bserver O SARASOTA
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Thursday, AUGUST 11, 2011
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NEIGHBORHOOD
‘Black Swan’ dancing school double Sarah Lane Look inside for our to land in Sarasota. annual guide to the INSIDE. new school year.
OUR TOWN
Courtesy photo
+ DWB to hold grand re-opening event Designing Women Boutique is holding an official grand re-opening 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 15. The store expanded its retail space and will now be able to showcase a large collection of fine jewelry, due to the successful estate liquidation business established under the Designing Women banner, as well as a space for the new home accessory and furniture display. The store has also acquired more than 70 new gowns and cocktail dresses, and the sale room will be holding a clearance sale of high-quality items. The boutique is located at 1226 N. Tamiami Trail at 13th Street. For more information, call 366-5293.
+ Johnson selected for YMCA award Former Sen. Bob Johnson was selected as the 2012 YMCA First Citizen. The award is given annually to someone who contributes to the community and lives out the missions of the Sarasota YMCA. Johnson Johnson was a member of the state Senate, for which he created the Y Runaway Shelter; he is also a member of the Y Metro Board. He will be honored at the Y Foundation’s annual Donor Appreciation Luncheon Nov. 16. “It’s virtually impossible to look in any direction in Sarasota County, be it the arts, education or human services, and not see the influence of Bob’s efforts,” said Y Foundation President Karin Gustafson in a prepared statement.
SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 11A
mediation sessions
Behind the scenes at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. PAGE 13A
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Ministerial association plans homeless feeding meetings
The Sarasota Ministerial Association will hold discussions this fall with all groups involved in the controversial homeless feedings at Selby Five Points Park.
The Sarasota Ministerial Association has approached city officials, because it wants to become a facilitator among Selby Five Points Park area residents, business leaders and groups feeding the homeless in the park. Sarasota Ministerial Association President and Goodwill Industries of Sarasota Chaplain Tom Pfaff told the Sarasota Observer
HOTEL OPTIONS
his organization would hold two separate, independent meetings this fall to address the issue. One meeting will be held with city residents and merchants to address how the homeless feedings in the park have disrupted the community. The other meeting will be held with area churches and associations that have held feedings in the park.
Downtown residents object to the large number of homeless who loiter in the park after the feedings, saying the homeless begin drinking, doing drugs, fighting and panhandling. Pfaff noted that in 2001, the Sarasota Ministerial Association was formed to address concerns residents and business owners had with groups feeding the
homeless in their community. “We were able to bring together both the merchants and providers of food,” Pfaff said. “Just like then, this is an opportunity for everyone to talk about the best way to have the downtown thrive while caring for the community at the same time.”
SEE FEEDINGS / PAGE 2A
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Downtown hotels in the works Two potential parcels for Sarasota hotels lie in the downtown core, both near Main Street. The best bet for a downtown hotel still lies with a sliver of cityowned property on North Palm and Cocoanut avenues. The city of Sarasota continues to work to bring a hotel to the 40,000-square-foot piece of land it owns next to the Palm Avenue parking garage. Chief planner Steve Stancel told the Sarasota Observer the Neighborhood and Development Services Department hopes to finalize by the end of the month an “invitation to negotiate” with potential hotel developers. Once it’s complete, city staff can begin looking at proposals on an individual basis and negotiate the terms of bringing a hotel to a site that permits a 10-story hotel. In the meantime, the city has surveyed the property; a recent appraisal came back at $3.5 million. “It’s a goal of the city to have a working hotel right in the urban core,” Stancel said. “This makes for a good site because it’s a block-and-a-half from the waterfront and a block from Main Street. It’s an attractive site for a hotel developer.” General negotiation parameters, Stancel said, include a willingness to put a hotel on the site,
PRIME PLACEMENT FRUITVILLE ROAD
A vacant parcel near the Palm Avenue parking garage and the Walia hotel application are the only two downtown hotel sites still under consideration. PALM AVE. HOTEL SITE
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the mandatory use of the adjacent parking garage and the purchase of the land from the city. “We anticipate several inquiries that meet those basic requirements,” Stancel said.
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In December, the city received three preliminary letters of intent from three developers: University Park-based Benderson Development Company LLC, St. Petersburg-based Strategies In-
WALIA HOTEL SITE vestment Corporation and Sarasota business consultant Steve Bedi. The Sarasota City Commission
SEE HOTELS / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds......... 22A
Cops Corner..........9A Crossword.......... 21A
Opinion.................6A Permits.............. 20A
Real Estate........ 20A Weather............. 21A
Vol. 7, No. 40 | Three sections YourObserver.com