Buy Sarasota Square Mall
Sarasota, FL · Demolished · readiness 10 points (multifamily screen 5; location sheet). A deal kit from the public record: what is on file, what is missing, and a form for every step. It is one of the sixty closed or demolished US malls on the Buy desk.
At a glance
| Status | Demolished · closed 2024 |
|---|---|
| Address | Sarasota, FL |
| Site | acres not on file |
| Owner of record | not on file; see step 2 |
| Last recorded sale | $10.5M · 2025 · buyer Costco |
| SEC filings naming the site | 5 · latest 2011-01-06 |
| Opportunity Zone | no |
| Record | Sarasota Square Mall on Retrofit Atlas · JSON · API |
1. Site visit
Before you go: the record page has the photos and sources; satellite and Street View show access, the ring road, the anchor boxes and what the neighbors have become. Then ask the owner for a walk-through, or plan a self-guided drive.
Satellite Street View Sources on the record
What to look at on site
- Access: every curb cut and signal, the ring road, service lanes, who controls the outparcels.
- Structure: anchor boxes (clear height, column grid, roof age), the mall spine, parking decks and their condition.
- Utilities and drainage: detention ponds, transformer yards, sewer capacity signs, stormwater outfalls.
- Neighbors: what the adjacent centres, apartments and offices have become since closure; who is building.
- Signs of the owner: security, leasing signs, special-servicer notices, demolition permits posted.
2. Owner
No owner of record on file. The county assessor publishes it for most US parcels; we look it up and write once to the business address, or you can on the county site.
Recorded owners over time: Westfield Group; Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (2005–2021); CBL & Associates Properties (1977–2003); Arlen Realty and Development Corporation (1976–1977); Coyote Group (2003–2005); Torburn Partners (2021–2025).
CMBS: 5 filings name this site; when a loan is in special servicing, the servicer, not the borrower, decides on a sale. See the capital block.
Ask for an introduction to the owner Own or represent this site? Claim it
We write to an owner of record or a strongly matched filer at a published business address, with your name and request, and tell you only if they agree. Not a brokerage; no fee; each note is read by a person before it goes.
3. What could be built (massing)
No massing study on file for this site. What one needs, in order: the parcel polygons (county GIS), the zoning district and its FAR, height, coverage and density rules (the municipal code), then a by-right and an upzone scenario. We have the engine (built for DeKalb County, Georgia) and extend it one county at a time on request.
4. Business plan skeleton
A one-page skeleton with the sourced numbers filled and the assumptions left blank. Copy it into your own document.
BUSINESS PLAN SKELETON: Sarasota Square Mall, Sarasota, FL Drafted 2026-10-21 from the Retrofit Atlas record m-93689f50b7 (https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/fl/sarasota-sarasota-square-mall/). Every number below carries its source on that page; lines marked [assumption] are yours to fill. 1. The site Demolished, closed 2024, opened 1977. Acres: [not on file]. Owner of record: [not on file]. Assessed value: [not on file]; annual tax: [not on file]. Last recorded sale: $10.5M (2025). 2. Market (location sheet) Tract 12115002008: population 2,710 Median household income $78,713 (+41% 2013 to 2023) Median gross rent $1,585/mo; renter share 37% County typical home value $399,023 (+8% 5 yr); typical rent $2,168/mo. Units permitted in 5+ unit buildings, county, 2024: 2,138. Walkability 15.8 of 20; jobs within 45 min by car 28,524. Transit: rail within 800 m none; bus stops within 400 m 0. 3. Program [assumption] Use mix: [e.g. 400 homes, 40,000 sq ft retail, 1 anchor box reused for a clinic] Phasing: [e.g. demolish the spine, keep two anchors, build the street grid first] Multifamily screen, points for and against: retrofit already built; closed or demolished site (sourced); already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans; county grew 8.9% 2018–23; median rent $1,715; housing in the record 4. Entitlement Zoning on parcel: [not on file]. Public tool on record: [none on file]. Zoning change on record: mixed-use. Opportunity Zone: no; LIHTC units within 1 km: 0. 