Waldorf Astoria Residences Sarasota is coming into sharper focus. Demolition of downtown Sarasota’s former Zenith Building is underway, with construction of the new tower expected to begin in summer 2027.
Now, a collection of new renderings offers the fullest look yet at the 18-story tower planned for the site at Five Points in downtown Sarasota.
The Waldorf Astoria lobby will face Main Street, while residents will enter the porte cochère from Mira Mar Court. Sadek Omar, a partner at Jebcore Companies, which is developing the project with WMG Development, says the placement was shaped partly by conversations with neighbors concerned about traffic on the narrow street. It’s intended to give residents a convenient place to leave a car briefly, retrieve something from home or move quickly in and out without blocking traffic.
The ground floor will contain more than 40,000 square feet of commercial space separate from the residences. “We have a lot of interest from really top-notch restaurateurs and a lot of different retailers, as well,” Omar says (A luxury retail pop-up the team held earlier this year might offer some clues, though.)
For residents, there are spa gardens and—wait for it—an orangerie. The landscape concept by DWY Landscape Architects is intended to be functional as well as decorative, allowing residents to pick fresh citrus for drinks and meals.
In downtown Sarasota’s escalating luxury-condo amenity race, pools, spas and golf simulators have become familiar territory. A private citrus grove, however, is a new twist—because apparently the latest measure of luxury is never having to buy an orange…