Old Budget Inn in Manatee County to be transformed into affordable housing for those with disabilities

SARASOTA, Fla. - At the corner of U.S. 41 and Braden Avenue, the Budget Inn of Sarasota sits decaying – a former shell of itself. 

"This is the gateway to Manatee County, which is an incredible place to live and be, and it’s also the first thing you see when you come down the street to Easterseals," said Scott Eller, the president and CEO of the non-profit, Community Assisted and Supported Living (CASL).

Eller plans on transforming the property. Once the former Budget Inn is ripped down, he said the plan is to build a 4-story piazza-style living space. 

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It’ll be affordable housing for 72 individuals with developmental disabilities who make less than $35,000 a year.

 "It’s an enhanced approach to housing people that have intellectual or developmental disabilities," Eller said. 

He envisions the first floor as a café, pottery shop and art gallery. The shops will be run in partnership with Easterseals of Southwest Florida. 

"With the key services, Easterseals will be able to bring to the table, they will learn different employability practices through the microbusinesses that Easeterseals will have as part of Legacy Village," said Eller. 

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For more than 70 years, Easterseals of Southwest Florida has sat right down the block from the old Budget Inn. 

"It’s transformational. It will transform the neighborhood," said Tom Waters, the president and CEO of Easterseals Happiness House of Southwest Florida. 

Housing for those who qualify is a missing component for Easterseals. 

"You now have the whole spectrum of services needed for a family with a disability to be successful," said Waters. 

The Manatee County Commission approved a $1.75 million catalytic loan to make this a possibility. Eller said it’ll transform more than just the area. 

"It’s truly the epitome of what CASL stands for; is transforming lives and that’s what we will see here," said Eller.