Photo: Rendering of Risdon on 5th

Risdon is rising. The new modern condominium building on 5th Street, set to add a splash of white to the burgeoning Rosemary District, broke ground on Tuesday with cocktails and “cool sounds.” Risdon Group’s Principal Steve Bradley says Risdon on 5th will have a significant impact on the neighborhood, an area Bradley hopes to have a hand in revitalizing. “I want to help the urban footprint [of the Rosemary District] grow in a really interesting way,” says Bradley.

The Rosemary District has seen substantial expansion in recent years, with high-end restaurants such as The Rosemary and Pomona Bistro on North Orange Avenue and craft beer bars like Mandeville on Lemon Avenue rapidly emerging. Luxury housing, and the rising cost of living that accompanies it, seems the natural next step. 

Frank Cameron Lambert, one of the sales associates at Premier Sotheby’s who sold Bradley the property and the units within, talks about how the Rosemary District has exploded in the last 18 months, with 17 new projects (a handful of luxury apartment condos, the Sarasota Modern Hotel, four restaurants, a dance studio, a performing arts center and offices) in the seven-block-by-five-block neighborhood. “Of our 17 buyers at Risdon on 5th, they are represented by 10 countries—that’s pretty cool that they are coming here, it’s a big statement,” Lambert says. “This area used to be pretty sleepy. This is quite a metamorphosis. A year and a half ago I had to beg people to go on my tours, and now they go on my tours and we go in and sign a contract immediately.”

Risdon on 5th takes into consideration the ethos of the Modernist movement in Sarasota—airy, minimalist architecture and clean lines will pervade the structure, with warm accents such as reclaimed wood and ample glass throughout. Developed and designed by Bradley and built by architecture firm Halflants and Pichette, the mixed-use development provides a “trop-urban” community, where outdoor living is brought indoors, making the most of Sarasota’s tropical lifestyle. Risdon on 5th includes 28 units (18 residential condominiums, 4 penthouses and 6 commercial spaces), giving residents access to a rooftop pool and a lush courtyard, all within walking distance to Downtown Sarasota.

Photo: Rendering of Risdon on 5th