Sprouts organic grocery announces opening date for downtown Sarasota

A budding downtown grocer has set a date for full bloom.

Sprouts Farmers Market, a national organic supermarket chain, will open at 111 Links Ave. Sept. 6, as first reported by The Observer. The store was announced as a commercial tenant of the mixed-use One Main Plaza project at 1991 Main Street in May 2023.

The store will accompany the developing Aster & Links apartment buildings in the plaza — which, according to the developer website, will consist of 424 townhome-style penthouse apartments and 51,000 square feet of commercial space when completed. Connecticut-based developer Belpointe PREP LLC acquired the 5-acre parcel for $4.7 million last August, per property records.

Zoned in the downtown core district, the Aster & Links buildings can reach 10 stories and have a maximum density of 50 units per acre. The development will also include 900 parking spaces between a garage and surface-level spaces.

Sprouts operates 410 stores across 23 states. The downtown location will be the grocer’s 47th in Florida and the third in the Sarasota Manatee area, joining a South Sarasota store at 8330 S. Tamiami Trail and a Bradenton store at 1149 W. Cortez Road.

The grocery chain highlights sustainability, environmental protection and locally sourced products. Its Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation has partnered with more than 100 nonprofits nationwide to promote hands-on gardening programs for kids, according to its website.

Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.