Bayfront group announces planning firm finalists

As it plots the redevelopment of 42 acres of city-owned bayfront land, the Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization has narrowed its search for a professional planning consultant to four finalists.

The Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization will work with a planning firm to develop a master plan for the land surrounding the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. The planning organization will use the principles developed by Sarasota Bayfront 20:20, a grassroots group of stakeholders, to guide its planning process.

The four finalists are:

• Cooper Robertson, a New York firm whose portfolio includes the Whitney Museum in New York and the Gateway Arch museum expansion and renovation in St. Louis.
• Perkins+Will, an Atlanta firm whose portfolio includes the Shanghai Natural History Museum and the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• Rogers Partners, a New York firm whose portfolio includes Park Over GA400 in Atlanta and the new St. Pete Pier in St. Petersburg.
• Sasaki, a Watertown, Mass. firm whose portfolio includes Wilmington Waterfront Park in Los Angeles and the redesigned Ithaca Commons in Ithaca, N.Y.

In the request for qualifications announced in July, the planning organization prioritized two things for design firms: Prior experience navigating similarly complex endeavors and environments, and a commitment to working with the large group of stakeholders involved in the project. The selected design team will be asked to render an open space plan with dedicated park land and free space and a broader connectivity between the bayfront, adjunct neighborhoods and the nearby central downtown core.

The planning organization will interview the finalists on Oct. 3 and 4 at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex. The planning organization will select a planning firm on Oct. 11, according to a release.

The public can register to attend the finalist interviews and submit questions on the Sarasota Bayfront Planning Organization website.

The planning organization hopes to present a bayfront master plan for City Commission consideration in the third quarter of 2018.