Amara on Sarasota Bay

Golden Gate Point has been quietly rebuilding itself for twenty years, one boutique building at a time, and Amara is the next chapter. Naples-based developer The Ronto Group, working with Wheelock Street Capital, assembled the 2.26-acre Pier 550 site on the east side of the Point — the side that looks directly across Sarasota Bay to Marina Jack and the downtown waterfront. The Sarasota Planning Board unanimously approved the plan in January 2025, sales began that February, and demolition of the old 1948–1953 low-rise cottages cleared the way for groundbreaking in early 2026. What's rising now: two eight-story towers set over a shared parking podium, holding 54 residences in total — 31 in the north tower and 23 in the south. MHK Architecture's Sarasota office designed the buildings, with interiors by New York's Lillian Wu Studio, whose work you may also know from the Rosewood Residences on Lido Key. The first residential level sits fifteen feet above grade for flood resilience, a thoughtful nod to life at the water's edge. Add a private marina, roof-level viewing areas on both towers, and an amenity deck stretched between the buildings, and you have a genuinely small-scale bayfront community on a peninsula where new construction opportunities are increasingly rare.

Amara offers seven floor plans ranging from roughly 2,600 to 3,500 square feet, in two-, three-, and four-bedroom layouts — the developer's own materials describe the range as 2,500 to over 3,700 square feet, so exact sizes vary by plan. Every residence is oriented toward the water, with floor-to-ceiling glass framing views of Sarasota Bay, Marina Jack, and the downtown skyline. Seven penthouses crown the two towers, and two of those include private pools. With only 54 homes spread across two buildings, most floors hold just a handful of residences, keeping the scale intimate rather than towering. Parking is handled through a combination of a common garage, private garages, and surface spaces — 115 in all — tucked into and around the podium level.

The amenity program centers on the water and the space between the two towers, where a shared pool and deck stretch across the site. Plans announced by the developer include a fitness center with sauna and steam room, hot and cold plunge pools, an outdoor yoga lawn, a bocce ball court, a game room, and multiple fire-pit seating areas, with the main amenity center on the second floor of the north building. Both towers include a common viewing area at the roof level — a rare treat on the Point. The headline, though, is the private marina: the developer has applied for 21 boat slips and anticipates at least 12 will be approved, with one slip reserved for association use. The slips sit on a submerged land lease with the State of Florida that runs through 2033, so slip counts and terms are worth confirming as approvals finalize.

Life on Golden Gate Point revolves around the water and the short list of places within easy reach. Mornings might mean a walk around the Point's loop or across the Ringling Bridge, a Sarasota tradition with some of the best bay views in the city. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is essentially next door, and downtown brings the Saturday farmers market, the Sarasota Opera, art galleries, and a deep bench of restaurants along Main and Palm. Boaters have Sarasota Bay at the doorstep, with the Gulf a short run out through Big Pass. When the beach calls, St. Armands Circle's shops and cafés and the sand at Lido Beach are just over the bridge — close enough for an unplanned afternoon.