Work ends, begins on Siesta Key beaches

One down, one more to go.

That’s the state of the beach projects on Siesta Key.

The county has completed a two-year project to renovate and improve facilities on Siesta Key Public Beach. At the south end of the Key on Turtle Beach, contractors will begin a six-week project to widen an eroded two-mile stretch of shoreline by 60 feet.

Siesta Key renovations

Siesta Key Public Beach facility renovations were completed this week and will open to the public Saturday. The beach construction occurred in phases to avoid closing one of the county’s most prominent tourist attractions.

Jon F. Swift Construction renovated and replaced several older structures and added new ones as well, including a new pavilion with a restroom and concession area at the southeast end of the park.

The $21.5 million project — funded through a Sarasota County penny sales tax — preserved the original pavilion. That structure was built in 1958 and designed by Tim Seibert, a member of the Sarasota School of Architecture movement.

Concessions that operated at the historic pavilion moved to the same building as the new lifeguard and sheriff’s offices. According to Jerry Sparkman of Sweet Sparkman Architects, the overgrown vegetation in front of the original pavilion was removed, opening up the view of the beach.

Bill Waddill, whose firm, Kimley-Horn & Associates, spent approximately five years designing renovations, said Siesta Beach’s waves inspired the undulating wall along the promenade. Its colors influenced the blue, green and white shades used throughout the park.

Approximately a dozen coconut palms — some of the few nonnative plants used in the design — adorn the preserved pavilion area, because the same kind of tree was originally planted there.

Lifeguard Lt. Scott Ruberg said he and his lifeguards are thrilled about their new offices and first-aid facilities. Ruberg said he’s happy to see that contractors preserved and built around a large mahogany tree that has stood near the pavilion since the 1970s, planted in memory of a lifeguard who died.

Turtle renourishment

Until mid-April, barges and heavy equipment will be part of the waterfront view for some Siesta and Lido residents.

Contractor Weeks Marine asked the U.S. Coast Guard to issue a notice to mariners that it would begin staging for a Turtle Beach renourishment project this week.

Dredging equipment and barges will anchor just southwest of Bird Key and transport equipment offshore of Siesta Key.

During the project, two dredging vessels will transport sand from three sites approximately seven miles offshore of Turtle Beach. That sand will travel to a discharge site and get pumped the remaining 1.5 miles to the beach through a pipeline. That operation will begin approximately March 1 and continue around the clock until dredging is complete, estimated to be April 15.

Sarasota County Coastal Projects Manager Laird Wreford said a restricted area approximately the size of a football field will move down the shoreline as the project proceeds. Most areas should be inconvenienced for no more than a day.

The operation will place approximately 700,000 cubic yards of sand on two miles of shoreline surrounding Turtle Beach.

The project, which will also cost approximately $21.5 million, will be funded by state grants, tourist development taxes and a special assessment on property owners within the project area, according to Wreford. The additional sand will widen the beach by approximately 60 feet.