Bay Dreams Coming True

Community leaders and philanthropists—including several from Gulf Coast—safely gathered yesterday to mark two major milestones in the creation of The Bay Park.

The celebration included a private ribbon-cutting for the Mangrove Walk, one of the major features of the first phase of this world-class public park project. Earlier this month, the City of Sarasota formally approved the site plan for all of Phase 1, a 10-acre area that also will include a Living Shoreline, Sunset Boardwalk, activity lawns, a kayak launch, and a concession plaza with restrooms.

In all, The Bay Park will restore and transform 53 acres of public urban waterfront land—arguably the last parcel of its kind in all of Florida.

“This is an incredible celebration of progress,” said AG Lafley, founding CEO of The Bay Park Conservancy, the nonprofit group overseeing the community-driven project. "Think about it: Together, we’ve conserved 53 acres of the most precious public land in the region. Together, we’ve begin the environmental restoration -- not mitigation, not just sustainability -- but restoration of this land. Together, we’re going to transform this parking lot into a signature world-class park on Sarasota Bay.”

Gulf Coast Community Foundation leaders and donors have been supporters and catalyzers of this project from its germination as an idea nearly a decade ago. A Sarasota Herald-Tribune article on the Phase 1 site-plan approval led by looking at the project’s progress through the eyes of Jon Thaxton, a senior vice president at Gulf Coast and an original partner in the project.

“Let’s celebrate the victory but now let’s look forward," Jon said in the story. “We need to keep the momentum going while we have it.”

Walking The Bay

The celebration also included a private walking tour led by Bill Waddill, chief implementation officer for The Bay. He pointed out many improvements for accessibility, sustainability, and educational interpretation. 

One of the hidden features of Phase 1 is a 600-foot-long underground “denitrification trench,” an ingenious enhancement that will use natural processes to filter and clean rainwater that falls on the site, neutralizing nitrogen pollution before it seeps into the bayou and Bay. The denitrification trench is a model for storm-water treatment that is touted in Gulf Coast’s recently published Community Playbook for Healthy Waterways. (To learn more about the extensive environmental features planned for The Bay Park, go here.)

The Bay Park itself is a model for how philanthropy can help organize and power a community dream into a real-world result that exceeds those aspirations. “This is predominately philanthropically funded,” acknowledged Mayor Hagen Brody in his remarks. “The donors have really stepped up and have seen the benefits this project brings to the community.”

As AG summed it up: “One team with one dream—that’s what it’s been from the start. And the biggest group of team members, of course, is our community.”

The Mangrove Walkway will open to the public on April 10.