SCOPE has begun updating the data in the Community Report Card. Highlights from the demographics section are seen in the above graph. According to the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Sarasota County has an estimated 399,538 residents as of April 1, 2016. This figure has increased by 20,090 people, or 5 percent since the last US Census in 2010. Sarasota County ranks 27th in population growth out of the 67 counties in Florida, it is the 16th most populous county in Florida. Most people in Sarasota County (64 percent) live in unincorporated areas. The most populous city in Sarasota County is North Port, with 64,472 residents, or 16 percent of the county population. Out of the three cities and the unincorporated areas in Sarasota County, North Port has had the most population growth since the 2010 Census, with an additional 7,115 residents in five years (+12.4 percent). 

SCOPE Sarasota

Editor's Note: This is the third in an eight-part weekly series profiling candidates for Sarasota City Commission.

The Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association has always held an unusual position in the balance between neighborhood interests and business advocacy, with its members seeking both preservation of a quality of life for residents who also want to relish an amenity-rich and commercially successful downtown. As organization president Patrick Gannon runs for Sarasota City Commission, he hopes voters want that same balance of interest at the dais at City Hall. “Downtown is truly a mixed-use neighborhood,” he says. “It requires a much more thoughtful approach. You can’t be one-sided in terms of commercial or residential. Condo residents have a special appreciation for what it means to live in this community.”

Gannon is one of eight candidates running for two at-large seats on the commission. Currently serving on the City Planning Board, he boasts civic involvement and political experience, having served two years ago on the steering committee for City Commissioner Liz Alpert’s campaign. He has worked on issues including the sound ordinance, tree canopy rules and planning multi-modal transportation. In each instance, he says the hope has been a Sarasota where a vibrant business and nighttime atmosphere can be achieved without damaging the quality of life. “We have a large generational span of people in town,” he says. “At the same time, we are crafting a set of rules that work. I see the inherent conflict that comes about, but we have addressed it through open communication.” As long as overall shared goals are kept in mind, he says, a vibrant community will result.

He’d like the city to keep a priority of creating workforce housing in town, and sees projects like the BOLD Lofts downtown as positive additions to the city. He notes some conflicts between business and residents have been solved without ordinances changes, noting conversation facilitated with World of Beer and nearby condo owners about how speakers were directed and sound would be contained at that venue. He acknowledges the suddenly booming construction downtown has raised certain overdevelopment concerns, but feels that came after years of recession-related stagnation. He notes many complained around 2008 about a heavy loss in city services, and that only recently has started to reach levels from nearly a decade ago.

A citywide election is scheduled for March 14, with a runoff likely on May 9. Other candidates include: Tahiti Park neighborhood leader Jennifer Ahern-Koch; former Sarasota Mayor Fredd “Glossie” Atkins; former prosecutor Hagen Brody; incumbent Commissioner Susan Chapman; Gulf Business Systems owner Martin Hyde; pedestrian safety advocate Mikael Sandstrom; and former stockbroker Matt Sperling.  

Willis Smith Construction has been awarded the construction management contract for the Tidewell Hospice’s Lakewood Ranch Hospice House, planned for the corner Rangeland Parkway and Lakewood Ranch Blvd in the center of the Lakewood Ranch Community. The Lakewood Ranch Hospice House project development will include a single story 22,000 square foot building that will provide 12 care rooms, two family room areas and kitchen facilities for the families of the Patients. The facility will also include a centralized nursing station, a full kitchen and two laundry facilities. The plan will allow for future expansion for an additional 12 care rooms as the Hospice House grows within the Lakewood Ranch Community. A landscaped memory garden and fountain for family members will also be part of the facilities. 

Willis Smith Construction

Local Chef Jose Martinez of Maison Blanche on Longboat Key joined top chefs from around the world this month for the annual luxury culinary event on Grand Cayman island, the Cayman Cookout. Hosted by acclaimed chef and culinary expert Eric Ripert, Martinez worked alongside gourmet gurus such as Emeril LaGasse, Tim Love, Anthony Bourdain and Jose Andes to guide attendees through a full-course experience. Martinez was the only chef in the Gulf Coast area to attend. 

Maison Blanche

A 3,765-square-foot Siesta Key home sold on January 20, 2017 for $2.235 million, the highest-priced residential non-waterfront sale for the past year. The three-bedroom, three and a half-bath home is located at 1219 Sharswood Lane, in the exclusive, 14-lot, bayfront community of Spice Bay on the southerly end of Siesta Key. Built in 2010 by Sarasota builder Ryan Perrone, president of Nautilus Homes, and designed by architect Clifford Scholz, the home was the first of the Perrone's trademarked Jewel Box homes and captured the 2010 Parade of Homes Winner distinctions in its class for Best Curb Appeal, Best Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best Architectural Detail and Best Overall.Nautilus Homes will break ground in February on a new 4,827-square-foot home directly across the street from this most recent sale. The new model home, called the "Shearwater," is another Jewel Box home,also designed by Scholz. 

Nautilus Homes