Longtime St. Armands Circle leader announces retirement

Shortly after Marty Rappaport moved to Sarasota in 1987, he attended a meeting of St. Armands Circle landowners. They talked about the need for more parking.

Six months before he even relocated to Florida, Rappaport had invested in a St. Armands property. At the time, area landowners were pessimistic about their relationship with the city. No matter how much they wanted additional parking on the Circle, it wasn’t seen as a realistic goal.

“One gentleman got up and said, ‘My father owned property on St. Armands. We’re probably the oldest landowners out here, and I can tell you quite honestly, it’s not going to happen,’” Rappaport said.

If other property owners had been worn down by a lack of progress, Rappaport felt the need to change the status quo. Part of it was self-interest — he had just invested in the area — but Rappaport saw significant untapped potential in St. Armands.

“I felt I could offer time, experience and a vision.” — Marty Rappaport

For the better part of three decades, he devoted his free time to improving the Circle. By 1991, he formed an official landowners association. In 1995, the city began developing a new parking lot for St. Armands. Other projects redesigned medians and intersections, refined landscaping, added statues and music — anything to enhance the atmosphere in the shopping district.

“None of those things would be here if it weren’t for Marty,” said Diana Corrigan, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association and a close colleague of Rappaport’s for the past 17 years. “He has given countless hours to the Circle.”

On Oct. 11, with the city preparing plans to build a parking garage near St. Armands, Rappaport announced he was selling his property on the Circle and stepping down as co-chairman of the St. Armands Business Improvement District.

“It’s bittersweet, but I think the time has come,” Rappaport said.

Those in attendance at that BID meeting were unanimous in their assessment of Rappaport’s significant impact on the Circle.

“I don’t think there’s a single person that’s done more for St. Armands than you,” said Gavin Meshad, chairman of the BID. “I don’t think we’re going to let you leave, physically.”

“As far as I’m concerned, Marty just represented the absolute best of citizen leadership.” — Nora Patterson

The parking garage project is Rappaport’s last major undertaking on St. Armands, and exemplifies the type of work he did. Circle property owners had advocated for a garage since the mid-90s, as the issues raised at Rappaport’s first meeting never went away.

At least one group was opposed to the garage, though — St. Armands residents. Other stakeholders recall a deep division between residents, merchants and property owners on the Circle, which Rappaport worked to overcome. By 2004, he had helped establish the St. Armands Landowners, Merchants and Residents group, but concerns over the parking garage remained.

“Everybody said it wasn’t going to happen,” Rappaport said. “I said it’s a question of how we approach it.”

Rappaport knew all of St. Armands had to be united behind the project for the city to approve it. He arranged a broader proposal that incorporated the desires of residents. In addition to building a garage, the city also plans to bury power lines and improve medians on St. Armands.

Thanks to Rappaport’s bridge-building, all three groups ultimately offered support for the project, which will also include the creation of a paid parking program on the Circle to fund the plans. Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown said Rappaport’s pragmatic style made it easy to work with him.

“He never comes in and says, ‘Here’s what you have to do for us,’” Brown said. “He always comes in with, ‘Look, how can we be a part of whatever we’re trying to get to? What can we do to contribute?’ I love that about Marty.”

Nora Patterson, who served on the City Commission in the ‘90s, remembered a similar approach from Rappaport that helped lead to the creation of a parking lot. She described him as “the absolute best of citizen leadership,” always searching for a compromise to help move projects forward.

“Marty basically made it happen and made it work well by having an amazing way about him,” Patterson said. “Working with people, telling the truth, being able to organize.”

“I don’t know anybody who’s going to take that amount of time to volunteer what he did.” — Diana Corrigan

The BID itself is in place because of Rappaport. Created in 2001, the BID levies a tax on St. Armands landowners to fund improvements in the area. He was happy that many landowners were taking a more active role in enhancing the Circle, but he saw the BID — which drew funds from all landowners — as an opportunity to tackle more ambitious projects. The St. Armands BID was the first of its kind for a commercial district in the state.

In addition to help advocating for the formation of the BID, Rappaport has served as chairman since its inception.

“Most BIDs have a paid administrator running the district,” Corrigan said. “Marty never took a salary. I don’t know anybody who’s going to take that amount of time to volunteer what he did.”

Matt Rosinsky, who purchased Rappaport’s St. Armands properties and intends to apply for his seat on the BID board, can’t imagine anyone else filling the void that will be left behind.

“He created all of this — this was all him,” Rosinsky said. “Why he chose to take that on and why he chose to put forth so much effort — I really don’t know.”

Rappaport won’t walk away from his work altogether, but he’s confident in the district’s ability to succeed without him. There are still projects left to tackle — landscape maintenance should be a priority, he believes — but he thinks his vision for St. Armands Circle is finally close to the reality.

“I think now, the focus is going to be promotion,” Rappaport said. “Promote it locally, promote it nationally, and promote it internationally.”

And as for why he spent so much effort working to improve St. Armands in the first place?

“I wanted to give back to the community,” Rappaport said. “I wasn’t looking for the publicity; I didn’t need that. But I felt I could offer time, experience and a vision.”