Downtown Sarasota sees its first Black-owned business
Unemployment & local businesses By ABC7 Staff | March 17, 2021 at 2:07 AM EDT - Updated March 17 at 6:04 AM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Despite the leisure and hospitality industry still struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s unemployment rate continues to improve as vaccinations increase and people return to the workforce.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity reported Monday that Florida’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.8% in January, down 0.3 percentage points from a revised December rate.
Manatee County had a 4.4% unemployment rate, while Sarasota County came in at 4.3%, But for some this year in Sarasota County, it has been a golden opportunity. Especially for Newtown native and barber Dennis Ford, also known as Hootie, keeps his customers happy, one fade at a time. Ford opened up Mankind Barber Lounge seven months ago, making him the owner of the first Black-owned business in downtown Saraso
Sarasota removes mask mandate snntv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from snntv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An unusual property with 11 bedrooms on Longboat Key recently sold for more than $6 million, but its new owners say it will remain a private-family residence.
The compound at 5541 Gulf of Mexico Drive, once owned by Sarasota-area philanthropists Alex and Betty Schoenbaum, was sold to trustees Winfred Hawkins and Kari Hawkins, on Jan. 22 for $6.75 million. It s the highest price for a single-family home sale thus far in 2021.
Thomas Netzel, a broker associate with the Downtown Sarasota office of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, said the new owners intend to keep the property as a family compound. Town records show the property is zoned for a single-family home, a two-family dwelling or a multi-family dwelling of less than 10 units.
The company partnered with with Alex Karakhanian and Merrimac Ventures on the acquisition.
BB&T’s merger with SunTrust, which has its local headquarters across the street, opens the possibility that the bank could leave when its lease expires in a few years.
“We’re just thinking in back of our head, how can we strategize if they do leave? If they do decide to leave we have the optionality, and if they decide to stay, even better,” Mandell said.
The building is currently 70% leased and is home to a variety of legal, financial and professional services firms. BB&T has two spaces totaling about 28,000 square feet, a spokesman for Tricera said; other tenants include Northpointe Bank, Real Digital Media, the Scoular Co., Vincent M. Lucente & Associates Inc. and more, a spokesman for Tricera said.