New development may replace Siesta's Crescent Towers

A condominium development currently being reviewed by Sarasota County land development staff would seek to replace Crescent Towers Apartments on Siesta Key. 

The project, preliminarily called Ten35 Seaside, would place a 4-story condo building on the lot at 1035 Seaside Drive. 

Sale on the condo rental property was finalized in November 2019. According to a development submittal, Ten35 Seaside would feature 32 units in a 45-foot building over a two-story parking structure. 

As popularity on the key grows, this type of development is not uncommon, said Curt Ware, a real estate agent based on Siesta Key. 

“The land out on Siesta is finite,” Ware said. “They’re not making more island, and for that specific reason, there is a ton of development going on, and land values have absolutely skyrocketed.” 

Rather than upgrade Crescent Tower’s two buildings, which house 31 total units, the proposal calls for the demolition of the structures and the construction of one 11,712-square-foot building. Additionally, the parking capacity would be raised from the 39 existing spaces to 72. 

Because beachfront property is so valuable, Ware said several buyers purchase property for the land value and not for the existing building. 

“It often depends on the quality of the building, the location of the land and what the particular buyer intends to use the property for,” Ware said. 

On Wednesday, the Board of County Commissioners heard a proposal to demolish a one-story single family residence at 65 Beach Road to construct two two-story over parking single-family residences. The owner of the property intends to use one residence for his family and the other for his brother's family. 

Although commissioners showed some concern for splitting properties, citing growing vacation rental popularity on the key, they unanimously approved the project, which will bring the property up to FEMA regulations. 

Property such as this, in the area surrounding Avenida Mevinda Messina and Canal Road in the north is growing more popular, Ware said. In the south, popularity for property on streets such as Sabal and Crescent is growing. 

However, with many sales never hitting the active market, it can be difficult for outside buyers to get property on the key. 

“There’s a lot of people who want to be here, and unfortunately, there’s not enough supply,” Ware said. “We see a lot of these quiet sales out here because there’s so much demand, and it often depends on who you know.” 

Though the sale on the Crescent Towers property is finalized, county staff said the development proposal is still under review.