Originally posted in the March 2019 Issue of Parking | The Next Level
Historic St. Armands Circle is a premier shopping destination located in Sarasota, FL. Featuring more than 130 boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants, the Circle hosts numerous events and festivals throughout the year and pays homage to its founder, circus legend John Ringling. As the Circle increased in popularity, finding available parking became a significant issue.
In 2017, the City of Sarasota partnered with Kimley-Horn to lead the design of St. Armands’ first parking garage. Kimley-Horn’s design efforts included prime design, site planning, community outreach, civil engineering, landscape architecture, traffic engineering, parking consultation, and structural engineering services. The design team also included key consultants for architecture and MEP engineering.
The four-level garage and adjacent surface lot provides nearly 500 parking spaces, including five electric vehicle charging stations, a tire inflation station, a bicycle storage and repair station, and public restrooms. Key design features include exterior cascading stairs, an interior lightwell, enhanced landscaping, and a beautiful metal mesh twisted façade.
The garage was constructed by the Jon F. Swift/Haskell joint venture and was opened to the public in February 2019. In addition, Kimley-Horn currently is assisting the City of Sarasota in achieving Parksmart certification for the St. Armands Parking Garage.
Kimley-Horn is proud to be a part of a wonderful project for the City of Sarasota and the St. Armands community.