Retrofit Atlas

Malls · Florida

Sarasota Square Mall

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRegreenedReinhabitedDemolishedSarasota, FL

Opened 1977. Closed 2024. Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabited in 2025.

Status nowDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
What it becamemixed, housing, retailextracted, unreviewed
Last sale$10.5M · 2025public reporting
Retrofit year2025extracted, unreviewed
Walkability15.8 of 20 · 15-minute 3 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Reach the owner Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.

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Site profile20 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
Dillard'sThis site: Dillard's wikipedia · all sites with this
JCPenneyThis site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this
SearsThis site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this
Finance and pipeline
Sold since 2020This site: 2025 Costco research-deals · all sites with this
Website dead or redirectingThis site: overture / http check · all sites with this
Place
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 45,500 on US-41/TAMIAMI TRAIL fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 31 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
County permitting 2,000+ apartment units a yearThis site: 2,138 units, Sarasota County census-bps · all sites with this
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,168/mo zillow · all sites with this
Fast-growing county (8%+ 2018–23)This site: 9% census-acs · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 2 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High hurricane riskThis site: Very High fema-nri · all sites with this
Tract house prices doubled in 10 yearsThis site: +101% fhfa · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 15.8 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: 1,200 apartments, mixed retail extraction · all sites with this
RegreenedThis site: 1,200 apartments, mixed retail extraction · all sites with this
ReinhabitedThis site: 1,200 apartments, mixed retail extraction · all sites with this
New use
HousingThis site: 1,200 apartments, mixed retail extraction · all sites with this
Mixed useThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
Retail (continued)This site: 1,200 apartments, mixed retail extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusDemolishedextracted, unreviewed
StrategyRedeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabitedextracted, unreviewed
New usesmixed, housing, retailextracted, unreviewed
What is there now1,200 apartments, mixed retailextracted, unreviewed
Retrofit year2025extracted, unreviewed
RedeveloperTorburn Partnersextracted, unreviewed

Planning

Zoning changemixed-useextracted, unreviewed
Entitlement year2023extracted, unreviewed

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
2025Sold$10.5M closedCostco ← Torburn PartnersWikipedia
2009Sold—Costco ← Dillard'sWikipedia
2003Sold—Westfield Group ← Coyote GroupWikipedia

Site context

Transit within 800 mno rail stationOpenStreetMap
FEMA flood zoneno NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m7: COSTCO WHOLESALE #1123; PELICAN PLAZA NORTH EXPANSION; SARASOTA SQUARE MALL; SEARS #1625/6347; SEARS ROEBUCK & COEPA FRS
Census tract 121150020082,710 people, 2,657 per sq mi; median household income $78,713; median gross rent $1,585; 37% renters; 19.0% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 15.8 of 20; 117 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 256 m; land-use mix 0.75; 28,524 jobs within 45 min by car, 21,849 by transit; 2% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)3 of 6 daily needs: 2 grocers, 0 schools, 13 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 0 civic, 3 food and drink; 31 cycleway segments, 47 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Sarasota County (FL), 20242,138 units in 5+ unit buildings, 69 in 2–4, 5,259 single-family; 2023: 3,242 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.59; socioeconomic 0.38; housing and transport 0.70; 14% below 150% of poverty; 8% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Overture Mapsplace Westfield Sarasota Square Mall (shopping_mall, confidence 0.99, from Microsoft, Overture); building footprint 14,551 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Website and social (down or redirecting, status None)Overture / Internet Archive
Attention: Wikipedia page views32,837 since 2015; 5,131 in the last 12 months (-38% vs the prior 12); peak 2025-03 with 1,216Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +1% (2,685 → 2,710); median income +41% ($55,869 → $78,713); renters 45% → 37%; median home value +86% ($237,500 → $441,000)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)relatively moderate overall (score 83.6); expected annual loss $2.2M; high: hurricane, lightning; community resilience very lowFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,755 establishments (+4%); 25,673 jobs (+19%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $399,023 (-2% 1 yr, +8% 5 yr); typical rent $2,168/mo (+0% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2005219 (2000 = 100); +25.4% 1 yr, +83% 5 yr, +101% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)45,500 vehicles a day on US-41/TAMIAMI TRAIL (principal arterial, 4 lanes); 1,547 trucks; 11 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Opened in 1977 as Sarasota Square Mall, the property changed hands multiple times, with anchors like Costco and JCPenney remaining as freestanding stores after the mall’s closure in late 2024. The mall was demolished in February 2025 and the site is being redeveloped by Torburn Partners into approximately 1,200 apartments with mixed retail, following a 2023 entitlement for mixed‑use zoning.

