Risdon is rising. The new modern condominium building on 5th Street, set to add a splash of white to the burgeoning Rosemary District, broke ground on Tuesday with cocktails and “cool sounds.” Risdon Group’s Principal Steve Bradley says Risdon on 5th will have a significant impact on the neighborhood, an area Bradley hopes to have a hand in revitalizing. “I want to help the urban footprint [of the Rosemary District] grow in a really interesting way,” says Bradley.

The Rosemary District has seen substantial expansion in recent years, with high-end restaurants such as The Rosemary and Pomona Bistro on North Orange Avenue and craft beer bars like Mandeville on Lemon Avenue rapidly emerging. Luxury housing, and the rising cost of living that accompanies it, seems the natural next step. 

Frank Cameron Lambert, one of the sales associates at Premier Sotheby’s who sold Bradley the property and the units within, talks about how the Rosemary District has exploded in the last 18 months, with 17 new projects (a handful of luxury apartment condos, the Sarasota Modern Hotel, four restaurants, a dance studio, a performing arts center and offices) in the seven-block-by-five-block neighborhood. “Of our 17 buyers at Risdon on 5th, they are represented by 10 countries—that’s pretty cool that they are coming here, it’s a big statement,” Lambert says. “This area used to be pretty sleepy. This is quite a metamorphosis. A year and a half ago I had to beg people to go on my tours, and now they go on my tours and we go in and sign a contract immediately.”

Risdon on 5th takes into consideration the ethos of the Modernist movement in Sarasota—airy, minimalist architecture and clean lines will pervade the structure, with warm accents such as reclaimed wood and ample glass throughout. Developed and designed by Bradley and built by architecture firm Halflants and Pichette, the mixed-use development provides a “trop-urban” community, where outdoor living is brought indoors, making the most of Sarasota’s tropical lifestyle. Risdon on 5th includes 28 units (18 residential condominiums, 4 penthouses and 6 commercial spaces), giving residents access to a rooftop pool and a lush courtyard, all within walking distance to Downtown Sarasota.

Photo: Rendering of Risdon on 5th

In recognition of his instrumental role in bringing the Sarasota Opera’s Verdi Cycle to completion and contributing to the celebration of Italian culture around the world, Sarasota Opera Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Maestro Victor DeRenzi has been awarded the title of Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d’Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy) by the government of Italy. The title was officially bestowed by Italian Consul General Dr. Gloria Marina Bellelli during the Italian National Day Celebration in Miami, marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Italian Republic.

“As a musician, and a citizen of Italy and the United States, it means a great deal to me to have been invested as a ‘Cavaliere dell’ordine della Stella d'Italia,’ which acknowledges my devotion to Italian music and the completion of Sarasota Opera’s Verdi Cycle,” says DeRenzi. “I have loved Italy since I was a child, and its arts have been at the center of my life and have given me constant enjoyment. I want to thank my family and friends, as well as everyone who has worked with me over the years and shared my passion for Italy and Italian art. It is especially meaningful to me to receive this honor that recognizes the promotion of culture beyond Italy’s national boundaries.”

Begun in 1989 and reaching completion this past March, the Verdi Cycle saw Sarasota Opera performing every note that Verdi wrote, including operas, chamber music and rare religious compositions from the artist’s pre-opera period. After 28 seasons, the Cycle came to a close this past March, culminating with Verdi Festival Week, which brought global experts and audiences to Sarasota for the final productions of Aida and The Battle of Legnano, a pair of concerts, a retrospective exhibit and an international Verdi Conference. As principal conductor, the Cycle’s completion also marked DeRenzi as the only person in the world to conduct all of Verdi’s works. 

Pictured: Consul General Dr. Gloria Marina Bellelli (far left), Maestro Victor DeRenzi (center-right) and supporters at the Miami ceremony. Photo courtesy of Sarasota Opera.

