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Sarasota County details $65M 17th Street Regional Park and Legacy Trail connections
Summary
County parks staff outlined a $65 million plan for 17th Street Regional Parks athletic complex (softball stadiums, artificial turf multipurpose fields), stormwater mitigation, and multi-phase community park elements, and described trail segments connecting the site to Bobby Jones, the Legacy Trail and Nathan Benderson Park.
Nicole Risler, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources for Sarasota County, presented the updated concept and timeline for the 17th Street Regional Park. The project encompasses a community-park component (future-funded) and an athletic-complex component that is about to enter construction.
Risler said the athletic complex will include three new adult softball fields, eight youth fields (including a championship stadium field), and four artificial-turf multipurpose fields adaptable for football, soccer and lacrosse. The county estimates the overall project at approximately $65,000,000 funded via a mix of surtax dollars, park impact fees and tourist development tax revenues. She said permitting hurdles (including Army Corps of Engineers requirements) delayed early work but that the Army Corps permit was received in January and design is complete for the athletic complex.
The presentation emphasized trail connectivity: private fundraising and partner groups have raised nearly $500,000 to build a Legacy Trail connector segment; county staff submitted a SunTrail grant application for the final leg that would link to Nathan Benderson Park. The county will build parts of the trail inside the athletic-complex footprint so connections will be usable before the community-park phase is complete.
Risler provided schedule guidance: construction anticipated to start shortly (staff said any day, and certainly before May 1) and estimated an 18-month construction timeline for initial phases. Commissioners asked for stormwater-treatment comparisons to nearby projects (Bobby Jones) and confirmation the new ponds and mitigation areas will meet permitting requirements; Risler replied that the project includes extensive stormwater infrastructure and that the site has required unusually high levels of environmental permitting work.
County staff said the athletic complex is being phased to deliver high-demand tournament-ready fields early, and that community-park elements will follow as funding is identified.
