Deal marks first regional investment for New York Life affiliate

Payne Park Village to be company's first new community in Sarasota

California company faces a choice in its plan to upgrade a Sarasota hotel to a Four Points by Sheraton

Seaward Development to begin work on 23-unit tower later this year

Project could eventually contain retail, restaurants and hospitality

Steady activity and limited development has whittled away at vacancy rate and pushed rents up

Despite a surge in growth, city's future prosperity and expansion seems probable, key report states