Downtown group works to build a broad coalition

For anywhere between $35 and $300, you can become a member of the Downtown Sarasota Alliance — “the unified voice for the friends of downtown Sarasota,” the organization’s website touts.

Over the past several years, though, various downtown stakeholders have bemoaned the lack of a unified voice within the heart of the city. Those stakeholders point to the proliferation of interest groups in the area, most of which make a play for a specialized segment of the downtown pie.

The Downtown Improvement District and Downtown Community Redevelopment Area are taxing bodies focused primarily on capital projects. The Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association and Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association advocate on behalf of a narrow set of members.

In 2014, the Downtown Marketing Co-op was founded — another specialty group, focused on promoting the heart of the city. Co-founder Paul Thorpe, a longtime downtown activist, summed up the impetus for starting a new organization simply.

“There was a big vacuum, for 10 or 15 years almost, where nothing seemed to be coming together as a united front,” Thorpe said.

It’s harder to simply yet substantially sum up the goals of the Downtown Sarasota Alliance. Its vision is to make Sarasota “the greatest place in America to live, play and do business.” In an increasingly competitive downtown scene, how can it do that?

Maintaining & Improving

Following the resignation of previous chairman Casey Colburn earlier this month, the DSA is now under the leadership of IberiaBank Vice President Mike Beitzinger. Colburn says his resignation came at the request of the executive board — with a suggestion that it was the first step in a larger plan — but Beitzinger says he doesn’t have any grand designs for the organization quite yet.

Beitzinger runs down a quick list of what he sees as the benefits of joining the DSA, chief among them promotional efforts and access to after-hours member events. He points to the Urban Speaker Series as another highlight — an October event will focus on form-based code — and says he’d like to bring in more outside speakers to discuss pressing city issues.

On that front, however, the DSA has been quieter in recent years than it previously was. Beitzinger touts that the association is an umbrella group, allowing for discourse between the entire downtown community: residents, businesses and property owners. The DSA’s advocacy page, however, indicates the organization has written to the city just two times in the past three years, endorsing the Bayfront 20:20 planning efforts and supporting the extension of the Legacy Trail.

Beitzinger acknowledged that sometimes, niche interest groups tackle key issues before they trickle up to the DSA’s agenda. When residents or businesses alert the organization about a topic of note, the board usually discusses and keeps tabs on the issue. It may not take an active stance, but the goal is to at least have a finger on the pulse for the constituency.

‘The board tries to formulate a response when someone presents an issue to us,” Beitzinger said. “We have sent representatives to commission meetings to DID meetings to address issues, and we will continue to do that.”

For the most part, DSA members say, the organization is focused on ensuring it’s following through on its current projects to the best of its ability. The group is working on an overhauled map of downtown Sarasota to include in its City Guide, which members hope will help residents and visitors navigate the downtown area better than ever before.

That map extends to the Rosemary District, Burns Court and Towles Court. The broad vision for what encompasses downtown — and the desire to promote all of it — is another way that the DSA attempts to differentiate itself.

Marketing chairwoman Francine DiFilippo Kent says the new map is just the beginning of a larger push. One issue many downtown groups have keyed in on is the lack of wayfinding in the area, and DiFilippo Kent believes the DSA can use its spot on light pole banners to help visitors navigate from one segment of downtown to another. A mobile website or app is also in the works, in hopes of achieving the same purpose.

“We want to help people find their way around town, and recognize — oh, this is Rosemary,” DiFilippo Kent said “Color-code it, have it coordinated with the website, make it connected to a mobile app. We want to be where people are looking for things so they can find them.”

Still, they’re not necessarily the only group working toward its stated goals. Beitzinger says the segmentation of downtown interest groups has led to some duplicated efforts, a problem he hopes to minimize.

"There’s no reason to have multiple organizations doing the same thing, because we all have the common objective — to make downtown the best place it can be." — Mike Beitzinger

“That’s definitely going to be a goal of mine, to reach out to the other organizations and see who we can partner with on objectives,” Beitzinger said. "There’s no reason to have multiple organizations doing the same thing, because we all have the common objective — to make downtown the best place it can be.”

DiFilippo Kent also hopes that each downtown organization can focus on a specific set of strengths, but was skeptical that the redundancy could be tamed given the ambition of individual groups. As the DSA board works to represent a broad coalition, its focus will remain relatively narrow, for now.

“I certainly think that cooperation is better than competition, but I don’t know how you change human nature,” DiFilippo Kent said. “We’re not trying to do all of the things that could be done; we’re trying to do the things we do well.”