Benderson revs up for transfer station construction

Benderson Development and Sarasota County will work toward creating a multi-modal transportation network in the University Parkway corridor.

Sarasota County commissioners on Feb. 9 approved an agreement with Benderson for the construction of a new bus transfer station at the southeast corner of Cattlemen and Desoto roads, near The Mall at UTC. 

Benderson’s Director of Development, Todd Mathes, said the company will break ground within three weeks and construction should take no longer than 270 days. 

Sarasota County Area Transit Routes 15, 30 and 215, which include connections to the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, will use the facility initially. But SCAT is identifying opportunities for other connections and expects to expand services farther east as the area develops.

The station also could service future connections with Manatee County Area Transit. 

“We’ve built a facility that can accommodate that,” he said. “It can hold eight buses at time.”

Benderson will own and maintain the facility, leasing it to Sarasota County for $10 annually. Sarasota will pay utilities.

Mathes said the transfer station’s location, adjacent to the mall, Nathan Benderson Park, a future hotel and future residential units, eventually will make it a “fixture” for an active community.

“We know it’s going to take a while for people to change their behavior, but we are building a very nice bus building and bus stop and I think it will encourage people to ride,” he said. 

Kendra Keiderling, SCAT marketing, public outreach and customer service manager, said SCAT is eager to see the facility completed. SCAT already has route stops nearby along Cattlemen Road, but the transfer station will provide more comfort for riders and visibility for the SCAT routes. The facility is designed with eight bays around a landscaped, central platform and with benches, bus route information, security cameras, an office area for SCAT information and a wide canopy roof for covered seating. It also will have public restrooms.

“We have been waiting a long time on this transfer station,” she said. “I think it will be real beneficial.”

SCAT has hired an outside vendor, VHB, to look at routes and analysis them for efficiencies. VHB has completed two months of a nine-month study. Keiderling said SCAT does not plan to make any changes to routes until that study is complete.