Business Council lays out ‘Newtown Thriving’ action plan

At community conversation, residents discuss the bottom-up revitalization project.

By Ed James III

Original Air Date: Nov. 12, 2026

Host: The Newtown community was invited this week to discuss an action plan for a program called Newtown Thriving. Ed James III reports.

Ed James III: The theme of Tuesday night’s meeting was simple: “You were heard. This is what you said. This is what we heard. This is what we’re doing.”

Following a half-hour of food and fellowship, representatives from the Newtown Business Council—or NBC—laid out action plans across five priority areas: Health and Safety, Business and Finance, Youth and Education, Arts and Culture and Community Safety.

Newtown Thriving is a bottom-up community revitalization and economic empowerment initiative spearheaded by the Newtown Business Council (NBC). Designed to align resident priorities with strategic investment, the program focuses on building a sustainable, prosperous future for Newtown while preserving its historic African American identity and preventing displacement. The initiative is primarily funded through private philanthropic grants.

One of the central concerns raised by longtime residents is ensuring that rapid growth and new development in Sarasota don’t push out existing neighborhood businesses. Speakers emphasized that local entrepreneurs need to be at the center of the conversation as the Martin Luther King Jr. Way corridor redevelops.

Mary Butler is president of the Newtown Business Council.

Mary Butler: That’s exactly what we’re doing as far as with the MLK corridor. We’re working with our city. We’re looking for those entrepreneurs. We’re looking for those businesses. We remember the mom and pop stores. We grew up with the mom and pop stores. While we’ve heard a lot of people would like that kind of storefront here, it’s not that easy to get now. It’s very difficult. We’ve got those big box stores in there, and unfortunately, Mom and Pop could not compete with them. It’s even harder for us to compete with them when you could go to Walmart and get that same piece of fruit for half the price. That’s the problem that we’re having with entrepreneurship. It’s not easy. But we do have some entrepreneurs here tonight who, in spite of that, continue to service the community.

EJ: To build that economic resilience, the Council issued a three-point call to action for local businesses: Share their challenges directly with the council, stay connected to resources and collaborate rather than compete in isolation.

Newtown Business Council President Mary Butler (white shirt), meets with City Commissioner Kyle Battie and city staffers. | Photo courtesy NBC

That message of persistence and business education was echoed by local entrepreneurs sharing their own journeys—from starting out with basic trade skills to taking business courses and securing state and federal certifications.

Beyond supporting current business owners, leaders stressed the urgency of preparing the next generation to inherit and lead the community.

Joe McKenzie is an NBC board member.

Joe McKenzie: What remains is to recruit volunteers—and that’s everyone in this room—all the businesses that we have already operating in this community—to do their part to help our young people to learn what they need to to be successful and thrive and, at some point in the future, to actually be prepared to take our place when we step aside.

EJ: Preserving Newtown’s identity was also front and center during the Arts and Culture presentation. Speakers reminded attendees that Newtown has been a vital part of Sarasota since 1914, urging residents to actively document their own history and teach local youth about their cultural heritage so it isn’t erased or rewritten.

Former City of Sarasota Commissioners Debbie Trice (l.) and Willie Shaw (hand raised) during a Newtown Business Council meeting. | Photo courtesy NBC

Meanwhile, on the practical front of disaster recovery and community safety, Newtown Business Council Navigator Sequoia Felton shared updates on how residents can get direct, one-on-one help. Melton noted that the Newtown Resiliency Table is open Monday through Friday at rotating neighborhood locations, connecting residents with disaster recovery funds, roof repair applications through Rebuild Florida, and Community Emergency Response Team—or CERT—training.

Sequoia Felton, a former candidate for city commission, serves as navigator in the process.

Sequoia Felton: What remains? We’re gonna strengthen the residents, continue the outreach, connect people with resources, and document services and outcomes. I will say this one thing: I have about six people right now with Rebuilding Florida. There’s about six residents that have an application in to get their roof repaired. So if you know anybody that needs a roof repaired, see me at the table. I’ll get that taken care of. My key message here is that the navigator desk is open every day, basically, Monday through Friday, and our responsibility—and my next responsibility—will be to demonstrate how this will work with the community. Thank you all for this.

EJ: Council leaders also announced that nine local community organizations were recently awarded a combined $100,000 dollars in grants to further support neighborhood initiatives.

After the presentations, attendees broke into table discussions around the five priority committees to share their primary takeaways and map out next steps for the Newtown Thriving Community Action Plan.

For WSLR News, I’m Ed James III.

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