Newsletter 58

Dear friends,

It’s been an interesting month, with another hurricane affecting our state and red tide algae blooms along the entire Suncoast shoreline. We are grateful that our area was spared any devastation. We are reminded how fortunate we are when seeing the pictures from North Carolina.

A telltale sign that season is quickly approaching is the carriers bringing our northern friends’ vehicles to the Suncoast. Traffic is already picking up here as the weather gets colder in the north.

We are proud to be accredited members of the National Home Watch Association (NWHA). Our bonded and insured services offer peace of mind to our clients. We take great pride in maintaining and enhancing their homes in paradise. The greatest compliment we can receive is a referral.

Visit our website for more information on our services and how we can help: Suncoast Home Concierge

Here’s some recent Suncoast area news:

HURRICANE MATTHEW AFTERMATH: The economic toll for Hurricane Matthew’s sideswipe of Florida’s Atlantic coast and into the Carolinas will rise into the billions of dollars, with storm surge wreaking the most havoc and the tourism and agriculture industries hit hardest. But with Florida being spared a direct hit and power being restored quickly to many of those affected, Matthew never turned into the monster here that was feared – either in terms of derailing the state’s economic recovery of hurting its still fragile property insurance industry. In fact, some economists say any short-term hit on tourism and business interruption along Florida’s First Coast could be offset by gains elsewhere, particularly as money pours in for reconstruction and beach renourishment. Please click on the link, courtesy of the Tampa Bay Times, for more on this story: Effects may be a wash

STATE APPROVES BIG PASS DREDGING: A permit could be issued for the controversial Lido Beach renourishment project before the end of the year, state environmental officials have decided. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice September 30 that the application and supporting documentation for the plan are complete after a year of back-and-forth requests for additional information to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the project with the City of Sarasota. With the application complete, a state joint coastal permit could be issued within 90 days for the plans to dredge up to 1.2 million cubic yards of sand from Big Pass to rebuild more than 1.5 miles of beach on Lido Key. Please follow the link, courtesy of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, to read more: Big Pass dredging application approved

RISING SEAS, SHIFTING SHORELINES: Local real estate agents got drenched with sobering prospects for beachfront property when futurist David Houle told them to start adjusting for a “post-beach economy” as early as 2030. By 2030, government analyses indicate local high tides – fueled by climate change – could push the waterline anywhere from 6 to 10 inches above current levels. In terrain as flat as Florida’s, a six-inch rise in high-tide sea levels can create a 150-foot “run” inland. The author and Emmy-winning producer made his remarks in conjunction with a recent three-day Ringling College environmental art project. There’s more on this story here: Climate change realities

FLORIDA MAY DOUBLE POPULATION IN 60 YEARS: Florida could grow to more than 33 million residents by 2070, and the percentage of the state that is developed could jump from less than 20% to 33% according to a recent new study. Florida’s population would expand by 15 million people from 2010 to 2070 if growth trends continue. The number of acres of developed land would jump from 6.4 million to 11.6 million during that same period, the study concluded. The state currently has around 20 million residents, making it the third-most populous state in the nation. The study proposes managing the growth by focusing on higher population density, filling in empty spaces in urban areas rather than building outside urban areas and adding more conservation lands to the state. Please click here for more: Population growth

A GIFT TO SCHOLARSHIP: An acclaimed private collection of medieval Chinese literature and art once was scattered among seven wooden cottages, some little more than shacks, on a secluded waterfront estate near Sarasota Square Mall. Elling Eide, a highly-regarded scholar of Chinese culture, didn’t even know how much he had. But he had a dream that one day, scholars would come from across the world to study his inventory of literature, art and artifacts. Building a home and library on the estate, which currently has more land than The Ringling at 72 acres, was his goal from at least 1971, when he moved back to his childhood home with a Harvard degree in sinology – the study of China. The recently completed Elling Eide Center, which includes the library and a nature preserve of 58 acres, has a grand opening for invited guests on October 19-21. Please click here for more: Elling Eide Center opens

GRIDLOCK AT GATEWAY TO SIESTA KEY:  Plans for a redevelopment project at U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road are going forward as easily as traffic moves through that intersection in high season: temporarily gridlocked. Frustration and confusion were evident among residents, developers and Sarasota County Commissioners last week during a six-hour commentary and discussion period about whether to approve a Critical Area Plan boundary around the Benderson Development Co’s mixed-use Siesta Promenade. Commissioners voted 5-0 to continue the discussion, leaving the 24-acre former trailer park at a primary gateway to Siesta Key in another temporary limbo. There’s more here: Siesta Promenade

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