The colorful cottages at Fruitville Road and Washington Avenue have been a downtown Sarasota fixture for years, home to 17 small businesses ranging from hair salons to a vegan kitchen. This week, those tenants learned that the 324-unit apartment complex slated to replace their little village, known as 1899 Fruitville, has been voided.
The developer, Tennessee-based Bristol Development Group, had secured partial city approvals and was reportedly close to final permitting. An email to tenants confirmed the project is no longer moving forward. That news landed differently depending on who you ask. Beth Nilsen, owner of Soho Downtown Hair Salon, had already made relocation arrangements and says she can’t stay now. Laetitia Kepecz of FAM Vegan Kitchen sees it as a second chance, saying she wants to extend her lease and keep growing in her little house.
Meanwhile, Kimley-Horn, the firm representing the project, declined to comment. The cottages remain standing for now, but the future of the site, and the businesses inside it, is far from settled. A proposed alternative called Sarasota Bungalow Village has been floated as one possibility.
What do you think downtown Sarasota needs more of right now: housing density or small business preservation?
