Wednesday, February 18, 2009

 
Tired of hearing about what's going to happen on the city owned property along Palm Ave? Seems the city commissioners are too. They scrapped the many proposals from private development firms and decided to build a parking garage on part of the property and sell the balance. Here's an article that was printed in the Herald today:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090218/ARTICLE/902180375/2055/NEWS?Title=Sarasota-chooses-garage-over-conference-center-for-Palm

Seems that the lack of funds and no clear vision of what to build there has prevented Sarasotans from enjoying what could have been something very special in that location. Too bad. I for one hope that the fight hasn't ended with this vote and that business leaders continue to pursue the conference center idea or, at the very minimum, include a retail component at the street level.

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Sunday, February 08, 2009

 
This weekend we decided to "do" Burns Court! First though, on Friday evening, we went to the dedication of the new sculpture in front of our office at five points. City commissioners, builders, artists, and many downtown residents were in attendance. There was a nice reception afterwords with live music in the lobby of The Plaza at Five Points. Look for it the next time you come downtown. Big stainless steel ring on top of a fountain... you can't miss it. It's sure to become a part of the downtown Sarasota identity. There's even talk of putting it in the middle of the Roundabout at five points - if they ever get that approved and built.
Then it was off to dinner at Ce Rina in Burns Court. Burns Court is such a special place located just south of downtown along Pineapple. Old historic homes have been converted into unique shops, restaurants and offices. Ce Rina occupies two of the homes with a courtyard of dining in between. Very nice authentic Italian cuisine served by a well trained staff. Then we walked over to The Burns Court Cinema for a movie. There you will be able to see many of the latest independent films as well as some good foreign films. It's another gem in the downtown Sarasota experience! The following night we were back for diner at 516 Burns with our friend Michelle. This restaurant is located just north of the Cinema in an old frame house that has one of the largest banyan trees in Sarasota growing all around it. If the weather's nice (when isn't it?), try to get a table outside...It's magical! And the food is better than ever under the new owners.

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