenix and Vista Bay Point communities