Groundbreaking and Preservation Ceremony Celebrates The DeMarcay’s Historic Past and Kicks Off Construction

An exclusive groundbreaking and preservation ceremony was held for The DeMarcay, a luxury residential condominium project in downtown Sarasota by GK Development, on Wednesday, Nov. 13 to kick off the start of construction.

Attended by more than 100 people, the event also marked the start of the process to preserve two historic façades and selected interior materials from the former hotel and cigar factory situated on the current site and repurpose them for use inside the new building.

A portion of The DeMarcay’s lobby will utilize the original tin tiles on the ceiling. The original interior doors will be used as decorative wall installations in the common halls, among other elements that will honor the site’s unique Sarasota history. The project is designed to seamlessly blend with the neighborhood fabric and aesthetic of its quaint Palm Avenue setting.

“Over the past year, we have been diligently getting everything in place to start construction on The DeMarcay, including updating the finishes for our buyers and tending to all of the details to get this project underway,” said Greg Kveton, partner at GK Development. “The first thing we have to do is protect and preserve the two historic facades on the building during the construction process. They are very brittle and old so as we remove the building behind the facades, we have to stabilize them with a very unique process led by our preservation architects and our engineer. This is a celebration of the beginning of that process and we can’t wait to get this started for our buyers and for the residents of Sarasota.”

The 18-story building will boast valet parking, concierge services and a resort-style rooftop pool with expansive waterfront views of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. Ranging from 1,144 to 3,106 square feet, the floor plans will have the flexibility to combine units for larger square footage. A one-bedroom residence with a den starts at $650,000, with two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences available. Construction is slated for completion by summer 2021.

“Sarasota has an extremely rich history here with about 100 years memorialized in these two facades,” said M. Jeffrey Baker, partner at Mesick Cohen Wilson Baker Architects. “This project of reinstating and redefining these facades into the building means so much. We are in the process of connecting those that came before us with those that will come in the future. These old buildings that we restore still have a lot to tell us. The building here is a metaphor for the future of Sarasota and the past. These character-defining features, such as the doors, windows and canopies, are features of

what Sarasota is. When you see buildings like this, it makes this place unique and special and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

Located directly across the street from the project at 32 S. Palm Avenue in Sarasota, buyers can visit the showroom and sales gallery to view the variety of new visuals, including a scaled replica of the building, virtual reality tours of each residence, two vignettes of the well-appointed kitchens and bathrooms and samples of the interior finishes.

The general contractor for the project is Palm Harbor-based Voeller Construction, and Sarasota firm Parker Walter Group is the architect. The interior design by Chicago-based Ma’am Design Collective will honor the site’s historic past. The DeMarcay is marketed and sold by ON Collaborative, a full-service national development marketing and sales firm integrated with its Coldwell Banker branded operations.

For more information, call 941-404-8858 or visit TheDeMarcay.com.