Razing nears for city icon
The DeMarcay Hotel building is one of the last survivors of Sarasota's original boom-and-bust era.
In the 1920s, it was one of the top hotels in a fast-growing city. In those times, the DeMarcay boasted of its fine café, and the Roth brothers manufactured cigars in the building behind it.
Nearly a century later, little remains of Sarasota's early days. The DeMarcay building, at 27 S. Palm Ave., along with the old Roth Cigar Factory, may be the next to disappear.
Talk of the DeMarcay's impending demolition has been ongoing for years, as plans to tear it down for an 18-story condominium tower have sat on a shelf. But the final deadline for those plans is approaching, and downtown merchants have heard rumblings about action on the DeMarcay coming soon.
The prospect of losing another historic building has generated some worry and debate at Downtown Improvement District board meetings. Merchants and downtown residents have talked about hiring a consultant to study the historic importance of the DeMarcay and perhaps contest the demolition.
They are right to be concerned, said Jeff LaHurd, a history specialist at the Sarasota County Historical Resources office.
"It is pretty significant for downtown, because it is one of the earliest hotels built down there," LaHurd said. "And we're losing too much of that look that defined Sarasota."
The DeMarcay was built in 1922, making it one of the oldest buildings downtown, along with what is now the Gator Club and the Sarasota Opera House. Bankrolled by Scottish developer Andrew McAnsh, the DeMarcay was part of the real estate rush that expanded the city to cover almost 70 square miles before the market collapsed and the city limits shrank to less than a quarter of the size.
Now the DeMarcay may become part of another building boom, as several projects are in line to break ground downtown. A deadline looms on plans to replace the DeMarcay with condos, and the property recently changed hands. Home decor shop Posh on Palm moved out of the first floor this year, leaving it empty.
The building owners, XAC Developers, are controlled by an Illinois real estate firm connected to developer Matthew Leiter, who originally proposed a $30 million condo tower on the site in 2005. The building plans include a special density allowance from the city, permitting up to 39 units in a space that normally could only hold about nine. The new tower would replace both the DeMarcay and the old Roth Cigar Factory building behind it.
The additional density approved by the city is rare among downtown properties, making the DeMarcay site especially valuable. But those plans will expire in October 2015, and with the recent sale of the building, Downtown Improvement District board members suspect that demolition is imminent.
Messages to XAC Developers inquiring about the property were not returned.
Ron Soto, a district board member, said he is convinced that there is little anyone can do to stop the DeMarcay from coming down. The plans were approved by Sarasota's Historic Preservation Board several years ago, with a requirement that the facade of the building be preserved.
"They've got the right to do it," Soto said. "And if anyone was going to oppose it, they should have done it a long time ago."
For years, slated to be replaced with condos