DID grows flower basket program

A downtown group is continuing its effort to beautify the area within its boundaries.

By David Conway
| 6:00 a.m. July 12, 2018

The Downtown in Bloom program includes seasonal changes for the flower baskets.

Sarasota
News

More flower baskets will be sprouting up this summer around downtown.

In June, the Downtown Improvement District voted unanimously to place an additional 40 baskets on light poles throughout the heart of the city. The decision expands the Downtown in Bloom campaign launched in summer 2016 as a beautification project.

DID Chairman Ron Soto said he was pleased with the project.

“The amount of money we’ve put out there for what we get back on them?” Soto said. “I think it’s well worth the investment. Matter of fact, this is probably one of the best things we’ve ever done.”

The DID previously placed 150 flower baskets on light poles within its boundaries, with an initial cost of $187,680 for installation and maintenance. The 40 new baskets will cost $23,320 to install and $33,950 to maintain through June 2019.

The new flower baskets will be scattered throughout downtown. They include eight baskets near the Art Ovation Hotel and Palm Avenue garage, seven in the 1200 block of First Street and at least six near Five Points Park and the Sarasota Opera House.

DID Operations Manager John Moran said the group was working to fill in areas — particularly near commercial properties that contribute to the self-taxing district — that didn’t get baskets the first time around.

“We had some areas that were under construction,” Moran said. “It would have been ill-advised to put flower baskets there; they would have been harmed by the construction dust.”

The DID is taking other steps to beautify downtown, too. On July 3, the board voted unanimously to spend $8,800 on quarterly cleanings for alleys near the 1300, 1400 and 1500 blocks of Main Street. The decision came in response to concern that run-off from the alleys was affecting the walkability of downtown, particularly near the Palm Avenue garage.

The board also selected Golden Leaf Landscaping Services as the vendor overseeing enhanced maintenance for downtown landscaping. The company bid $16,014 to win the contract for services through July 2019.