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Siesta Key Alliance earns congressional support in beautification campaign
And they are off!!!
Following commendation from Congressman Steube, the group seeks public input and county resources to enhance the island’s character.
By ChrisAnn Allen
I
t’s no question that the 2024 hurricanes wreaked havoc on Siesta Key. But it appears an initiative created prior to the storms could bring a fresh look to an area deemed “Best of the Best Beaches” this year by Tripadvisor.com. In a March 31 letter to the Sarasota County Board of Commissioners, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), whose district includes Siesta Key, wrote, “I am pleased to write in support of the funding request made by the Siesta Key Beautification Alliance and the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corporation (SKVMC) from previous and prospective resiliency
funds. This request for $30 million would support capital improvements allowing Siesta Key to meet growing aesthetic and safety expectations for hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.” The alliance referenced in Steube’s letter is a group of residents, business owners, landowners, and members of other Siesta Key organizations, including the Siesta Key Association (SKA) and the chamber of commerce. The SKVMC is a special taxing district funded by fees charged to Siesta Key Village business owners and is used for landscaping, trash and recycling pickup in the village, as well as other
The 39th annual Mote 5K Run for the Turtles drew participants of all ages and skill levels to Siesta Beach on April 5. (Photo by Mote Marine & Laboratory)
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Sanderling Looks Ahead By Ned Steele
S
anderling Club, the gated beachfront community whose landmark cabanas were wiped away by Hurricane Helene with its adjoining clubhouse heavily damaged, is starting to see brighter days ahead. While individual homeowners proceed with their own rebuilds and repairs, the Conceptual rendering shows the Sanderling beachfront community is preparing to move forward clubhouse, adjacent to where 25 landmark beach cabanas were wiped away by Helene, reimagined as an on a restoration of the two-story clubhouse, airy, open space with amenities. (Photo submitted by which was completely flooded.
“It will soon be the focus of our community again,” said local architect Max Strang, who is working on the project. Concept drawings provided to Siesta Sand show what the restored clubhouse, designed to complement the now-vanished cabanas, might look like. Decisions about whether – or how – to replace the historic cabanas, designed by famed Sarasota School of Architecture figure Paul Rudolph in 1952, are still off in
the future, with discussions in preliminary stages. But the clubhouse, with its meeting and event space, kitchen and bathrooms, remains structurally sound, and will be rebuilt in some fashion, according to Strang and Sanderling Club’s president. Unlike the cabanas, it was not designed by Rudolph and is not on the registry of historic buildings. “We are in the process of restoring it back to a usable manner,” Strang, a resident and
Max Strang, Architect)
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Page 6 and Visitor Center WELCOME GUESTS! Let us help you plan your lodging, dining, shopping, and activities! Call or Stop by the Visitor Center 5223 Avenida Navarra, Siesta Key, FL 34242 941-349-3800
Boating safely
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Style & Sentiment at Boca Boutique
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Siesta Key real estate produces two historical listings
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