In downtown Sarasota, the only thing rising faster than the morning sun is the number of cranes dotting the skyline. Now, one of the city’s most prominent holdouts—the monolithic Zenith Building at Five Points—is set to be torn down, clearing the way for a mixed-use residential-commercial building, according to the developer’s recent application with the city.
The 12-story Zenith Building, currently vacant, is a relic from 1972 at Five Points, perhaps Sarasota’s most iconic intersection—the roundabout where Main Street, Pineapple Avenue and Central Avenue converge. It’s slated for demolition to make way for an 18-story tower that its developers say will help stitch downtown together.
The project, for now named Zenith Redevelopment, will rise on the 1.19-acre site formed by 1390 Main St. and 40 S. Pineapple Ave. next door. The applicant, Sadek Omar, managing partner of Jebcore Z Tower, LLC (a subsidiary of long-time Sarasota-based developer Jim Bridges), is the same name behind downtown mixed-use project The High Line and luxury condo project The Edge, currently under construction nearby. The Pineapple Avenue address is owned by an LLC linked to the Kauffmans, also long-time Sarasota-based commercial developers and real estate owners. They recently sold the historic Mira Mar Plaza and future site of the now on-hold Obsidian, also downtown.
In 2023, the Zenith Building and its adjoining parking structure were sold for $24 million to WMG Development, a national firm based in Winter Park, Florida, with another Illinois location. The acquisition included the 1.1-acre site at 1390 Main St., and a detached parking garage with an additional 15,000 square feet of office space. WMG remains the property owner.
Omar calls the Zenith parcel the most important piece of the puzzle that hasn’t been improved to benefit the City of Sarasota, noting that its prominent location at Five Points deserves better. “We always dreamed of what that site could be,” he says…