Siesta Key beach improvements surge ahead

The Siesta Key Beach Improvements project broke ground in January, and the first phase wrapped up this summer. Phase two is set to be completed by February, with December 2015 as the target completion date for phases three and four. Funding for the $21.5 million capital improvement project comes out of Sarasota County’s penny sales tax in the infrastructure surtax III. The beach will remain open through all phases of construction.

Phase one included building the tennis courts and maintenance building. It also included building one parking lot in the easternmost end, near the tennis courts. The lot includes 150 parking spots. The lot was created with a special kind of pervious concrete. A separate project, a pond for Beach Road drainage, was completed before phase one began, however it was created with the pervious concrete lot in mind: When it rains, the water can percolate down through that the instead of running off the pavement; this saves space because the retention pond can be smaller due to the lower amount of runoff.

Phase two includes constructing two more parking lot areas, with 108 additional spots open in time for the Crystal Classic in November. One lot will also be made of pervious concrete. This phase also will complete the playground and picnic area, which will include two larger pavilions and several smaller shelters.

The biggest part of this phase, however, is the completion of the new concession building. The building, which will be built 16 feet off the ground, will have a deck for viewing the beach and the sunsets. The new structure is already under construction. The goal is to finish the new concession area in phase two so the old one can be renovated in phase three.

“It will be a big deal when phase two opens up,” said Brad Gaubatz, project manager for the county. “It’s a great, great view.”

Phase three will consist mainly of finishing the partial demolition and remodeling of the existing concession stand, which will house offices and concessions. The historic section of the structure, built in the 1950s, will remain. The west parking lots will also be repaved with normal asphalt.