Michigan Developer Bullish on Sarasota County

Here is some interesting information about what a large, well established Michigan developer thinks about the Sarasota county real estate market - Bullish Developer.

Burton-Katzman Development just paid $6.1 million for 12 acres off University Parkway and Honore Avenue. They are in talks to buy a brownfield site near Fruitville and Cattlemen roads. They also have announced plans to build a 10-story, mixed use building at 200 S. Washington Ave. in downtown Sarasota, and it has submitted a bid to build a hotel, condo, and office project downtown at Palm Avenue and Main Street.

Greg Burcz, Burton-Katzman's vice president of regional development, says demographic factors and major shifts in the engines of U.S. economic growth are what's driving Burton-Katzman's interest in Sarasota and Florida in general.

"By 2025, one-third of the U.S. population will live in three states -- Florida, Texas and California," Burcz said. "You have aging boomers attracted to the weather and other benefits, and you have a major shift from manufacturing to a service and high tech economy.

"Service and high tech companies want to be in warmer climates."