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The long-awaited Palmetto Marriott Resort & Spa has announced plans for a grand opening in May.
The eight-story resort features 252 guest rooms and high-end amenities, dining and drinking options, and social and recreational space. The resort will connect to the Bradenton Area Convention Center, which is undergoing a $48 million renovation of its own to match the aesthetics of the resort and increase the available space.
Convention center renovations are expected to be completed in 2025 and include plans for an additional 14,000 square feet of ballroom space that can seat 900 conference attendees or split into two smaller rooms and two additional outdoor event spaces.
The resort also features 10,000 square feet of meeting space, a 40,000-square-foot outdoor lawn, and an amphitheater. Once complete, the resort and convention center combined will offer 140,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event space.
Hotel amenities include two resort-style pools and a spa and fitness center. The Palmetto Marriott Beach Club at Riviera Dunes offers an additional lap swimming pool, a beach volleyball court, pickleball courts and waterfront space with cabanas and loungers.
The lobby is equipped with food and drinking options and free wi-fi. Onsite dining options include a restaurant called The Social, the Oyster River rooftop which serves Florida-inspired meals with a Mediterranean twist, and the "Fresh… Always" food truck.
Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer denied a petition that would have compelled the city of North Port to again consider contraction of the city limits, as sought by the West Villagers for Responsible Government. A related petition is being weighed by the 2nd District Court of Appeal.
What do residents want?
Ultimately, the West Villagers for Responsible Government want the city of North Port to contract its western city limits to the Myakka River, which would de-annex all lands west of the river, placing Wellen Park in unincorporated Sarasota County.
The effort started in 2020, as residents grew frustrated with how the City Commission managed North Port's budget, taking issue with decisions such as the construction of the North Port Aquatic Center, instead of using funds to upgrade and maintain infrastructure.
A state measure approved in 2023 amended aspects of the law for annexations that would block future similar resident efforts anywhere in the state.
The petition rejected by Brewer on April 2, asked her to compel the city of North Port to, at the very least, schedule a referendum on de-annexation.
What did Judge Brewer rule?
Brewer wrote that the residents' petition for a “writ of mandamus,” misrepresented the steps for municipal contraction as outlined in state statutes.
Specifically, she wrote, the residents, represented by attorney Luke Charles Lirot, disregarded the fact that the North Port City Commission did not accept their petition at an Oct. 27, 2022 hearing.
“Based on the plain and ordinary language of Section 171.051 Florida Statutes the proverbial ‘buck’ stops with the governing body – the duly elected legislative body of the people of the City of North Port – when considering whether or not to introduce a ‘contraction ordinance.’”
Brewer also referenced an appeal of a companion petition – that she ruled against in October 2023 – that is being considered by the Second District Court of Appeal.
What will appeal court decide?
The appeal court will hear oral arguments April 23, where the residents are arguing that Brewer incorrectly applied case law when she ruled that the North Port City Commission afforded the residents' group due process and followed the law as required under the state statutes when it reaffirmed an April 2021 denial of the contraction effort.
John Meisel, president of the West Villagers for Responsible Government, said via text that he anticipates the appeals court to rule in the resident group’s favor. He added that the residents will appeal Brewer’s April 2 denial.
Now it’s a premier site on the Florida Birding Trail and a great place for a hike with an incredible view for miles. But until 1995 it was were the celery was grown on the Suncoast! Why is the celery all gone?
The 2024 Giving Challenge will wrap up Wednesday, April 10 and it is easier than ever to find a worthy organization to support.
The Giving Challenge is an exciting 24-hour online giving event that connects about 700 nonprofit organizations with passionate donors and community members to support diverse causes and create enduring impact in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.
A developer is back with an updated plan after the Manatee County Commission shot down an affordable housing project in the Elwood Park neighborhood last year.
Last August, commissioners sided with residents who said a townhome project was incompatible with their neighborhood. The board voted 6-1 to deny Eastwind Development's request to build Townhomes at Westbridge, a 220-unit townhome community on the northeast corner of 44th Avenue East and 45th Street East.
Eastwind Development, a Palm Beach Gardens-based developer of apartments across the Southeast, however, has not given up on developing the property.
The project, since renamed Villas at Elwood Park, has been extensively changed in response to concerns by residents and county officials, Stephen Novacki, Eastwind's vice president of acquisitions and development, said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Among those changes:
— Less acreage, down to 23.8 acres from the previously proposed 26.4 acres
— Fewer housing units. The 202 is 18 fewer than what Eastwind originally proposed
— The elimination of all 20,000 square feet of commercial space
— Increased setbacks and reorientation of the development away from existing houses and closer to 44th Avenue East.
An updated affordable housing plan
Those changes will help reduce new traffic by 50%, Novacki said.
"In addition to that, we changed the mix. Before it was all townhomes. Now there are 158 townhomes and 44 one-bedroom garden villas," he said.
Previously, Eastwind pledged that at least 10% of units would be affordable. That has been increased to 25% with the revamped plan, Novacki said.
Eastwind has also increased setbacks to 65 feet on the north and 90 feet on the west. The code requires 15 feet, he said.
"We're listening, getting feedback from residents and officials and trying to compromise. We feel like the project is significantly different," Novacki said.
Elwood Park neighbors still hesitant
John Rachide, 63, an Elwood Park resident, said he and his neighbors are happy with changes made to the project by Eastwind, but that the changes don't go far enough.
The density of nine housing units per acre is too much, he said.
"We're not against the development. We're against the density. The density would be incompatible with the neighborhood," Rachide said.
"It's sort of like putting lipstick on a pig," he said.
