Sarasota: New construction takes over downtown

[Florida]

Thats why your mom is so sknny... she has to tie legs in a knot to keep her panties on!

[gt7275a]

As part of the new downtown master plan created by Andres Duany (Seaside Fame) there may be several new roundabouts built downtown. One will be in front of a new development replacing the Quay Retail-Dining-Office complex (failure from 80's) See: http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=quay

I grew up in Sarasota and still have family there. I think that downtown Sarasota is thriving today in part because A) Sarasota county has a urban growth boundary (Basically I-75); B) In the 1980s not much effort was put into developing infrastructure in the rural areas (very little roadway development), and C) There is no more land available on the barrier islands to build condos

12 years ago you could shoot a cannon off downtown after 5pm and not hit a single person. Today downtown is fairly active. They have done a good job controlling the development. The height restrictions are certaily necessary as the roads downtown are fairly narrow (2-3 lanes).

I have been following development in Sarasota since I was in high school and I even got my Masters in City Planning because of it (I do GIS however not so much pure planning). I have lived in Sarasota, Gainesville, Orlando, Atlanta, Naples, Tallahassee and Jacksonville and I still like Sarasota the most.

If you are ever in the area and want an interesting tour they have a Segway tour that goes all around downtown. I learned a lot about the city I grew up in and saw some interesting neighborhoods I never knew existed. http://www.floridaever-glides.com/