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AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
FREE • Thursday, June 13, 2013
DIVERSIONS
NEWS
Mable Ringling fountain renovations near completion. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
SPECIAL
Two filmmakers document their hometown’s secret side. PAGE 17A
Gillespie Park home renovation points to the future of the neighborhood. INSIDE
city check-up
parking plan
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
DUANY EFFECT In 2000, Andres Duany created a wish list of more than 40 priorities as part of Sarasota’s Downtown Master Plan. Thus far, 10 projects have been completed.
Courtesy photos
+ Mind blowing Sarasota Christian School sent four teams — the most in Florida — to the Odyssey of the Mind’s World Finals May 23 to May 25, at Michigan State University. All its teams did well, but the 10th grade team, making its sixth consecutive appearance, placed fourth in the world for the second year in a row. The team is only in its second year in the high-school division and was one of the youngest teams to compete at the world level.
lanner Andres Duany came to Sarasota in 2000 with one goal in mind: to try to make Sarasota a vibrant, walkable downtown. In 2000, Duany, who many consider the father of new urbanism, and his team of planners spent 10 days in Sarasota working on a blueprint that became an ambitious list of more than 40 separate projects. That blueprint eventu-
INSIDE:
ally became the city’s Downtown Master Plan. And, according to operations manager of the Downtown Improvement District John Moran, when Duany returns June 18 and 19 to speak about Sarasota’s future, he will likely speak about some of those same issues he addressed in 2000. Some of them include walkable streets; connecting downtown to the bayfront; and en-
couraging redevelopment in close-tod o w n t o w n Duany districts. Some of the projects have been accomplished; others gave way to a lack of funding or political support. Still others remain in the planning phase. Those who know Duany know that when he returns, he won’t mince words.
The Observer states some of Duany’s high priorities for Sarasota / PAGE 2A
M I SO MSPILOISNH ESD
PARKING GARAGES
DOWNTOWN GROCER
ACC
Temple Emanu-El Director of Religious Education Sabrina Silverberg and students Katie Hurwitz and Abbie Jo Mount display the blue boxes used to collect tzedakah donations.
ROUNDABOUTS
LEMON AVENUE MALL
+ Charitable lesson Temple Emanu–El Religious School donated its tzedakah — which means charity of righteousness in Hebrew — for the 201213 school year. Children donated to the tzedakah Sunday mornings and raised $1,329.26 throughout the school year. Students voted to donate the money to animal shelter Nate’s Place; the children’s care facility Everyday Blessings; and the Israel-based charity for young cardiac patients Save a Child’s Heart.
by Roger Drouin | City Editor
Study will sketch Circle garage plans Commercial property owners and residents agree on a preliminary parking proposal. A St. Armands parking feasibility study set to begin in August will illuminate concepts for a parking garage that could be located at one of two potential city-owned parcels on the Circle. The St. Armands Business Improvement District (BID) will fund the study, up to $50,000. The study will concentrate on two parcels — one at the corner of Fillmore and Monroe drives, on the south end of the Circle, and the other on a parcel on North Adams Drive behind the Columbia Restaurant. According to Mark Lyons, the city’s parking manager, the study should answer the following questions: “If we did build a parking garage, where would it be? What would it look like? How much would it cost?” The city is overseeing the study. During an update on the parking project at a June 11 Business Improvement District (BID) meeting, Lyons said it’s important the study also address concerns about blending the parking garage into the environment of homes located near the structure, especially if the site at the corner of Fillmore and Monroe drives is chosen. That site is located close in proximity to homes on both sides. “We want to make sure the neighborhoods are completely protected and it blends in,” Lyons said. The city will begin seeking bids from consultants next week to conduct the study. “We are trying to move it forward as quickly as we can,” Lyons said. If plans for a garage advance, the BID — a taxing district that St. Armands Circle property owners voted to create to help finance improvements on the Circle — along with the city, would co-fund the cost of the parking garage, said Marty Rappaport,
SEE PARKING / PAGE 6A
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........26A
Cops Corner.......... 9A Crossword...........25A
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate.........20A
Sports.................14A Weather..............25A
Vol. 43, No. 46 | Two sections YourObserver.com