As he prepares for the 60th anniversary season of the Sarasota Music Festival, music director Jeffrey Kahane is looking to change things up in unexpected, unplanned ways.
The festival, which brings 60 young musicians (known as fellows) to Sarasota for three weeks each June to train, study and perform with a rotating roster of dozens of professionals, will have more of an improvisational feel this year, while also acknowledging traditions established with the creation of the festival in 1965.
Kahane said the lineup of programs and performances will be a game-changer.
From skyrocketing insurance costs to hefty monthly fees, condominium owners in the Tampa Bay area are feeling the pinch, some even saying it could force them out.
At Town Shores of Gulfport, a 55+ community, more than 100 residents met with a panel of experts Tuesday afternoon to discuss what can be done to help.
“I need explanation of why the insurance premiums went so high,” Dales Richardson said, sharing the frustration of many of his neighbors. Richardson says his monthly costs have more than doubled in recent years.
“It's really difficult, especially for a lot of the homeowners in here, because it's 55 and older. And so if you're on a fixed income, or even if you're not it's difficult,” said Kim Morwood, who lives in the community.
Condo associations are facing a two-fold issue, the rising cost of insurance premiums and changes to state law making associations shore up necessary reserve funding in the wake of the Surfside condo collapse.
Some associations are playing catch-up. Town Shores is in a better boat in the reserve funding regard, but just getting insurance proves to be another hurdle.
The community is made up of 50-plus-year-old buildings on the water which the community’s insurance agent says makes finding coverage outside of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance difficult.
Colson Hotel demolition talk spurs controversy among Sarasota historians, leaders
For full article:
Preservationists and leaders in Sarasota are raising concerns at an upcoming city commission meeting in hopes of preserving the city's historic Colson Hotel.
The two-story U-shaped Mediterranean Revival Style Colson Hotel at 1425 8th Street is a significant part of the city of Sarasota's history.
It was the first hotel constructed and opened in the mid-20th Century amid the Jim Crow laws that allowed Black travelers and workers to reserve rooms and lodge overnight in Sarasota. The Colson Hotel made its grand debut in the first African American neighborhood in the city, Overtown (now known as the Rosemary District) in December 1926.
Once a 26-room hotel, the building has suffered from neglect over the years and was purchased last March by Tampa-based JDMAX Development. The new owners’ proposal for demolition to the City of Sarasota has prompted a swell of dissent ahead of Tuesday's Historic Preservation Board Hearing.
Proposal to demolish historic Colsen Hotel denied (Video)
Sarasota’s Historic Preservation Board has denied an applicants proposal to demolish a historic hotel in the city’s Rosemary District, an area formerly known as Overtown.
“The Colson Hotel is critical and intricate to the history of African Americans in Sarasota. Mr. Colson was one of the earliest free African-American settlers in Sarasota and worked with the Florida mortgage company to plot the city. He was also the earliest leader of the African community in Sarasota . The hotel was the first transient hotel that allowed Black people to stay there,” said Tom McArdle with the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation.
The applicant and property owner, Maximilian Vollmer wants to turn the site on 8th Street into a townhome community. During his presentation to the board on Tuesday, he pointed out the condition of the historic building and said experts have said it is beyond the possibility of repair and possible renovation would be an “economic burden.” Vollmer told the board he was willing to include a historic marker as part of his development and call the project “Colsen Townhomes.” He later mentioned he would also be willing to sell the dilapidated hotel if a group was willing to renovate the site in a “fashionable amount of time” as he developed the empty land next to it.
City staff recommended the denial by the Historic Preservation Board.
“You cannot save everything, but what you try to do is save the significant structures. That is what we are doing here, is we are trying to save what is unique, what is really significant to the history of Sarasota. This is a very significant building. This is one of the few that staff come in and say no, this is one you need to save,” said Sr. Planner for the City of Sarasota Historic Preservation Dr. Clifford Smith.
Following the denial of the demolition request, the applicant has 10 days to appeal the decision. At that point, it would go before the city commission at a public hearing.
A beloved downtown Sarasota restaurant, best known for its gourmet sandwiches, support of local music, and serene setting, is permanently closing at the end of the month.
Simone Steiff-Pollux opened Cafe in the Park a decade ago at Payne Park on the eastern edge of downtown Sarasota. Her cozy café earned a loyal following with handheld options such as a house-made chicken salad on a croissant and a thin-sliced roast beef sandwich served on a freshly baked baguette.
The restaurant, which offers covered outdoor seating overlooking the surrounding park, also doubled as a live music venue, with its popular Friday night music series featuring many of Sarasota and Manatee counties' top acts. This Friday, April 12, Cafe in the Park will host its final concert, a couple weeks ahead of the restaurant closing.
Manatee County ranked #22 and Sarasota # 6 (in Florida).
Stacker compiled a list of the best counties to live in Florida using rankings from Niche. Niche ranks counties by various factors including public schools, educational attainment, cost of living, and housing.
– Top public schools: State College of Florida Collegiate School – Bradenton (grade A+), Palmetto Charter School (grade A minus), Rowlett Middle Academy (grade A minus)
– Top private schools: IMG Academy (grade A+), Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School (grade A+), Edison Academics (grade A minus)
– Top places: Holmes Beach (grade A minus), Whitfield (grade B+), West Bradenton (grade B+)
– Top public schools: Pine View School (grade A+), Riverview High School (grade A), Phillippi Shores Elementary School (grade A)
– Top private schools: NewGate School (grade A+), The Out-of-Door Academy (grade A+), Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School (grade A+)
– Top places: Vamo (grade A), Siesta Key (grade A), South Sarasota (grade A)
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