There is a big debate about parking in Sarasota: where it goes, what it costs and how we pay for it.
But one piece of that discussion can't wait for everything else to be settled.
The city is considering an $8 million investment in public parking as part of the redevelopment of the McCown property on Boulevard of the Arts.
The Sarasota Housing Authority is planning McCown North there, with 96 affordable senior apartments, ground-floor retail and public parking.
I saw the site plan last week.
It goes to the Development Review Committee soon, which is why I am writing now.
I support the $8 million investment.
I also understand this is not the easiest time to ask for it, particularly with Amendment 3 ahead.
Whether the city can comfortably take this on
is a fair question, and one our finance staff should answer.
My sense, though, is that the bigger issue is timing.
The city's own study found a need for 216 additional public parking spaces in this area.
McCown would provide roughly 160 of them, on land the Housing Authority is providing at no cost.
To me, that is the heart of the argument.
Land is one of the biggest costs of building a parking garage downtown.
Here, the land is already available.
Think about the alternative:
If Sarasota decides five years from now that the Rosemary District needs a public garage – and I believe it will – where will we put it, and what will the land cost by then?
The demand is already growing.
The district has more than 130 businesses and 400 residential units under construction, with another 100 coming at Lofts on Lemon II.
No one project makes the case. Taken together, they do.
Important questions
The Sarasota Housing Authority has earned considerable goodwill in the Rosemary District.
Rosemary residents, myself included, supported the Lofts on Lemon projects.
McCown North is different.
It is a larger and more visible site. It has existing residents next door. It has a mature tree canopy.
And it involves a substantial city investment in public parking.
Supporting the project does not mean we shouldn't ask some hard questions about how it is designed.
First is what it will feel like to walk down the block. The plan shows all 58 trees on the north side of the site being removed, with the building at zero setback on three sides.
Along Cocoanut Avenue, the proposed landscaping relies heavily on palms.
In Sarasota, shade is not a decoration; it can determine whether people walk or don't walk.
Palms are attractive, but they do not replace canopy trees.
The city controls the area from the back of the curb out.
The Housing Authority controls what happens behind the property line.
But someone walking down Cocoanut Avenue doesn't know or care where that line is. They experience one street.
If getting a better street edge costs a few parking spaces, that tradeoff should at least be considered before the plans are final.
Second is construction.
The Housing Authority has just invested $11 million in the existing McCown apartments and has done a good job keeping those residents involved.
That needs to continue during construction, particularly when it comes to access, safety and disruption.
Third is the retail.
We don't yet know what will occupy the ground floor.
But in a neighborhood with a growing older population, having everyday goods and services within walking distance matters. I hope that space is planned with that in mind.
The Rosemary District Association has been one of the district's strongest advocates for shade trees, the Boulevard of the Arts Complete Street, public parking and Overtown Square.
Its questions about this project deserve to be taken seriously.
There is also a feeling among some that the Rosemary District has done enough when it comes to "public housing."
But I think the distinction matters: McCown North is affordable senior housing, not public housing.
When completed, roughly 30% of the Rosemary District's rental units would be in the supported or affordable category, with market-rate apartments and condominiums making up the rest.
I don't know another two-tenths of a square mile in Sarasota with that kind of mix.
Here's what city commissioners should do
First, the city commissioners must put the $8 million parking investment on the agenda, so that they have the opportunity to consider it.
Right now, the city funding is not scheduled.
Second, they should direct city staff and the Housing Authority to formally coordinate the McCown plans with the Boulevard of the Arts Complete Street work – and to do it now while changes can still be made.
The city is designing the street at the same time, including underground utilities.
Where transformers, water lines and other infrastructure go will directly affect where canopy trees can be planted.
Boulevard of the Arts is a high priority in Sarasota in Motion, the city's adopted transportation plan. The Rosemary District Association worked hard on that effort, including more than 20 letters from people across the district.
These two projects should not be designed separately.
They should come together as one good street.
Third, the city commissioners must ensure that the landscape plan has been reviewed against the Complete Street design before the application moves forward.
I understand the Development Review Committee has a limited role; its job is largely to determine whether an application meets city requirements and not whether everyone likes the design.
But we are still early enough to get this right.
Moving water lines may cost money.
Better landscaping may take some additional work.
A setback might even cost some parking spaces.
But I would still ask about these issues now, not after it's too late.
They will be much harder and more expensive to answer after construction begins.
We have seen what good public investment can do in the Rosemary District.
Overtown Square took years of work by the Rosemary District Association before it became a park.
Today it is hard to imagine the neighborhood without it.
McCown North gives us another opportunity.
Done well, one block can bring together affordable senior housing, neighborhood retail and badly needed public parking – and it can also make Boulevard of the Arts a better street.
I support the project.
I support the parking investment.
And because I support both, I want us to take the extra time now to make them as good as they can be.
This is an opportunity worth taking. Let's take it.
David Lough is a community advocate who lives in the Rosemary District. He worked on the Overtown Square park and the Boulevard of the Arts Complete Street.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota may soon spend $8 million. It needs answers now. | Opinion
