Why the world comes to Sarasota
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JUNE 2016 | 941.349.0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.SiestaSand.net | COMPLIMENTARY
MISS SIESTA KEY
Benderson Development reveals modified plans for Siesta Promenade First phase of construction could begin in Fall 2016 on vacant lot at the NW corner of Stickney Point Road and U.S. 41. By Roger Drouin
Miss Siesta Key needs your help page
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JOHN DAVID COTES
Award winning director and producer John David Cotes participates on film page panel
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BLVD. BUZZ
Chef Darwin Santa Maria has been hired by Tom Golen, owner of Señor Siesta Restaurant, to collaborate on a new “urban themed” restaurant. Plus more news from around the boulevard page
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REAL ESTATE AGENT PROFILE Meet Dennis Kedzierski of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Realty
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SAND CASTLES
Benderson Development has modified its plans for vacant land that was once a mobile home park at the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road. The development company is taking the first steps to gain county approval for the latest version of its plans for Siesta Promenade — a mixed-use center that would transform the busy intersection — and hopes to break ground by as early as
fall, 2016 on the retail and hotel component of the project, Todd Mathes, director of development at Benderson told Siesta Sand. The project requires Planning Commission and County Commission approval before construction could begin on the 24-acre site, and Benderson last month was in the process of filing the newest plans with the county’s land development services.
In large part to meet the concerns of nearby residents, Benderson Development recently modified its plans for the center, first presented in 2014. Under the new plans, the lifestyle center would include 140,000 square feet of retail space and a 150-room hotel. A residential component of 600 units would be comprised of luxury rental apartments and condominiums on approximately
Did Parking Solutions Get Enough Emphasis in Beach Improvement Plan? By Robert Frederickson The actress Charlize Theron caused something of a stir recently when she made the offhand remark in an interview that she sometimes sees her beauty as a curse. Not that she’s ungrateful for the success it has helped her achieve, mind you, just that she sometimes feels it has limited the roles she is offered by directors and producers. Siesta Beach has no problem playing a multitude of roles... from party central for the young on spring break to peaceful refuge for those looking for a break from the hustle and
bustle of everyday life...from a backdrop for everything from a high-pressure volleyball tournament to a friendly Frisbee toss; a place equally appealing to a child sculpting his or her first sand castle and to the artists competing in the annual Crystal Classic with their own massive works of sculpted sand art. But as with Theron, the beauty of Siesta Beach comes with a price: a growing throng of visitors drawn to its shores. Parking has long been an issue at the popular park, even before Dr. Stephen Leatherman
(a.k.a. Dr. Beach) named Siesta Beach the nation’s best in 2011. So when in the aftermath of that high-profile endorsement, even more visitors began to arrive, parking became a central area of concern for the $20 million beach beautification project the county undertook in 2013 and completed earlier this year. 140 spots were added, bringing the total to 980. That’s not an insignificant number for the perpetually parking challenged Key, a 16.7 % increase overall. Continued on page 7
Completion of Palmer Point Park restoration project expected to begin this fall |Spoil islands in Little Sarasota Bay the focus of County Commission presentation By Rachel Brown Hackney - SarasotaNewsLeader.com
Gulf & Bay Bayside, a retreat that’s hard to leave
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WHO’S PLAYING TONIGHT
Meet Cliff E. Shoes
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The restoration of a spoil island in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) — near the area of Siesta Key where Midnight Pass once flowed — is scheduled to get underway once again this fall, Sarasota County staff has
told the County Commission. If the solicitation process goes as planned, the final work at Palmer Point Park should start by late fall, Spencer Anderson, a senior manager in the county’s Public Works Department, told
the commissioners’ during an April 27 review of penny surtax projects for the next five fiscal years. Palmer Point Park is on the north end of Casey Key.
12 acres of the site. Benderson has decreased the total proposed commercial development by more than 100,000 square feet, said Mathes, who is the project manager for the Siesta Promenade project. The initial plans for the lifestyle center had 250,000 square feet of retail space. “We’ve spent a lot of time on this,” Mathes told Siesta Sand. Continued on page 28
Condominium residents seek elimination of 12 Beach Road parking spaces By Rachel Brown Hackney www.SarasotaNewsLeader.com Siesta Key condominium owners’ request for Sarasota County to eliminate 12 parking spaces on Beach Road — parallel to Siesta Public Beach — will be one agenda item the county’s Traffic Advisory Council (TAC) will consider at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 13, most likely in downtown Sarasota, John Sharp, a staff member in the Transportation office of the county’s Public Works Department, told SNL. Sharp is the liaison to the TAC. After the TAC hears the matter, the council members will vote on whether to forward the petition to the County Commission. It can take up to a year after a TAC meeting for an issue to reach the commission, Sharp said, though, generally, it takes six to eight months.
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LOCAL MAPS & INFORMATION
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See Page 19
Summertime at Abel’s Ice Cream Remember when summertime was simple? Back in the day when the only worry was getting home before dark, and the only thought was what Mom might make for dinner and dessert? At Abel’s Ice Cream, it’s time to recapture that treasured time, and celebrate the simple things in life with their delicious parlor-style ice cream. This month’s featured flavors, all old friends, will surely please the palette. Vanilla (Back to basics…Smooth and creamy natural vanilla ice cream), Chocolate (Smooth and triple richtheir house chocolate ice cream), and Strawberry (Creamy strawberry ice
cream with chucks of strawberries and a strawberry swirl), are three all-time favorites and multiple award winners from the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA). You won’t be disappointed, but if simple isn’t your style, remember there’s always the option to dress up any of Abel’s flavors into a delightful hot fudge or fruit sundae, or maybe even a decadent banana split. Whatever way you go, you’re sure to enjoy a break from the summer heat with one of their sweet treats. Check out your favorite flavors online at www.abelsicecream.com then go see
them at 1886 Stickney Point Road. And don’t forget to connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.