March 28, 2024

Community Portrait

Business Assets in Sarasota County

Lynn Waddell | 8/30/2018
Parks and Preserves

Sarasota County has thousands of acres of parks and nature preserves, including the 12.5-mile Legacy Trail, a former rail spur that runs from Sarasota to Venice. The county also has two state parks. At 37,000 acres, Myakka River State Park is one of the state’s largest. Oscar Scherer State Park skirts the coast between Sarasota and Venice.

Transportation

I-75 is the major access point from Tampa Bay to the north and Naples to the south. Major local and state roadway expansions are in the works throughout the county, which has also adopted the Complete Streets program, with plans to make streets safer for pedestrian and cyclists.

Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Elite Airways, Jet- Blue Airways, United Airlines and Allegiant offer flights to Sarasota- Bradenton International Airport. Visitors can fly commercial non-stop to Sarasota from 14 U.S. and Canadian cities. Venice Municipal Airport offers private, corporate and charter flights.

The Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) has about 25 bus routes and an express bus service between North Port and Sarasota. The Siesta Key Beach Free Trolley runs seven days a week between Turtle Beach and Siesta Village.

Sports

Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium has been the spring training home for the Baltimore Orioles since 2010. It has an economic impact of $97 million annually, according to a study commissioned by Sarasota County. The Atlanta Braves are expected to join the Orioles in 2020 as the team moves its spring training to North Port from Kissimmee. Construction is underway on the Braves’ $100-million sports complex in the West Villages planned community.

The county is also home to Nathan Benderson Park, a 400-acre public lake with a state-of-the-art rowing facility that hosted the World Rowing Championships last fall.

Fox Lea Farms in Venice is a national hot spot for horse shows and hosts more than 160 events a year. In addition, there is an equestrian arena and polo fields.

Other Attractions

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium on City Island in Sarasota is a popular tourist attraction in addition to being a world-renowned oceanic research facility. If a fundraising campaign succeeds, the non-profit plans to move its aquarium to Nathan Benderson Park in 2020.

More than 140,000 people a year visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which features rare tropical plants as well as a research facility on the banks of Sarasota Bay in downtown Sarasota.

Sarasota Jungle Gardens is a taste of Old Florida tourism mixing tropical plants with more than 200 native and exotic animals.

Economic Development

Several chambers, associations and economic development groups in Sarasota County help economic development. Primary organizations include:

  • Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County — The EDC is the business go-to for information on local incentives, development sites, financing and permitting. It is also a conduit to other local, state and national assistance organizations. Its economic gardening program provides existing companies with mentoring, strategic analysis and other assistance.
  • Argus Foundation — The non-profit composed of top business leaders serves as a think tank and a government watchdog group that interacts with civic leaders and other business groups in contributing to public dialogue.
  • Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce — The county’s largest chamber of commerce offers networking opportunities, along with a Leadership Sarasota County program that helps identify and groom future business and civic leaders. It sponsors a Young Professionals Group and offers members access to Shumaker Chamber University educational events.
  • Other chambers — Englewood Chamber of Commerce, Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, Osprey Nokomis Florida Chamber of Commerce, North Port Area Chamber of Commerce, Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce and Venice Area Chamber of Commerce.

Challenges

Growth and prosperity don’t come without challenges:

  • Affordable Housing: The median list price of homes in Sarasota County was $339,000 in June and median rent was $2,200, according to Zillow. Many service workers choose to buy or rent in more affordable areas in the county’s southern tier or in Manatee County to the north.
  • Transportation: One in five jobs in the county is within a short distance of I-75. Commuting patterns, along with increased tourism and development, has increased traffic throughout the county.
  • Aging Population: Sarasota’s median age of 55.7 is substantially higher than the U.S. median age of 38.2. Despite an increase in millennials, the county is still growing older faster than it is growing younger. In 2009, the median age was 50.7, and those 65 and older made up 29.6% of the population, according to U.S. Census estimates. In 2017, those 65 and older made up 36.1% of the population.
  • Sea-Level Rise: Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota County is susceptible to volatile weather and sea-level rise. The city of Sarasota ranks the second in the U.S. among cities most vulnerable to the economic impacts of rising seas, falling only behind Miami Beach, according to a 2018 report by Four Twenty Seven, an advisory firm that studies the economic impacts of climate change. Sarasota Bay has risen 7 inches since 1947. To mitigate the impact, the city is also in the process of evaluating all public property and roads that may be at risk and developing a plan to move or alter as necessary.

Tags: Sarasota Community Portrait

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