When it opened in 1966, Plymouth Harbor was not only the tallest residential structure in Sarasota — as it remains today — it was also the tallest in Florida. As it rises above Sarasota Bay when reaching the peak of the Ringling Bridge toward St. Armands Key, it remains the dominant feature of the skyline.
Although a 2018 expansion to add assisted living and memory care units to its inventory, at 215 independent living apartments, Plymouth Harbor has a waiting list of about five years. At approximately 25 acres, the retirement community occupies most of Coon Key on the south side of John Ringling Boulevard, the only remaining buildable property a surface parking lot on the northeast corner adjacent to the Sarasota Yacht Club, which is also planning its own expansion.
That’s where Plymouth Harbor plans to build an eight-story, 115-foot tall building for 153 additional independent living apartments plus amenity areas, support facilities and a second on-campus dining option for residents. The project made its first appearance before the city’s Development Review Committee on April 16, officially starting its run through the approval process that will also require a rezoning from Medical Charitable Institutional to Residential Multiple Family 5.
“This all started in 2006 when the board of trustees and the CEO at the time decided to conduct a site master plan exercise to figure out where on the property would be best, what would fit well and what would serve the community well,” Plymouth Harbor President and CEO Jeff Weatherhead told the Observer. “At that time there were a couple areas in the community that were buildable.”
Jeff Weatherhead is president and CEO of Plymouth Harbor.
By 2008, the process was ready to move forward, but it derailed by the onset of the recession. That postponed the first phase of expansion, which was completed in 2018 with the opening of the assisted living and memory care units in what are called the North Garden and Northwest Garden buildings.
“The community has always really enjoyed high occupancy, and because the tower, being built in the mid 1960s, was originally designed with small studios and one-bedroom apartments, we’ve been combining them over time to give people what they want,” Weatherhead said. “That’s left us with far fewer apartments than we originally had, and we have a very robust wait list.”
They reactivated planning for the final expansion phase in 2022, around the time they hired Weatherhead, to both increase residential capacity and address other pressing needs. Construction of the Northwest Garden left Plymouth Harbor with a parking deficit, and with only one dining experience, the community was short of meeting contemporary demand. The current fitness and wellness center is also susceptible to the occasional high-water event.
Plymouth Harbor on Coon Key opened in 1966, at the time the 25-story residential tower the tallest in Florida.
Besides 153 new apartments, the fitness and wellness facilities will be relocated to higher ground in the new building, atop two levels of structured parking.
“We’re excited about what it can bring to the community, and it frankly makes us a much stronger organization to weather things like inflation, insurance hikes and all the things that go with operating a business,” Weatherhead said. “When we built the assisted living, it was contemplated that these new apartments would ultimately be here, so to help us get the right mix of independent living to the health care product, this was designed so that we could meet the market demand.”
That means shortening, if not eliminating, that five-year waiting list.
This parking lot at Plymouth Harbor will be the site of its planned expansion.
The average age of a resident moving into Plymouth Harbor, Weatherhead said, is 80 years. The average age of all residents is 84. If that seems high, he added, it’s the result of the waiting list.
“If you’re waiting three to five years to get in, you started when you were 75 to 77, and that’s what we think we’ll see in the newer building,” Weatherhead said of projections for a reduced age of entry.
Should the project move through the city approval process on schedule, Weatherhead said he expects to break ground in 2027 with completion sometime in 2029.