SARASOTA - There are much brighter days ahead for The 101 Condominium complex on the Sarasota Bayfront, formerly known as Dolphin Tower.

The parking garage will be completely redone, including structural improvements where crews will strengthen the connection between the columns and decks. Painting and waterproofing of the entire building are also part of this $3 million facelift.

“For any building, it’s important to maintain and repair the building as you go along. This is a 47-year-old building,” said Jim Toale, President of The 101 Condominium Association.

More than $25 million has been spent on repair and maintenance since the building was evacuated in 2010 because of structural issues. Residents say they are happy with the work so far, even though they have to park at two nearby parking garages while this work is being done.

“It’s a little inconvenient, we have to park down into the garage which is about 800 feet away,” said Tom Richter, a resident of The 101 Condominium. “It will be well worth it when this is all done.”

Work on The 101 Condominium will include structural work on parking garage and painting and waterproofing of entire building.

 

Seven businesses under the garage will also be affected. “They will have to be closed for some period of time while the shoring posts are in those units, while they are doing the work above those shops,” said Toale.

Despite the inconvenience there’s a lot of excitement over this project. “Once we do this corrective work, the building will be stronger than any other high-rise condominium in downtown Sarasota,” said Toale.

Many parts of this project including the parking garage is expected to take up to six months to complete. The overall project, which includes electrical work, could take up to 18 months to finish.