As we get older (and hopefully wiser), drinks inexplicably become stronger and hangovers suddenly start to last longer. When your tolerance goes out the window and your once-routine imbibes begin to produce head-splitting waves of ouch the next morning, find a glimmer of hope tucked away in your refrigerator: Crop Juice’s KoKoLoko coconut elixir.

Better known for their cold-pressed juices, Crop Juice carries this lesser-known hidden weapon in their arsenal of health-boosting liquid remedies. Featured this week, the KoKoLoko contains only organic and raw ingredients, centered around the wonders of the coconut. Raw coconut water and coconut meat blend with stoneground almond butter, hemp seed, vanilla, cinnamon and Himalayan salt, forming a smooth tonic, best when gulped ice-cold. The health benefits reaped by consuming raw coconut water are now as widely known as they are multitudinous; low in carbs, minimal in sodium and rich in potassium and fiber, the ivory drupe keeps you hydrated, full and electrolyte-rich. While straight coconut water can often be off-putting because of it’s somewhat slimy consistency, the KoKoLoko resembles a smoothie in taste and texture, perfect for settling beer-induced upset stomachs and quenching the post-wine thirst.   

Crop Juice (Gulf Gate), 2320 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota, 941-923-8640.

The Circus Arts Conservatory (CAC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization that preserves and enriches circus performance, history and culture through training, outreach and legacy both locally in “circus city” Sarasota, Florida and nationally. The CAC presents annual performances under its Red and White Big Top, including Circus Sarasota’s annual Winter Productions and Cirque des Voix®, a collaboration with the Key Chorale. The CAC also oversees the notable Sailor Circus Academy, circus arts training program for students ages 8-18, which stages two productions each season with their Holiday Celebration and Spring Performances. The Education Outreach and Humor Therapy programs encompass the community with both educational and emotional uplift for those young and old. It was recently announced that The Circus Arts Conservatory will take its Big Top to our nation’s capital next summer as a participating partner with the Smithsonian for the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This incredibly exciting event was announced soon-after Circus Arts Conservatory Co-founder Dolly Jacobs was awarded a 2015 NEA National Heritage Fellowship. The Circus Arts Conservatory strives to share the circus legacy and culture with those young and old, near and far. 

Circus Arts Conservatory

Super Lawyers, a rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, has recognized 13 Williams Parker attorneys. The Thomson Reuters lawyer-rating service has named Berteau, Gregoria, Hartenstine, Myers, Seider, Troiano, Walker, Wallace, Elmore, Frano, Grosso, Lawrence and McPheeters.   

Williams Parker

Developer Marty Black has been added to the Board of Trustee’s for Florida’s embassy in our nation’s capital by the Florida House on Capitol Hill. The board consists of civic, philanthropic and business leaders from throughout the state. Black will oversee planning and development at West Villages, which is a 9,650-acre master-planned community in south Sarasota between the urban centers of Venice and North Port. 

Florida House Embassy

Lutgert Insurance has announced that Derrick Ayers will serve as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Lutgert, Derrick was Regional Chief Financial Officer for Fifth Third Bank in South Florida, and before that an audit team member with global Big 4 accounting firm Ernst & Young. In 2015, Derrick was recognized in the Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 list for his commitment to professionalism and service to the community. 

Lutgert Insurance

This month, in Diary of a Wild Ride we give you a front row seat to the electrifying action that is Arcadia’s All Florida Championship Rodeo. At the “Granddaddy of ‘Em All” (local lingo for this historic rodeo) you’ll meet riders, ropers and wranglers (and we’re not talking jeans and jeeps), bucking broncos, beastly bulls and ballsy barrel racers. Among them is famed rider Barry Brown, whose 1968 run-in with a particularly violent bull left him with a cracked-open chest, but nonetheless undeterred from pursuing rodeo glory: a mere two years later, Brown returned to the ring and attained champion status in the ‘70s. Grab your ten-gallon hat and an ear of deep-fried corn and read more. 

Read Diary of a Wild Ride