Our reporter walks you through Phase 2 of Sarasota’s growing green lung.
By Gretchen Cochran
Original Air Date: June 20, 2025
Host: Controversies are swirling around the existing and future performing arts center in Sarasota. But a lot is happening in the emerging park around that building, including construction of a restaurant for which the city has already received four bids. WSLR News reporter Gretchen Cochran takes us on a stroll through the Bay park.
Gretchen Cochran: In just a couple of weeks, The Purple Ribbon Committee’s two-year study report will go to the Sarasota Commission. The city owns the 60-year-old Van Wezel, still going strong with bookings lining up for the 2025-26 season.
A map of the current park.
Meanwhile, plenty has been going on in the area surrounding the Van Wezel including plans for a sizable new restaurant to open in a bit over a year.
“Purple Ribbon” refers to the color of the shell-shaped performance hall visible from the Ringling Bridge. It sits at the corner of The Bay, the huge parking lot being turned into a 53-acre city park. Drive down Tamiami Trail, and at 10th Street, you’ll see one of two entrances.
The commission has been holding off on decisions regarding potential historic designation of the Van Wezel and approving $17 million for repair of hurricane damages and technical upgrades as it awaits the committee’s recommendations. It has also withheld full go-ahead for construction of a new $300 million-plus Performing Arts Center in the same park.
Purple Ribbon members have imagined Van Wezel’s potential use in the future if it is no longer needed with the construction of the much-discussed 2500-seat Performing Arts Center.
While we await that report, let’s take a walk around the so-called purple cow.
[Ocean waves]
GC: We’re standing now at the edge of the resilient sea wall. I can see the Van Wezel tower from here. Behind me is the site for the new restaurant right by the boat ramps. I can see the Ringling bridge and a big sailboat off in the distance. It’s amazingly relaxing just to sit here and listen to the lapping of the waves.
Moving north along the shoreline, we can see the early work on making the coastline resilient. Researchers have learned that hard walls don’t fare well with wind-driven water; a softer shoreline fares much better. We’re walking along the bayfront now, passing numerous sunset overlooks to the corner by the soon-to-be spiffed up Boat District.
[Vehicle backup alarm, construction noises]
GC: Hear that noise? That’s the sound of anticipation as a giant earth mover is already preparing the north side of the lot where a new 5,000 square foot restaurant is to be built and operational within a little over a year.
A Gecko’s pub in Sarasota is about that size. According to the request for proposals, the building’s main floor is to be elevated 12-feet above ground to accommodate rising tides and storm surge during to-be-sure future hurricanes. It should be designed in the Sarasota Modern architectural style, hence with clean horizontal lines and big expanses of glass, especially on the north, for watching the boats, and on the west, for catching sunsets. The new restaurant will be wrapped in Dominican coral stone sheets. Sweet Sparkman Architects will be the design leads.
A master plan map for Phase 2 improvements to the Bay park.
The restaurant’s site should have terraces and sloping lawns to integrate with the surrounding walkway. The Bay calls that walkway the “public promenade.”
By the end of this month, three or four restaurant proposals will have been selected and interviews will proceed to selection. It is hoped the new restaurant will open in the Fall of 2026.
Frances Bermudez, program manager for The Bay, told us early in the Bay’s history a community survey showed park enthusiasts especially wanted a restaurant included in the plans. Ultimately there will be possibly four.
The historic Chidsey Library.
Walking past the canal where recreational boats of varying sizes are coming and going today, we’re strolling along the sidewalk parallel with Tamiami Trail. On this edge of the now-parking lot, the Cultural District is taking shape. This is the area where a new Performing Arts Center might be built. The district includes a cluster of buildings, four of which are on the National Register of Historic Places: The Sarasota Garden Club, the Blue Pagoda, the Chidsey Library and the Municipal Auditorium. The 1941 library has undergone extensive repairs and is set to open soon.
Of course, the south end of The Bay was complete a while back, and is the site of numerous free events.
Once the city commission receives the Purple Ribbon Committee report, the next pieces for the development of this massive park project will begin to fall into place.
Reporting for WSLR News, Gretchen Cochran.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.