Burns Square businesses eye construction effects

With Burns Square business owners fretting about lost income, Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown has approved the closure of Ringling Boulevard from Orange Avenue to U.S. 41, beginning Jan. 29, saying that will shave at least 45 days off the construction schedule for two roundabouts on Ringling Boulevard.

“No business will be affected by the closure, because there are already alternative entrances and exits in place,” Brown said Jan. 20.

Nancy’s Bar-B-Q founder and partner Nancy Krohngold, meanwhile, has a direct view of pipes and piles of dirt. Her restaurant, which sits on Ringling Boulevard at the edge of Burns Square, is within easy earshot of the clanging construction noises.

When Krohngold spoke to the Sarasota Observer at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 19, the restaurant was half-full, and a strong breeze was blowing thick waves of dust around the side of the restaurant, where several wooden picnic tables were empty.

“Before the construction, we would usually be packed, people would be waiting for a seat, and I’d be too busy to talk,” she said.

Burns Square businesses were made aware months ago that the construction was coming, she said, “but we had no idea how bad it was going to be. It’s (creating) a significant decrease in our business.”

City officials say they had no choice but to move forward during season with roundabout construction simultaneously at Palm Avenue and Pineapple Avenue; otherwise, they said, they would have risked losing state funding for the projects, which will cost a total of about $1.2 million.

Construction began in December and isn’t expected to be complete until June.

And, despite the urging of merchants that the contractor should be working at night, as well, to speed up the process, Brown said that is not going to happen.

“This is a Florida Department of Transportation project,” Brown said. “We have to follow their rules and regulations on this project.”

Krohngold isn’t the only business owner feeling the effects of the ongoing construction. Sigrid Olsen, who recently opened businesses in the area, including the Sigrid Olsen Art Gallery, said, “I came to Sarasota in March with high hopes for a modest but thriving spot for my second location.”

She said that her business flourished in Burns Court when the Chalk Festival was held in early November.

However, Olsen said, the financial floor was swept out from beneath her shops and other new businesses, including Envy, Burns Court Café, Bond Café and Fresh Start Café.

“Now we are shocked to find ourselves in a situation that has killed our business and is completely out of control,” Olsen said.

Fresh Start Café owner Rochelle Seldin said her restaurant has sustained significant losses, even though it sits further down Orange Avenue.

“Everyone is saying they are getting killed and have lost at least 30% of their business,” Seldin said. “Strangers and tourists see the construction and just don’t know how to get here and decide to go somewhere else.”

Burns Square businesses took another big hit when city officials, saying they had no choice, completely fenced off the area after pedestrians were observed endangering themselves by crossing through the construction area to get to Burns Court.

“The city has literally created a blockade,” Olsen said.

To help soften the blow, the Sarasota City Commission Jan. 20 approved a six-month lease for a Burns Court parking lot owned by Michael Saunders Real Estate. That lot will be used to provide free parking for shoppers.

The city also approved the use of The Green Hopper, a low-speed electric-vehicle, to offer complimentary shuttle service around the Burns Square Business District.

Additionally, Randy Welker, Sarasota’s economic development coordinator, is urging everyone to stay calm.

“Whenever these things happen, it places a detriment on merchants,” Welker said, “That is just a reality, but we still have to do improvements and do things for the city.”

Roundabout project manager Neil Gaines also points out that, once complete, the roundabouts will leave space for the city to add 17 parallel parking spaces on Pineapple Avenue and 20 spaces near Palm Avenue on Ringling Boulevard.

Gaines also said that merchants had complained that too little activity has been taking place at the construction sites.

“There’s a lot of different contractors doing different things and a lot of activity in different areas will start happening soon,” Gaines said. “The city is committed to finishing this as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, merchants in the affected area wish there were a way to create at least one pedestrian path through the construction zone.

“It would help everyone if they could just create a sheltered walkway to get some of our pedestrian traffic back,” Krohngold said.

Despite the city’s offers of aid, Krohngold and others say their situation will not be remedied until the construction is complete.

“People on foot or in a car see the construction and the detour and decide it’s too much trouble to go that way,” Krohngold said. “There’s no way around that type of mindset.”

Still, city officials are hopeful merchants will be happy with the roundabouts once the work is complete.
Welker points out that construction of the Five Points roundabout hurt businesses on Main Street in 2010, but most businesses in that area today see more pedestrian traffic as a result of the roundabout’s existence.

“We know it will be beautiful when it’s done,” Krohngold said of the work on Ringling. “But that doesn’t help us right now.”

City service
The Green Hopper, a low-speed electric vehicle, will offer complimentary shuttle service around the Burns Square Business District during the roundabout construction.

The hours of operation for the Ringling Roundabout Express follow:

• 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday

• 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday (regular Green Hopper hours — on-call service only)
Seventeen stops have been planned along Pineapple Avenue, Gulfstream Avenue, Lemon Avenue, Main Street, Orange Avenue, Selby Lane and Palm Avenue to help pedestrians accessing the Burns Square Business District.

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., contact the Green Hopper at 877-323-7238, Ext. 2. From 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., press 5 to speak with a driver.

For more information about the roundabouts and to register for project updates, visit www.SarasotaGov.com or contact project manager Neil Gaines at 365-2200, Ext. 6309