Creative Park Proposed for Rosemary District

The creative business incubator, HuB, made a presentation to Sarasota City Commissioners Monday night about building a “creative park” in the Rosemary District.

Rich Swier Jr., co-founder of the HuB, asked the commission to delegate city staff time to see if making the vacant lot, located on Central and 6th Avenue, into a park would be possible.

Swier said it is “an ideal location, center of a pretty vibrant neighborhood, with businesses, schools and a neighborhood that’s looking for a place to congregate.”

The HuB sees the park as a place for outdoor theater, concerts, recreational activities and even “educational outreach.”

As the recession continues, Swier said the Rosemary district has seen many businesses close and the park could be a catalyst for change in the district.

“What is lacking  [in the Rosemary District] is something to congregate people, to bring people to the Rosemary District,” Swier said. “If you get people to an area, businesses can grow around that.”

City Commissioners were generally in favor of the plan, but there was a consensus concern with staff time being allocated to work on the project.

“I don’t think our staff can take on much additional loads,” Commissioner Terry Turner said. “I think this is worth exploring with volunteers [and private businesses]. Every time someone comes down [with a request] we load more on staff.”

Commissioner Suzanne Atwell said she thinks this is a great idea, but that volunteers and the private sector must play a role. “I, for a long time have, wanted something to go on in the Rosemary District,” Atwell said. “It has been the step child for too long. I, however, tend to agree with commissioner Turner.”

Swier responded to the concern by saying the HuB plans on having the park run by private investors. “I would say we are mostly leaning on the private sector,” he said.

He said since the property is owned by the city it, “requires you guys to knock down the first domino.”

Mayor Kelly Kirschner said staff needs to research the title of the parcel to see if the city can empower that type of usage for the park in a short-term five-year lease. After that, he said he wants to see a “more robust business plan in terms of city participation. In general, it’s exciting.”

Matt Orr, co-founder of the HuB, said in an interview with Sarasota Patch that the park would not be your typical neighborhood park such as or .

“This is a park that’s not located next to high-density residential area,” Orr said.

“It’s next to a public parking lot," he said. "There are restaurants and other nearby businesses to engage in the park. It’s a perfect place to have neighborhood interaction.

“Like everything, it’s organic,” he said. “Start with something small, put some loose definition on what it is and let the neighborhood decide what happens.”

Orr said that social interaction is important not just for people but also for the surrounding businesses.

“Small businesses rely on feet on the street,” Orr said. “You can only market to a point. [We need] to create a destination for people to come. Make community happen, create relationships for other people. Any time you can get minds together, brilliance happens.”