SARASOTA COUNTY – Wednesday night residents voiced their concerns over the proposed plan to turn the 24 acres that make up the Sarasota Kennel Club into four separate apartment complex.
“I looked at the development as it’s laid out and it’s a complete and utter disaster for the Bayou Oaks neighborhood,” said Karen Stack, resident of Bayou Oaks.
Developers with Wakefield Development Partners in New York are in the process of buying the land. Their plans are to redevelop the zone and add assisted living with up to 275 beds and affordable housing with approximately 340 units.
“Overall the plan is to provide the type of housing ideally that the city needs,” said Managing Partner at Wakefield Development Michael Lander.
Lander says this is just the beginning stages of the proposed plan and wants to hear from the community. “Giving people an attainable – work force housing where they can live that’s not luxury housing,” he said.
However not all are on board with the plan.
“We as the community have been concerned about several issues,” said Deanie Bergbreiter
Bergbreiter, Bayou Oaks Neighborhood Association president, says neighbors want to know what will be done to preserve the canopy, reduce traffic on old Bradenton Road, and help with the constant flooding when it rains in that area.
“We want to see it as a more walkable community, we wanted to see more retail, mix use, combine use retail,” said Bergbreiter.
Nothing is set in stone just yet as the city has not finalized the sale. Lander says it could take anywhere from six months to a year before they complete the city permitting process.