From Master Plan to Phase 1 - The Bay Sarasota
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From Master Plan to Phase 1

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From Master Plan to Phase 1

From Master Plan to Phase 1

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Our Journey

Over the past two years, the team in partnership with the city and the community has progressed The Bay initiative from Conceptual Master Plans of the entire park and the first phase, to a feasible and developable Implementation Plan for the first phase, and most recently to a recommended Site Plan for the first phase that we can develop into an actual park for everyone in our community to use and enjoy. 

You can learn more about how we progressed from master plan to implementation plan by either clicking through the slideshow directly below or scrolling through this page.

September 2018 - City Commission Unanimously Approves Plan.
On September 6th, 2018, the Sarasota City Commission unanimously approved…
…the conceptual Master Plan for The Bay Park and the first 10-acre phase.
City Commission Voting Results - Thursday September 6, 2018. 5 Yes Votes. Passed unanimously.
Existing Conditions vs. Conceptual Master Plan
Conceptual Master Plan looking from Sarasota Bay over The Bay Park to downtown.
February 2019 - The birth of the circular sunset boardwalk.
The design team gains a deep understanding of the water and the land conditions, and the conservation and environmental requirements and objectives for the design of an implementation plan for the first phase.
In February of 2019, the design team engaged in a series of design and sketch sessions in Sarasota.
The design team looked at iconic boardwalks and piers from around the world for inspiration.
The iterative design process over the next six months resulted in this Phase 1 Implementation Plan presented and approved at the September 16th City Commission meeting.
“Science and art informed and inspired our sketch session. We knew we had to design for access and connectivity, and to design in a way that enabled the sea grasses, living shoreline, mangroves and bayou so critical to the environment to thrive. Amazingly, all five sketch teams came up with circular or curvilinear boardwalk designs...that balanced accessibility and connectivity, environmental, and park goer experiential needs...in a way that held the promise of creating something great for the bay and Sarasota.”
Sketch from the February 2019 design session.
In March 2019, Bill Waddill and AG Lafley update the neighborhood association members and representatives on The Bay.
April 2019 - Phase 1 Concept Plan Presentation.
On April 16th, 2019, the design team presented a complete Phase 1 design and draft implementation plan that encompassed all of the research, ideation and community input that had been gathered since the approval of the conceptual Master Plan.
July 2019 - Phase 1 Community Input Gathering.
From day one, the design team has engaged broadly and frequently with the community to get feedback as they iterate and continually improve the design and plan for the park. The team listens carefully, weighs and balances all of the input, and then recommends to the city the design and plan they believe best delivers on the guiding principles, the financial, operational and sustainability success criteria, and importantly on what the majority of the community wants to experience in their park. We surveyed participants at the July public meeting. We received 439 responses.
Learn more about the Phase 1 Implementation Plan presented to the City Commission at the July 15th, 2019 meeting in this video: https://atlarge.me/julyplan
View the slides that were presented to the City Commission: https://atlarge.me/julycitycommission
Revised plan presented for public input
A number of changes and improvements to the implementation plan for phase 1 were made coming out of city, community, neighborhood and public meetings in July-August. The improved Phase 1 design and plan was presented at two public workshops held on August 21st, 2019. Once again, we surveyed attendees from both meetings. 644 surveys were completed.
You can learn more about about the changes that were made in this video: 
https://atlarge.me/August-Phase1
In addition to the 644 surveys completed at the August public meetings, we continued to survey the community online via Facebook and our website. We also continued to meet and survey community and neighborhood groups leading up to the September 2019 City Commission meeting. As you can see in the slide, 83%, the vast majority of the Sarasota community, rated the Phase 1 Implementation Plan a park they would be “highly likely to visit”.
September 2019 - City Commission Votes on Phase 1.
Phase 1 Implementation Plan rendering presented and approved at the September 16th City Commission meeting.
On Monday, September 16th, 2019, the City Commission unanimously approved the Phase 1 Design and Implementation Plan.

For any questions regarding the progress from master plan to implementation plan, please submit a question to Ask The Bay.

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