It's no doubt that Downtown Sarasota has blossomed in the last few years, with new developments popping up on nearly every street corner, adding a new sense of vibrancy and vitality to the town. And on the face of many townhomes, residential buildings, cultural projects and restorations, the name Hoyt Architects appears, from the Bayfront Master Plan to the Selby Library, the Hollywood 20 to Pineapple Square. "These were several important planning and building projects which guided the evolution of Sarasota’s downtown," says the architecture and design firm's Principal Gary Hoyt. "These early and transformative projects were done at a time when the future of Sarasota’s downtown was in doubt and disrepair, and they helped rekindle interest in downtown." And it is this comittment to the evolution of Sarasota's downtown that makes Gary Hoyt our architecture newsmaker of the year.

And in the last year, Hoyt has seen a multitude of new projects come to fruition in the area, including One Palm/Aloft, the Jewel, Sansara, the DeSota and the Mark, each examples of mixed-use developments that draw people toward Main Street. These developments not only bring people, but also entertainment and retail at the street level to the area. "Though we do work throughout Florida, I have always seen Sarasota as a unique urban design laboratory, providing us with an extraordinary opportunity to help shape our very special waterfront downtown," says Hoyt. "A major goal for our urban projects is to create strong connections to sidewalk life, in buildings that help shape and define the skyline. We are currently working on a number of planning and architectural projects, seeking to do our part in Sarasota’s evolving development as a vibrant, walkable, live/work community, with a wide range of activities for all ages."

Honorable mention: Jerry Sparkman and Todd Sweet of Sweet Sparkman Architects won accolades for their Siesta Key Beach pavilion improvements and have since been commissioned to design Ringling College's new library. Guy Peterson designed and unveiled the new Elling O. Eide Library this year.