Why. The record notes repeated closures and a 2020 foreclosure, suggesting financial stress and anchor turnover, but does not explicitly cite competition or debt as causes.

Where it stands. As of the 2025 sale to Costco, the site is controlled by Costco (owner of the property) while Torburn Partners remains the developer of the approved mixed‑use redevelopment.

For a planner

  • Precedent: demolition of a closed mall and conversion to housing with mixed retail.
  • Policy tools used: zoning change to mixed‑use and entitlement granted in 2023.
  • Open questions: infrastructure capacity for 1,200 units, affordable housing provisions, and any required environmental review.

For a developer

  • Site size: not stated in the record.
  • Control: Torburn Partners owned the site until the 2025 sale to Costco; now developing under Costco ownership.
  • Entitlement stage: entitlement year 2023 for mixed‑use zoning.
  • Constraints: no flood, transit, or environmental data provided in the record.
  • Market signals: no tract‑level data (income, rent trends) included in the record.

What we do not know yet

  • Site acreage is missing.
  • Floodplain or stormwater information is not provided.
  • Transit access and proximity details are absent.
  • Environmental constraints (e.g., wetlands, contamination) are not listed.
  • Tract‑level market data (income, employment, rent trends) are absent.
  • All origin fields are marked as extraction and unreviewed; the record’s verified status is draft.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • DeSoto Square Mall, South Bradenton, FL · Malls · opened 1973; closed 2021; same strategy: redevelop, reinhabit
  • Lakeforest Mall, Gaithersburg, MD · Malls · opened 1978; closed 2023; same strategy: redevelop
  • Cache Valley Mall, Logan, UT · Malls · opened 1976; closed 2024; same strategy: redevelop
  • Century III Mall, West Mifflin, PA · Malls · opened 1979; closed 2024; same strategy: redevelop

Elsewhere on the web

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • 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

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened1977Wikidata
Closed2024extracted, unreviewed
Original developerArlen Realty and Development Corporationextracted, unreviewed
AnchorsDillard's, JCPenney, Sears, Parisian, Maas Brothers
Organisations in Wikidata (undated)Westfield Group
CountySarasota County
Census division5 · South Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Sarasota Square Mall was a shopping mall near Sarasota, Florida on the northwest corner of U.S. Route 41 and Beneva Road. It opened in September 1977 and closed in late 2024. The mall was demolished in February 2025 with its anchor stores, Costco and JCPenney, operating as freestanding stores.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1976 planned
  2. 1977 Opened (Wikidata)
  3. 1977 opened
  4. 1989 anchor added
  5. 1991 rebranding
  6. 2003 acquired
  7. 2006 refurbishment
  8. 2009 closure
  9. 2017 closure
  10. 2020 foreclosure
  11. 2024 closure

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Sarasota Square Mall · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year closed, zoning change
    16 quoted sentences
    The mall closed in late 2024
    Arlen Realty and Development Corporation... announced Sarasota Square Mall in 1976
    1,200 apartments, mixed retail
    demolished in February 2025

More in Florida

Boca MallBoca Raton, FL · 1998Redeveloped · Regreened · Redevelopment:mixed use Partial regreening: parkCentre of TallahasseeTallahassee, FL · 2015Partial Redeveloped · Partial redevelopment, mixed useDadeland MallKendall, FL · 2012Partial Redeveloped · Partial redevelopment, open-air retail and restaurantEast Lake Square MallTampa, FL · 1999Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: officeFashion MallPlantation, FL · 2018Partial Redeveloped · Partial redevelopment: mixed useLakeland MallLakeland, FL · 1999Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: religious