About 600 high school students at Sarasota Military Academy will relocate to a new consolidated campus on Bethel Lane by 2028 after the school's board listed its nearly 5-acre downtown property for sale.

The campus at 801 N. Orange Ave. in the Rosemary District, assessed at $17.11 million by the Sarasota County property appraiser, went on the market Aug. 4 through The DeLieto Team at MSC Commercial. No public list price has been set.

Board Chair Tom McElheny recommended the sale to the SMA board in November 2025, and the board voted unanimously to support it. Four developers approached McElheny individually before the property was even formally listed.

"We've been spending a significant amount of money just keeping the 70-year-old buildings going," McElheny told the Business Observer. "So, first of all, there's an economic advantage to consolidating on one campus. The prep school is 10 years old."

School's Two Campuses Serve Nearly 1,000 Students

The tuition-free nonprofit military charter school serves nearly 1,000 students in grades 6 through 12 across two campuses. The downtown high school campus houses roughly 600 students with a 95% graduation rate, while SMA Prep at 3101 Bethel Lane, about 9 miles east near Lakewood Ranch, serves nearly 400 middle schoolers.

SMA purchased the Orange Avenue site in 2005 for $2.37 million from the Diocese of Venice. Some buildings on the former St. Martha's Elementary School campus date to the 1950s, and McElheny said the aging infrastructure had become a financial drain. The school bought the 10.5-acre Bethel Lane property in 2016 for more than $7.4 million.

Plans for the consolidated campus include a new academic building and athletic center, according to McElheny. He said consolidating will let SMA sharpen its focus on student achievement and leadership development.

Site Zoning Allows for a High-Density Redevelopment

Broker Lee DeLieto Jr. is marketing the site as a "rare large-scale redevelopment opportunity." The property's downtown edge zoning allows 25 residential units per acre, or up to 100 units per acre if 15% qualify as attainable housing. Under Florida's Live Local Act, a developer could build up to an 18-story mixed-use tower on the site, according to MSC Commercial's marketing materials.

Move to Bethel Lane Expected by 2028; Applications Still Open

The high school is expected to complete its move to Bethel Lane by 2028. No public meeting date for community input on the sale has been announced. SMA is still accepting applications for the 2026-27 school year at both campuses.