Downtown Sarasota is adding hundreds of senior living units across three high-rise projects now in various stages of development.

The Reserve Sarasota, Lumora and Plymouth Harbor's North Bay Tower together account for 490 planned residences aimed at older adults: 161 at The Reserve, 178 at Lumora and 151 in the city-approved North Bay Tower plan. The Reserve and Lumora are downtown; Plymouth Harbor is on Coon Key. Their offerings range from independent living to assisted living and memory care.

The Herald-Tribune reported Nov. 1 that senior living is reshaping the downtown skyline, with several major projects planned or under construction.

The Reserve Sarasota: 161 units, under construction

The furthest along is The Reserve Sarasota, a seven-story, 161-unit senior living rental building at 307 S. Orange Ave. Denver-based Experience Senior Living, a subsidiary of health care real estate firm NexCore Group, is the operator.

The building spans almost 250,000 square feet, according to the Business Observer. An LLC tied to NexCore Group and Experience Senior Living paid $17 million for the 1.84-acre site in August 2025, according to Sarasota County property records cited by the Business Observer. Brinkmann Constructors is the general contractor.

The Reserve will offer independent living, assisted living and memory care units, along with dining venues, wellness spaces, structured parking and a rooftop pool. Completion is projected for December 2027.

NexCore Group Executive Vice President of Development Hunter MacLeod said in a statement that the project reflects the company's belief that senior living should match the service and design standards of high-end hospitality.

Lumora: 178 residences, including nine attainable rentals

Naples-based Lutgert Cos. scrapped plans for Adagio, a mixed-use luxury condo development at the corner of Ringling Boulevard and South Palm Avenue, and pivoted to a 178-residence community called Lumora, with 169 market-rate condos and nine attainable rentals, the Business Observer reported in October.

The original Adagio plan called for two towers, one 18 stories and one 10 stories, with 113 market-rate condos and 76 attainable-priced rental units under the Live Local Act. Lumora consolidates the project into a single 10-story tower with 169 condos and nine attainable units, using the city's affordable housing bonus density program instead.

The height reduction could ease concerns among neighbors near the roundabout at South Palm Avenue and Ringling Boulevard, where surrounding buildings top out at 10 stories, the Business Observer reported.

The condos will be two- and three-bedroom units averaging 2,385 square feet, according to city documents cited by the Business Observer. The project also includes about 32,740 square feet of commercial space.

Mike Hoyt, chief operating officer of Lutgert Cos., told the Business Observer that independent living operators approached the company about the site. Design remains in the early stages. The project received partial sign-off from Sarasota's Development Review Committee (DRC) at an Oct. 7 meeting. No completion date has been announced.

Plymouth Harbor's North Bay Tower: 151 units approved

Plymouth Harbor, the retirement community on Coon Key that opened in 1966, plans to build North Bay Tower on a surface parking lot at the northeast corner of its roughly 25-acre campus.

The Business Observer reported in April 2025 that earlier plans called for an eight-story, 115-foot tower with 153 independent living apartments. A Herald-Tribune gallery published Nov. 1 described the structure as 11 stories. City planning documents for the approved project list 151 units in an eight-story residential building above a three-level parking structure.

The Planning Board voted 4-1 to recommend approval of the rezoning and site plan, with board member Dan Deleo dissenting. The City Commission approved the rezoning and site plan on March 23, 2026, and adopted Ordinance 26-5593 on April 20.

Plymouth Harbor President and CEO Jeff Weatherhead told the Business Observer that the expansion traces back to a 2006 master plan. The community has a waiting list of about five years, and the average age of a new resident is 80. Weatherhead said the new building could shorten or eliminate that wait.

With city approvals in place, Weatherhead said he expected to begin construction in 2027, with completion in 2029.