The Sarasota City Commission gave the green light to a developer seeking control of a downtown street at its Aug. 19 meeting.
The commission voted 4-1 to allow developer Orange Pineapple LLC to vacate Cross Street in preparation for a new mixed-use project on its first reading at the meeting, with Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch in dissent. The approval follows a narrow Sarasota City Planning Board recommendation for the vacation and a highly debated go-ahead to demolish the McAlpin House , a historic home that sits on the future development site.
Cross Street, which runs from South Orange Avenue to the roundabout entrance to Pineapple Avenue off Ringling Boulevard, is a one-way street that primarily serves as a traffic connector to the major surrounding roadways. Final approval would change the .62 acres of the street from a public right-of-way to a two-way private road, which allows the developer to modify it as needed to suit future development.
Orange Pineapple proposed turning Cross Street into a 24-foot two-way street with 14-foot sidewalks bordering the stretch. The renderings also included pedestrian crosswalks placed throughout the main street.