Michael Saunders & Company may have sold its property downtown last year, but after a $4 million investment, Sarasota’s largest independently owned real estate firm will remain in heart of the community for years to come.

Michael Saunders, the matriarch of the luxury real estate brand, remembers a much different time when she started her company in a small office on St. Armands Circle.

Times have changed over nearly 50 years.

“It was only 1,200 square feet. I couldn’t afford any more,” Saunders said. “I even had to have a male customer to co-sign a bank loan for $5,000 because they wouldn’t lend money to a woman.”

Since that first loan, the company has grown to more than 20 offices across the region and sold billions of dollars in real estate.

The company’s executive offices had been in three Michael Saunders & Co.-branded yellow properties — two buildings on Main Street and another on 100 S. Washington Blvd., as the company purchased property through it’s growth since it’s founding in 1976.

Now, all support divisions of the company work together under one roof in new offices, increasing efficiency and fostering team work.

The 20,000 square feet of office space on the fourth and fifth floors leased by the firm is at 1605 Main Street in the Wells Fargo Advisors Building between Orange and Adelia avenues. The company also leases a large showroom on the ground floor, which has existed for several years.

Saunders also bought the St. Armands office where she started the company a few years ago.

Did she get a deal after leasing the property for decades?

“Well, no, there’s not many exceptional deals to be had on St. Armands Circle,” she said about paying market rate.

“Truly, the company has been built brick-by-brick and stick-by-stick responding to needs — responding to consumer needs about our location,” she said. “That’s why we have 23 offices spread along the coast. As we began delivering great service, they wanted our physical locations be closer to them.”

Downtown Sarasota base

And that will include downtown Sarasota for the foreseeable future, after years of planning to consolidate the company’s headquarters.

Saunders said the business first expanded to downtown Sarasota in 1987 and has always been very involved in the community.

“We really believe that what differentiates us is that Drayton (her son and an executive at the company) and I are in the midst and have our hands on everything that happens,” she said. “When you look at where decisions are made for other companies, they aren’t made here locally. I think that is a real advantage to have us in the heart of Sarasota.”

The $4 million project comes at a time when the future of office space remains a question mark for many as employees push back on return-to-office requirements in favor of the freedom that pandemic work-from-home polices provided.

However, Saunders’ investment shows what she thinks about that trend, noting that real estate marketing is creative work that often has the best results when a team works together to best highlight the strengths of a particular property.

“It was to really show that we respect our employees and we wanted them to come to work to a physical space that was light, that was bright, that was functional, that served our current business needs, but also had the flexibility to help us grow,” she said.

Saunders engaged interior designer Angela Chang, now an independent interior designer, and Stu Henderson, partner at Fawley Bryant Architecture, to create a space where the company’s nearly 80 employees, including the commercial real estate division, will call home for years to come.

About 90 parking spots came with the 20,000-square-foot lease for the two floors in the building.

“That was critical in this town,” she said of the ample parking. “Anyone who has tried to park in this town knows that was important.”

Previous coverage: Q&A: Michael Saunders discusses downtown Sarasota consolidation, future of yellow offices

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Evolution not extinction

The Michael Saunders & Co. investment in office space comes at a time when a national discussion about a looming crisis in the office sector of the real estate market, with some cities municipalities eyeing the large office towers as potential residences to solve a growing affordability crisis.

The pandemic allowed large swaths of white collar workers to do most of their jobs from the comfort of their own homes, a perk many loath to give up.

But that could leave large holes in office towers as companies lease less space when leases end given the reduction in space needs, putting in jeopardy the finances of large corporate landlords.

Some have warned of a office bubble about to burst on the level of the Great Recession, according to an article from Foutune.com in November.

These fears have not materialized as of yet, with JLL, of the largest commercial real estate brokerages in the nation, reporting office rental rates up 0.3% in 2023.

That hasn’t stopped some cities from seeing potential in an office pullback.

The city of San Francisco sent out a request for interest from developers about what could be done with underutilized office space last June.

And bosses have started to demand employees back to the office earning headlines along the way as employees resist giving up the work-from-home life.

The two office design professionals that helped Michael Saunders & Co. design its space recently discussed the issue at length with the Herald-Tribune.

Both overwhelmingly believe an evolution in office use has occurred and not an extinction.

Henderson said the rise in remote work has not removed the need for companies to have physical locations, despite the doom and gloom headlines in national publications would indicate.

“A well-designed headquarters serves as a physical representation of a company’s brand and values, leaving a positive impression on clients, partners, and employees,” he said. “While remote work has become more prevalent, it has not eliminated the need for physical office space. Companies recognize the importance of in-person collaboration, fostering company culture, and providing a professional environment for meetings and events.”

Chang said that evolving technology requires business leaders and owners to reimagine office layouts to best meet their company needs. Done well, work spaces foster communication and collaboration between employees.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Michael Saunders commits to downtown Sarasota with $4M renovation