Publix shops plan revisions to P&Z

The latest filing by Publix Super Markets Inc. reveals what could be in store for the Avenue of the Flowers shopping center, called “Shoppes of Bay Isles” in the application, including a CVS open 24 hours a day, along with various changes to landscaping, parking and the layout of the plaza.

Joel Freedman, of Sarasota-based Freedman Consulting & Development LLC, submitted a second preliminary application for an amendment to the Bay Isles Development Plan and application for site-plan approval for the Shoppes of Bay Isles to the Longboat Key Planning, Zoning & Building Department Sept. 13, on behalf of plaza owners Publix, Bay Isles Enclave Acquisition LLC and W. Howard Rooks.
Publix is under contract to purchase parcels of the shopping center from Bay Isles Acquisition LLC and Rooks.

Rooks said that the sales will likely close in March, after the town approves the plans for the plaza.
Hours of operation for the plaza’s CVS weren’t identified in the previous application, but the latest plan states that the applicant proposes a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation.

The plan also includes several major revisions based on P&Z’s review of the preliminary application.
Changes include additional landscaping along roadways “so that the development is completely buffered from GMD and significantly buffered well above what currently exists along Bay Isles Parkway” and other boundaries of the property. Landscaping additions will include “an elegant line of royal palm trees” leading into the shopping center from Bay Isles Parkway, extending along the front drive of the CVS, Publix and retail building.

The revised plan calls for 36 fewer parking spaces, down from the original number of 443 spots.

The pre-application states that the revisions include a larger promenade that will allow more room for gathering and a message board near the outside seating area of the new Publix “to provide an opportunity for shoppers to learn more about the activities in the town.”

Revisions include an improved pedestrian plan and an enhancement of the rear of the shopping center so that it “mirrors the quality of the architecture and landscaping of the front of the center,” according to the pre-application.

The application states that four of five previously requested departures have been eliminated. The only departure the applicant will seek is a code provision that will allow parking to encroach on the 20-foot, street-yard buffer required by town codes.

P&Z Director Monica Simpson said that staff would begin reviewing the plans immediately and will prepare comments for the last week of this month.

Dated items
The latest preliminary application states that development could occur according to the following schedule:
• April 2012 — Publix closes, and pad construction of CVS begins.
• May 2012 — The existing Publix is demolished, and construction of the new Publix building and parking area begins.
• September 2012 — The new CVS opens, and construction begins on the southern parking area in front of Publix.
• October 2012 — The old CVS is demolished.
• December 2012 — The new Publix shopping center celebrates its grand opening.
• Spring/summer 2013 — Tenants are relocated, and the old Town Shoppes II is demolished.