Bay Park board unanimously backs $16M for Centennial Park resiliency, $4M for central-park planning

The Bay Park Improvement Board voted unanimously to recommend that the City of Sarasota and Sarasota County approve $16 million for Centennial Park resiliency improvements (3A) and $4 million for planning the park center (3B).

The recommendation, moved and seconded during the board’s regular meeting and forwarded to the two commissions for final funding decisions, directs money toward shoreline hardening, new stormwater treatment, expanded trailer parking and boat-launch capacity, and early design work for a terraced central park and associated parking garage.

Board members and Bay Park Conservancy leaders framed the funding request as a resilience-first approach. “Conservation, preservation and restoration — and then the user experience — is how we approach every acre on this site,” Emily Walsh, secretary of the Bay Park Conservancy board of directors, told the board. Walsh and other conservancy leaders emphasized that stormwater treatment and shoreline protection are the primary drivers of the Centennial Park scope.

Why it matters

The Bay Park site totals 53 acres and serves multiple uses including the Van Weisel Performing Arts Hall, municipal auditorium and a heavily used public boat basin. Conservancy staff said phase 1 (roughly 10 acres) currently treats about 70,000,000 gallons of polluted runoff annually; the site receives substantially more runoff overall. Board members said the proposed 3A/3B investments are intended to reduce pollution, raise vulnerable areas and improve everyday access — especially for boaters — while protecting downtown Sarasota from storm surge.

What the board approved and next steps

The board’s motion asks the city and county to consider a three-way cost-share approach (conservancy, city, county), and the conservancy said it will pursue grants and private donations to cover roughly one-third of the request. Jennifer Jorgensen,…