Development Deals are Bringing Sarasota into the Limelight

Anand Pallegar considers the new $315 million mall in Sarasota an endorsement of the city — and his decision to launch his business there.

Pallegar, 36, launched digital marketing firm atLarge Inc. in Sarasota in 2006, two years after moving to the city to be closer to his parents while recovering from a car accident.

"People much smarter than me have figured out that this is a growing market," Pallegar said. "You look at the mall, you look at the investment — the point is that those guys know exactly what they're doing."

The Mall at University Town Center opened its doors Oct. 16, bringing a number of national retailers to Sarasota for the first time. Beyond its status as a tourism destination and retirement haven for the wealthy, Sarasota is beginning to build a reputation as a cool city, the kind of place that attracts a Millennial workforce interested in the arts and local shops and restaurants.

Within the city limits of Sarasota, Millennials ages 20 to 34 make up 18 percent of the population — surprisingly close to the national average of 20 percent.

Sarasota's standing as a place for young people and businesses is in its infancy. But bolstered by a foundation of educational institutions — Ringling College of Art and Design, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and New College of Florida — and the combination of small-town convenience and big-city culture, young residents say Sarasota is increasingly becoming a place to launch their careers.

All of that is validated by the new mall. Its developer, Taubman Centers, is an international mall developer and operator that favors robust, affluent markets.

"While I was recovering, I got a chance to scratch below the surface," Pallegar said, "and what I used to see was beaches and an older population. But what I really realized is there's such a thriving demographic of young professionals and a great business community, so I decided to stay here instead of going back up to the Midwest.”

'One small business at a time'

Like Pallegar, Sarasota fashion designer Camilyn Beth Leavitt chose the city after living elsewhere — after college, she moved to Sweden, to work for the Couture House of Pär Engsheden in Stockholm. But she and her husband, both of whom grew up in the area, were drawn back to Sarasota by the lifestyle, especially the beaches and the small-business scene.

That's why the new mall is a bit of a conundrum for Leavitt — she adores local places like Artisan Cheese Co. and The Short Giraffe, a downtown bakery that specializes in wedding cakes and miniature desserts. But her professional side would love to see a Nordstrom Inc. in Sarasota some day.

"I definitely think Sarasota is evolving, one little small business at a time," Leavitt, 27, said. "I think that's what's really helped it."

Corporate growth has occurred right along with it, said Art Lambert, president and CEO of S-One Holdings Corp. S-One Holdings is the parent company of LexJet, which markets and sells inkjet printing supplies. When he and his partner founded LexJet 20 years ago, recruiting was far more difficult than it is today.

He started to notice more young people who were raised in the city — like Leavitt — returning to Sarasota after college.

"As more companies like ours came here or were started here, as more of those companies started to recruit, there was a place for those kids to come back to," Lambert said.

An evolving identity

Sarasota is a different place today than it was seven years ago, when Naomi Chokr moved there from California to be with her husband, who was taking over the family business, Diamond Vault Jewelers.

Chokr, 33, launched her wedding photography business in 2012, and has seen growth in Sarasota's creative community over the years.

"As the years progressed, I'm seeing more and more younger people. I'm making more and more friends," she said. "I realized there's a really young, creative community here that will support each other."

Pallegar, who owns the digital marketing firm, is about to bring 500 creative types to Sarasota, with the inaugural U.S. PINC conference, slated for Nov. 6. PINC — which stands for People Ideas Nature Creativity — is a conference that focuses on innovation and creativity, similar to TED Conferences.

The conference has been held for the past 15 years in Zeist, Netherlands, and when Pallegar discovered it, he pitched the founders on bringing it to Sarasota.

"In talking to them and realizing what they're doing, Sarasota seemed like the perfect ecosystem to bring something like that here," he said.

For as passionate as they are about Sarasota, Pallegar, Chokr and Leavitt all recognize that its Millennial population hasn't reached critical mass yet — it's nowhere close to large creative communities in bigger cities like Tampa. But that's part of what draws certain people to Sarasota.

"I like the smallness of it. there's a good bit of city life," Leavitt said, "but it's a nice kind of mix between fun stuff to do and relaxing."

https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/print-edition/2014/10/17/development-deals-are-bringing-sarasota-into-the.html