Sarasota is one of Florida's most hurricane-exposed markets. Hurricane Milton (October 2024) made landfall at Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm. Hurricane Ian (2022) brought catastrophic storm surge through Sarasota Bay. Every commercial building permit filed in Sarasota County must comply with Florida Building Code wind-load requirements, which means impact-rated glazing or approved shutter systems on every opening.
Sarasota is not in the HVHZ — that designation is reserved for Miami-Dade and Broward — but the Florida Building Code 8th Edition still requires full Florida Product Approval (FL#), ASTM E1886/E1996 missile impact testing, and the wind-load design pressures for Exposure Category C or D. Barrier island projects (Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Casey Key) on Gulf-facing exposures fall in Exposure D with the highest design pressures outside HVHZ.
ACG is one of a small number of commercial-focused glazing subcontractors serving Sarasota with the ESWindows flagship partnership. ESWindows 8000-series storefront, 9000-series window wall, and SGD-2020 sliding door systems are factory pre-glazed, Florida approved, and available in both standard and HVHZ-rated configurations. For Gulf-side amenity and luxury hospitality, we also install Euro-Wall folding and multi-slide systems — the premium moving-wall product on Atlantic Fields.