5. Risk Flood zone: [n/a]; composite hazard risk, tract: Relatively Moderate. Debt on record: [none on file]. Environmental, structural, title: [Phase I, survey and title commitment to be ordered in due diligence] 6. Precedent (built retrofits in this database) Boca Mall, Boca Raton, FL: Redeveloped (1998) https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/fl/boca-raton-boca-mall/ East Lake Square Mall, Tampa, FL: office (1999) https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/fl/tampa-east-lake-square-mall/ Gulf View Square, Port Richey, FL: housing https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/fl/port-richey-gulf-view-square/ Lakeland Mall, Lakeland, FL: Reinhabited (1999) https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/fl/lakeland-lakeland-mall/ 100 Oaks Mall, Nashville, TN: retail, healthcare, office (2010) https://retrofitatlas.org/malls/tn/nashville-100-oaks-mall/ 7. Capital [assumption] Land: [offer price]; hard and soft costs: [per unit or per sq ft]; sources: [senior debt, equity, public incentives]; exit or hold: [ ] Reported mall sales in this database (public reporting, not appraisals): WestShore Plaza, FL 2026 $135.0M ($2.5M/ac); DeSoto Square Mall, FL 2024 $47.0M ($470,000/ac); Jacksonville Landing, FL 2019 $18.0M ($2.0M/ac); DeSoto Square Mall, FL 2017 $25.5M ($255,000/ac); Northlake Mall, GA 2026 $95.0M ($1.2M/ac). What this database does not have: appraisal-grade comps, rent roll, foot traffic, construction costs. Order them. 8. Team [assumption] Developer, architect, civil, counsel, lender: see section 6 of this kit for names with precedent.
5. Financing
What the record says about who has financed or held this site, and who finances retrofits elsewhere in the database. Introductions go through the desk; we name no lender to you that is not already on the public record.
| Public filers naming the site | 5 SEC filings; see the record |
|---|---|
| Opportunity Zone | no |
| Lenders most often named across the database | COMM 2012-LTRT trust (3), JPMDB 2016-C4 trust (2), U.S. Bank (2), BB-UBS Trust 2012-TFT (2), Banco de San Juan and First Federal Savings (1), Assured Lender Services, Inc. (1) |
6. Architects and developers with precedent
- Crocker & Co.1built
- Boca Raton CRA1built
- a development company1built
- Mason Asset Management and operating partner Namdar1built
- Smith & Henzy1built
- Liberty Property Trust3built
- Hull Property Group2built
- BMW2built
- The Alexander Company2built
- Tom Cousins2built
- None on file for this site; the desk looks on request.
- LandDesign & Sasaki1built
- Redline Design Group1built
- H2M Architects & Engineers1built
- McCann Adams Studio1built
Precedent, not a recommendation: these firms are named on built retrofits in this database. The correction form takes additions, with a source.
7. Offer letter
What malls have sold for, from the deal rows in this database since 2015 (public reporting, not appraisals; same state first, then the same Census division). Prices are as reported; an asterisk marks dollars per acre computed from the price and the acreage on file.
| When | Mall | Price | Acres | $/acre | Buyer | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07 | WestShore Plaza Tampa, FL | $135.0M | 54 | $2.5M | Local real estate firm (unnamed) | WestShore Plaza sold; buyer to demolish and redevelop |
| 2024 | DeSoto Square Mall South Bradenton, FL | $47.0M | 100 | $470,000* | Madison Communities | Wikipedia |
| 2019 | Jacksonville Landing Downtown Jacksonville, FL | $18.0M | 9 | $2.0M* | City of Jacksonville | Wikipedia |
| 2017 | DeSoto Square Mall South Bradenton, FL | $25.5M | 100 | $255,000* | Meyer Lebovitz | Wikipedia |
| 2026-07 | Northlake Mall Tucker, GA | $95.0M | 80 | $1.2M* | Centurion Foundation | Centurion Foundation Completes $95 Million Purchase of Northlake Mall Property |
| 2026 | Gwinnett Place Mall site DULUTH, GA | $11.5M | 106 | $108,491* | Urban Redevelopment Agency of Gwinnett County | source |
| 2025-12 | Chesterfield Towne Center Richmond (Chesterfield), VA | $80.0M | 72 | $1.1M | JRE Partners / Anastacia AG JV | Chesterfield Towne Center sells for $80M to out-of-town buyers |
| 2025-02 | Northlake Mall Tucker, GA | $39.0M | 80 | $487,500* | Hull Properties | Judge Approves $39 Million Sale of Northlake Mall to Georgia Company |
Every reported sale with a price: deals and debt. These are whole-property sales of malls in varied condition; they are context for an offer, not a valuation.
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