- January 10, 2025
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Since the late 1940s, the Pier 550 condominiums on the east side of Golden Gate have embodied the mid-century emergence of Sarasota. Now in the shadows of towering luxury residential buildings, the collection of two-story buildings will be razed to make way for more of the same.
In its place will be Amara, a two-tower, 54-unit project, which on Jan. 8 received unanimous approval from the Sarasota Planning Board. The eight-story buildings will replace Pier 550, a collection of 51 low-rise condominiums built between 1948 and 1953 along a 2.26-acre stretch on Golden Gate Point.
Ronto Group completed the acquisition of the properties in May, and their prior owners vacated by September. The site is now surrounded by a construction fence and demolition has begun.
Amara will join construction of three other projects on the 22-acre peninsula jutting into Sarasota Bay just west of the Ringling Bridge. Ronto Group is currently building The Owen, another condo tower, on the south end of Golden Gate Point.
Having received full sign-off of the city’s Development Review Committee and deemed in compliance with the Residential Multiple Family-5 zoning, only one sticking point remained: addressing the occasional flooding of the brick paver loop street which may be exacerbated by 2.6 acres of mostly impervious surface covering some existing areas of grass and landscaping.
During community meetings, the Planning Board was told, Ronto Group said it will consider — though not included in the site plan — replacing a single stormwater outfall into Sarasota Bay with two — one at the north end and the other at the south end of the site.
“One of the primary considerations for the city would be the outfall. There is currently an existing outfall that runs through the center of the site,” said project civil engineer Bobbie Clyburgh. “One option that you may see on your plans, but it's not a requirement that we are considering, is an additional inlet just to catch bypass flow along the road to get to the bay.”
Asked if that was a binding commitment, Clyburgh admitted that it was not.
Sensing an obstacle to approval — the Planning Board can only consider a site plan as formally presented — attorney and Ronto Group representative Brenda Patten suggested she meet with the applicant prior to a rebuttal regarding the outfall issue.
She returned offering the dual drains as a proffer.
“The owner agrees to a condition regarding the second outfall,” Patten said. “It's not part of the official site plan. This is going to be an additional exhibit showing the second outfall, which the owner agrees that he will do.”
Another concern, though not relative to approval, is a fourth concurrent construction project underway on Golden Gate Point. Design, engineering and site prep, however, will take about a year before construction can begin, the Planning Board was told. Ronto Group’s general contractor, Connor & Gaskins, is already building The Owen on the peninsula, Operations Manager Mike Zehe said, with few issues.
A plan has already been developed, Zehe said, to bus workers from a remote location to the site. A flagger will be stationed at the entrance to the neighborhood to assist truck movement.
“I’ve created a staging plan,” Zehe said. “We're obviously not going to load Golden Gate point with six concrete trucks or rebar trucks or things like that. We generate delivery schedules. I have a superintendent who just manages the support and the logistics. His primary job is just keep the job flowing, keep the street clean and keep the pedestrians safe. I'm also the director of safety, so this is like 90% of my job.”
Amara is a podium design with one story of parking under the podium beneath the two eight-story towers. The north building will have 31 units and the south building 23. There is a common viewing area on both buildings at the roof level.
The plan includes a combination of a common garage, private garage and surface parking spaces for a total of 115. There are two lobby entrances from the parking level that lead into the respective north and south tower lobbies.
An amenities center will be on the second floor of the north building, and between the buildings is a common pool and deck space. The bay side of the property will have a limited number of boats docks for unit owners.
Planning Board Chairman Michael Halflants has resigned. During its Jan. 6 meeting, the Sarasota City Commission voted to elevate alternate member Douglas Christy to fill the seat, and named Alexander Neihaus as alternate. Daniel Deleo was absent from the Jan. 8 meeting.
