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Bay Park Conservancy outlines $200M, multi‑phase plan to restore Sarasota Bayfront and protect historic buildings
Summary
Bay Park Conservancy representatives Diana Sheehan and Marty Hilton briefed the Sarasota Historic Preservation Board on an 8–10 year, $200 million transformation of the 53‑acre Bayfront site, emphasizing stormwater treatment, resilient shorelines, rehabilitated historic buildings and TIF funding for Phase 2.
Diana Sheehan and Marty Hilton of the Bay Park Conservancy on April 14 presented the Historic Preservation Board with an overview of the Bayfront master plan, a multi‑phase effort to restore and program 53 acres of city‑owned land along Sarasota’s bayfront.
Sheehan framed the project as a long‑term public‑private partnership and said the conservancy’s mission is "to conserve, preserve, restore, and transform 53 acres." She outlined goals that include broad public access, environmental resiliency and operational sustainability for the site once construction is complete.
The presenters gave specific figures and project elements. Sheehan said the conservancy treats large volumes of stormwater on site and described a goal "to treat every single drop of the 300,000,000 gallons of polluted stormwater through the site." Phase 2 work includes a resilient shoreline, the Canal District, a Cultural District and the rehabilitation of four National Register buildings; they identified a $65 million scope for part of Phase 2 with approximately $48 million pledged from a tax increment finance (TIF) district and the remainder from government grants and private donations.
On waterfront access, the presentation noted recent dredging in the Canal District (about 3,000 cubic yards of material, the presenters said) and the installation of 15–20 floating day docks that opened in February and are free to the public. Sheehan said the City will operate the new day docks.
Hilton described the conservancy’s approach to historic buildings on the site. He highlighted the Blue Pagoda (a Victor Lundy‑era structure), the Garden Club building, the Chidsey library building and other cultural assets, and said the team is restoring exteriors to historic appearance where feasible while using adaptive rehabilitation for interior programs. On the Chidsey rehabilitation, Sheehan described structural shoring, pile work and removal of nonhistoric additions to reopen interior volumes for public programming.
The presentation also covered new public‑space features and resiliency design: a 1,000‑foot promenade that opened last October to better integrate the streetscape and park, renderings for a large shade structure and a proposed stage and town‑square area intended to host markets and performances, and plans to raise key parts of the site’s elevation to improve storm‑surge protection.
Board members asked which buildings were locally and nationally designated; staff clarified the designations and said a diagram would help make overlapping local and national listings less confusing. No formal action was requested or taken during the presentation; the board’s discussion was limited to clarifying designation status and asking follow‑up questions.
The conservancy’s next steps described to the board include advancing design and construction on Phase 2 elements, pursuing the remaining grant and philanthropic funding, continuing rehabilitation work on the historic buildings and coordinating with city staff on implementation steps and permitting.
