Up to 1,479 new homes coming to the Newtown area

The developer of the Gracewater development has won unanimous approval of the Sarasota County Commission to build up to 1,479 residential apartments and 20,000 square feet of commercial development off Martin Luther King Jr. Way, just outside of the city limits. 

At its April 23 meeting, county commissioners approved an ordinance regarding the Midtown SRQ Development of Critical Concern to correct the maximum dwelling number from 1,482 and a comprehensive plan amendment to rezone the site from Moderate Density Residential to High Density Residential.

No building plans have been submitted to the county at this time. The commission’s actions set the stage for site plan design and for the sale of the property to the developer.

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Located at MLK Jr. Way and North Tuttle Avenue, Gracewater Midtown plans to build the project on 113.81 acres of currently county-owned land. The site was used as a repository for vegetative storm debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. 

Commissioner Mark Smith motioned to approve the amendment, with a couple of requests to be included in the county’s capital improvement program.

“I just want to remind the board that with this development we need to look as a county to widening Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Tuttle Avenue in our budget and CIP program,” Smith said. “And, also see about getting into our CIP to enlarge and improve Newtown Estates Park as we're adding 1,479 residential units and families to a park facility that is not able to facilitate all the kids in the neighborhood right now.”

In December 2020, the County Commission declared the property as surplus, and in March 2021 issued an Invitation to Negotiate competitive process for affordable housing proposals for the property. 

On March 29, 2022, the commission approved a contract with Gracewater Midtown LLC outlining the conditions for the purchase. 

Those conditions include the requirement for a mixed-use development of up to 1,479 dwelling units and a minimum 4.5-acre parcel for commercial development. That parcel is on the northeast corner of the property along North Tuttle Avenue and must include at least a pharmacy and grocery store.

The contract also requires 25% of the dwellings must be offered as affordable housing, being rented or sold to households at or below 80% average median income, with at least half of those units being sold or rented at or below 60% of AMI. 

That results in 370 units to be sold or rented to households at 60% AMI and 185 units to be sold or rented to households at 80% AMI.

Just north of the site, the same developer is building Gracewater, a nearly 500-home single-family and twin villa community with prices starting in the $500,000s.

The article has been updated to clarify the percentages of affordable housing to be built.