Sarasota Planning Board Rejects Apartment and Hotel Plan for Vacant Winn-Dixie Site at Midtown Plaza

The Sarasota Planning Board rejected a proposal to redevelop the long-vacant Winn-Dixie store at Midtown Plaza into a mixed-use project. The plan included apartments, a hotel, and retail space for the site located at the corner of South Tamiami Trail and Prospect Street, just south of Bahia Vista Street.

This decision is final, not a recommendation to the City Commission. However, the applicant may appeal the board's ruling to the commission. The rejection leaves the seven-year vacant grocery store site without a clear path forward for redevelopment.

Midtown Associates, led by Sarasota attorney Gavin Meshad, owns Midtown Plaza and submitted the plan in June 2025. The proposal aimed to replace the 45,869-square-foot grocery store with a 145-unit hotel and 91 apartments. Twenty-three of the apartments were priced as affordable housing.

Despite the project's compliance with the Commercial General District zoning code and no objections from planning staff or for traffic concurrency, the board voted against it. Board member Dan Clermont made an unsuccessful motion to approve the redevelopment on September 9. Three of the five-member panel ultimately voted against the project.

The effort to redevelop the site began in 2018 when Midtown Associates secured a zoning change from Commercial Shopping Center Community to Commercial General District. This change aimed to provide flexibility for future redevelopment after the Winn-Dixie store closed. With no activity since, Meshad moved forward with the mixed-use proposal that the Planning Board rejected.

The developer now faces the option of appealing the decision to the City Commission or re-evaluating future plans for the prominent vacant site.