Funding secured, The Bay embarks on planning park's next phase

Now that the Bay Park Conservancy has secured more than $4 million in city and county deposits into its trust fund, it can officially begin planning and design for phase two of The Bay.

Following the Sarasota City Commission's prior unanimous approval, the BPC on April 25 secured an identical deposit of just more than $2 million by a 3-1 vote of the County Commission with Commissioner Mike Moran dissenting. Moran didn’t voice his objection prior to the vote, which was otherwise supported by commissioners Mark Smith, Joe Neunder and Chairman Ron Cutsinger.

Those deposits will more than meet the annual payment for a $48 million city bond, set to close on Thursday, May 11.

The Bay, planned for 53 acres of city-owned land on Sarasota Bay, is a 10-year, $200 million buildout to create a multifaceted public park financially supported equally by city and county government and private philanthropy and grants. City and county funds come from a tax increment financing district that surrounds the park — tax revenue resulting from the increased value of property as it is developed and improved.

The city and county make identical annual payments with revenues from the TIF district to the trust fund, provided the approval of the commissioners. The BPC will have collected $8.7 million combined after the fiscal year 2024 payments are made, estimated at just more than $2 million each based on a projected 7.2% increase in subject property values. The actual payment, though, will be based on the assessed value as of July 2023, which could be significantly higher according to the county.

The Bay serves the dual purpose of public passive and active park and water conservation.

“This site, which was all built before the Clean Water Act in the late ’70s, drains about 300 million gallons of polluted stormwater every year directly into Sarasota Bay,” BPC Chief Operating Officer Bill Waddill told county commissioners. “As we build each phase of our park we put every drop of that rain through our stormwater treatment train to pre-treat it and quit polluting the environment, and then restore the environment as we go.”

The 10-acre first phase of The Bay opened in October 2022 on the southern end of the site. Phase two will focus on the Canal District, the public boat launch area on the north side of the park, and will include rebuilding some 800 feet of failing sea wall on the south side of the canal and adding 20 to 25 day docks. 

It will also include improvements to the Cultural District along U.S. 41, western shoreline improvements and the Sunset Pier. That all comes at a projected cost of $65 million, $48 million of which is covered by TIF-backed city bonds. 

The $30.5 million first phase received 90% of its funding from private philanthropy.

Although it took 10 years from conception and six years of planning and development to open the first 10 acres, Waddill said the 14-acre phase two will be completed much more quickly. 

“We're going to design and build all of this within about three years,” Waddill said. “A lot of times for these sorts of initiatives getting past the initial inertia is one of the hardest things to do. It took us six years to get 10 acres of park at $35 million built. We’re going to build twice as much park in half the time.”

The first two phases effectively encircle the parking lot and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, with parking lot and roads covering 35 of the 53 acres. That impervious space will be addressed in future phases with planning currently including preservation of the Van Wezel on the southwest corner of the site and a proposed new Sarasota Performing Arts Center on the northeast corner.

“We're going to be transforming that from two-thirds parking and paving to two-thirds green park with all of the focus on water quality,” Waddill said.

Courtesy rendering

Phase two work in the Canal District will primarily focus on the south side of the canal. In addition to the day docks, plans include some structures to serve light retail, create shade and a staging area for portable food service. The BPC has proposed future permanent restaurant sites for waterfront dining intended to supply revenue streams to help meet future operation costs of the entire park. 

In the Cultural District, there will be an event lawn and recreation lawn to the north of Municipal Auditorium, and 5,600-square-foot and 5,200-square foot areas identified as North Plaza and South Plaza will flank the auditorium. That’s in addition to heavy landscaping throughout the area.

Courtesy rendering

Currently, the Bay Park Trust Fund balance is $4.68 million, which includes the $1.7 million from last year’s county and the city TIF deposits. With the projected $4 million for fiscal year 2024, minus the bond payment of $2.77 million, that leaves a balance of $5.91 million. 

“That’s plenty of coverage to make sure that there's plenty of money in there for the bond payments moving forward,” Waddill said.