Isaias, now a hurricane, heads for the northern Gulf; Bunting expected mostly rain here
Mostly rain from Isaias, a Friday tide to watch, and free nights at The Bay.
Two of this week's big stories look like near misses: a storm forecast to stay well west of us, and the collapsed sale behind a 324-apartment plan. Both still have a catch. Friday's high tide, about 1 p.m., matters if Isaias drifts closer and strengthens, and a local realtor thinks another developer will likely come calling for the cottages eventually.
As of Wednesday morning, Isaias looked like a rain event for Sarasota, not a direct hit. That's according to Wednesday's forecast from Robert Bunting, who founded the Climate Adaptation Center here in Sarasota. At the time, Isaias was a tropical storm he called "virtually certain" to become a hurricane. In his column, he expected the storm to track up the central Gulf, well offshore, and come ashore in the Florida Panhandle as a strong Category 2. He gave it some chance of briefly reaching Category 3 as it passes us.
Sarasota had logged five inches of rain over two days when he wrote, and Bunting says that fits the pattern of strong El Niño years.
Tides are the wild card. If Isaias drifts closer and grows to Category 3, water levels become the concern, and October is the month that brings our highest natural tides. Friday's high tide arrives around 1 p.m.
Offshore does not mean harmless. Bunting points to Idalia in 2023: a Category 3 that passed 150 miles off Sarasota still pushed major surge onto our barrier islands.
The Gulf is primed for a stronger storm. With little wind shear and water near 90 degrees, he wrote, rapid strengthening could come within 36 hours. He expected the worst effects from the Panhandle to Louisiana, from Friday afternoon into Saturday. He expected warnings soon. In the hurricane center's 8 a.m. Thursday update, Isaias was a hurricane with 80 mph winds, expected to come ashore late Friday or early Saturday somewhere along the northern Gulf Coast. Hurricane warnings stretch from Ocean Springs, Miss., east to where Bay and Gulf counties meet in the Panhandle, and no watches or warnings cover Sarasota.
Apartment deal for the Fruitville Road cottages falls through
The 324-apartment plan for the Fruitville Road cottages, which included 36 attainable units, is off. The sale behind it collapsed, and owners Alex and Marlene Lancaster told tenants in an Oct. 3 email, which didn't say why the deal ended, that they will keep running the Historic Downtown Village themselves.
"The property is not being offered for sale," they wrote.
That buys time for the block's 17 local businesses, including FAM Cuisine, Siegfried's Restaurant & Biergarten and The Artful Giraffe. Tenants had spent months weighing where to go next, and some had already started: The Breakfast House's owner bought land on North Briggs Avenue in July. Laetitia Kepecz of FAM Cuisine says comparable downtown space had looked financially out of reach, and for now she's glad to stay. The owners say a nondisclosure agreement explains their silence during city review: "we were contractually required to maintain confidentiality."
Kimley-Horn's Philip DiMaria, who represented the project in city review, hopes any future plan keeps its public benefits. Those included preserving two grand oaks and a public green space at the block's northeast corner. The plan also called for wider sidewalks, shade trees and drainage upgrades.
The reprieve may not last. Realtor Mark Klecka of Coldwell Banker Realty thinks another developer will likely come calling eventually, given the site's location, what it is zoned for and the earlier proposal. For now, the Lancasters say they want tenants to feel as settled as they did before the offer came in.
Forbes names two Sarasota firms among the best residential architects
Forbes put two Sarasota firms on its 2026 Best-in-State list for residential architects: Seibert Architects and Halflants + Pichette. Seibert also made the national Top 200. No other firm based in Sarasota or Manatee counties appears on either list. Florida placed seven firms in the national ranking and 12 on the state list, and Sarasota accounts for one and two of those.
The Seibert honor has deep local roots. Tim Seibert worked in Paul Rudolph's Sarasota office before founding his firm in 1955, and he helped shape the Sarasota School of Architecture. Halflants + Pichette, founded in 2006, brings that outdoor-living tradition downtown. Its Zahrada II sets 18 residences around eight raised, landscaped courtyards above street-level shops. Both firms were on Forbes' 2025 Best-in-State list too, and Seibert also made the 2025 national list.
The Bay's fourth birthday: a month of 70-plus free events, Oct. 1 to Nov. 1
- When
- Through Nov. 1; Rocky Horror Oct. 9, Park-toberfest Oct. 11
- Where
- The Bay
- Price
- Free
The Bay is turning four with more than 70 free events running Oct. 1 through Nov. 1, all part of its One Park FOUR All celebration. Since opening, the bayfront park has drawn more than 1.2 million visits.
This weekend has two picks. On Friday, Oct. 9, The Rocky Horror Picture Show returns for its yearly outdoor screening, 9 to 11 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 11, Park-toberfest runs 5 to 7 p.m. with chicken dancing, a Steinhoisting contest, live music and German-inspired food.
Later in the month, Boo! at The Bay brings costumes and trick-or-treating on Oct. 17 from 5 to 7:45 p.m. Taste of The Bay, a food festival, follows on Oct. 25, noon to 3 p.m.