Sarasota County will proceed with an $18.1 million purchase of waterfront property in the 1500 block of Stickney Point Road near Siesta Key but will not make accommodations to save Siesta Key Watersports.
On a pair of 4-1 votes on May 5, the Sarasota County Commission approved the purchase of the 2.04-acre property and financing it by borrowing $20.77 million through the Pooled Commercial Paper Loan Program of the Florida Local Government Finance Commission.
County Commissioner Tom Knight, who previously voted against the purchase, was the lone dissenter.
The waterfront parcel formerly housed the Boatyard waterfront restaurant. The property includes 700 feet of bay frontage, docks, boardwalks and decks, as well as 21 commercial condos.
What does the sale mean for Siesta Key Watersports?
The decision keeps the timetable for a proposed mid-June closing, which means Siesta Key Watersports must vacate its site at 1536 Stickney Point Road by May 14.
The board bumped the decision from its April 21 agenda, in the hope of working out a deal to keep the business operating while the county reconfigures the property into a public park.
While county staff offered several options to do so, none of the commissioners who supported the purchase favored doing so.
County Commissioner Mark Smith stressed the primary use for the site is as a location where local charter boat and tour operators will participate in a nascent county pilot program.
“They’re not the target industry that we’re looking for,” Smith said.
In that program, captains would be issued medallions at a minimum cost of $100 a month to use docks at the Stickney Point waterfront park to meet their clients there.
That program was created to solve the issue of captains meeting their fares at places like Nora Patterson Bay Island Park at 946 Siesta Drive.
County Commissioner Teresa Mast likened the eviction of Siesta Watersports to the eviction of 13 seasonal residents at Camp Venice RV Resort, when the county purchased that 20.8-acre spot on the Myakka River next to Snook Haven.
“It’s just as challenging to say that to a business program that’s thriving,” she said.
What else may the new park offer?
Shawn Yeager, interim director of the Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, told commissioners that a brick-and-mortar restaurant is not part of the preliminary concept plan, though there could be mobile vending opportunities.
The existing lighthouse and an operations support building will be kept while the other commercial condominiums are targeted for demolition.
In addition to fostering charter boat use, the park could offer a canoe and kayak launch, shore fishing access, a boardwalk, shade structures and picnic facilities.
Sarasota County Commission Chairman Ron Cutsinger, said that given the amount of work needed at the site, which includes upgrading a wastewater lift station, it would be next to impossible for an existing business to operate.
With respect to the decision to buy property, which last sold for $8.9 million to investor and restaurateur Chris Brown in 2024, Cutsinger said, “This is one of those things I think you buy looking out 10, 15, 20 years.
“When you look at the generational impact, that, to me, is part of the purchase price.”
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County approves $18M waterfront purchase near Siesta Key
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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