New Post Office on US 301/Washington Blvd by Payne Park?: NOPE! Noted in the Observer May 30th (yourobserver.com), in early stages of planning/discussion, building new post office on that vacant parcel of City-owned land between Washington Blvd and Payne Park. Would allow new Convention Center to be built on valuable downtown parcel that has been the main Sarasota post office for many years. HOWEVER, the Post Office officially stated, on June 6th, that "The Postal Service is not willing to relocate nor entertain discussions about a land swap." So, nope. Wonder what might eventually go on this vacant, City-owned site?
June 2024, Sarasota Paradise preprofessional soccer at Sarasota High School Stadium. Sarasota Paradise, a new team in 2023, played there last year and, as far as I know, chaos did not beset the neighborhood: no crazy traffic, no wacko soccer fan gangs, no ear-shattering vuvuzelas. Home games scheduled for 2024: June 1, 12, 16, 23, 29, and July 3, and tickets start at just $10. See sarasotaparadise.us
Monday June 24, 7pm, next monthly AVNA meeting @ CoreSRQ / YMCA, 1075 S. Euclid (corner Euclid & Bahia Vista). Guest will be Sequoia Felton, candidate for City Commission. See AVNA meetup page for details.
Monday July 29, 7pm, next next monthly AVNA meeting @ CoreSRQ / YMCA, 1075 S. Euclid (corner Euclid & Bahia Vista). Guest will be Diane Kennedy, head of City Code Compliance, and Melissa Furman, candidate for City Commission. See AVNA meetup page for details.
June 14 Payne Park Tennis Center Open House. The community is invited to a free all-day open house with music and drinks to celebrate the latest amenities at the City-owned and operated facility, including the grand opening of Court Thirteen, a pro shop, cafe, bar, and social gathering place for tennis enthusiasts (& the rest of us, too). Complimentary coffee! See details at City web page. New fencing work for the Center is just about done.
Monika's Bakery Boutique: new bakery/coffee/desserts shop on Ringling Blvd, next to FiveO Donuts. Opening soon in May 2024.
Payne Park Tennis Center Fence Replacement Project April-June. No, that fenced-off area is just for project materials, they're not building anything new on that site right now.
Friday May 17 Sarasota High commencement. School's Out for Summer: Last day of school year is Fri May 24th.
FREE WI-FI in Payne Park ! as of April 2024
April 2024 Local Construction / Traffic Alert . Continuing into April FPL contractors continue replacing/upgrading power poles & wires (on School Av, Wood, Shade, etc.). Temporary street closures and traffic detours occur as work progresses; watch for big orange signs.
March-April: Frontier Fiberoptic Cable Installation on Bay St between School and East. Frontier is running underground fiber optic lines in right-of-way along this block.
April 3 Payne Park Townhomes DRC, 9am, City Hall. Development Review Committee, public may watch but no public comments at this stage of process. More on Payne Park Townhomes project, see below...
March 29 Friday, 5pm Good Friday in Payne Park. First Baptist Church is holding Good Friday sermon, including sponsoring a free, family-fun event including a helicopter Easter Egg drop, plus a Nik Wallenda wire walk! See firstsarasota.org for details.
Monday March 25, 7pm, next monthly AVNA meeting @ CoreSRQ / YMCA, 1075 S. Euclid (corner Euclid & Bahia Vista). Guests will be City Staff to talk about the Shade Avenue Complete Streets project (including "the Novus Bump" (photo)). Project is in design now and expected to start construction next year (2025). See Shade Complete Streets page, also AVNA page. AND... new Players Stage in Payne Park submission!
Mature Tree incentive program: Spring 2024 (and also Fall 2024). Apparently the 2023 pilot program proved successful! Now called Neighborhood Canopy Program, this initiative encourages residents to plant and maintain large canopy trees. The City’s Tree Mitigation Fund pays up to $500 toward an approved canopy tree when the required $100 deposit is received. Reservations are now (Feb 3) being taken for plantings in Spring 2024 Interested in participating? Click this link Neighborhood Canopy Program for details. Then call Mast Landscape Management at 941-480-6387 or email the City at [email protected].
Wed, Feb 7, 9am, City HallDRC meeting: on agenda, Payne Park Townhomes project resubmittal. (No public comments but public welcome to observe.) To review the backup documents, see the City's Public Meetings and Agendas page, open DRC Feb 7 agenda, click on Application documents link. See also PPT page for more details.
Fri Feb 2 & Sat Feb 3 Concordia Lutheran Church Rummage Sale! Always a fun time and a great rummage sale. Corner of Wood St and School Av. 8am-2pm both days.
Shade Ave Complete Streets update: New SURVEY! City is requesting more community input for Shade Ave improvement project. Specifically, based on prior feedback, they are considering removing that weird little "raised bump" traffic circle at Shade and Novus (a.k.a. "Kelly's Bane"). Take a look at 3 options: Take the survey. The survey closes 5pm Mon Jan 22, 2024. See more info, plus City website link, at Shade Ave Complete Streets page.
New Eatery, December 2023: Le Mans Kitchen, inside the Sarasota Ford dealership. LeMansKitchen.com Per the 12/6/2023 Observer: "Sarasota Ford opens multimillion-dollar restaurant inside the dealership." It's a high-end french-style sit-down restaurant, replacing the Sarasota Ford casual cafe, but serving Sarasota Ford customers only.
New Sarasota High Master Plan summary was presented at School Board Workshop 8/15/23. Future Improvements: Tennis Courts, and a Performing Arts Center. Just a tad more initial intel, so far, at Schools Update page.
SOLAR COOP! Thinking of going solar at your home? A new solar coop formed July 2023; a solar coop is a group of people (in a set area and timeframe) who negotiate a good deal on installing solar panels for their homes. You must sign up by Nov 30th to participate; but there is no obligation. See Solar United Neighbors
Nov 4th Fall Festival, Craft Fair, Family Fun, at Concordia Lutheran Church. at corner of School Ave & Wood St. Concordia website.