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Connecting professionals. Sharing knowledge. Advancing best practices
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Thank you for registering to attend the February 25 – 27, FL Suncoast One-by-Land, Two-by-Sea Tours (Tours)! We are excited to welcome you to sunny, gorgeous, and warm Sarasota in the heart of winter. This newsletter-style update is the second in a series to acquaint you with Sarasota and the Tours agenda as well as build enthusiasm for the Tours. We are here to answer questions and provide additional information – simply reply to this email with your inquiries.
Today, I found the Sarasota Magazine article The Case for Loving Sarasota, a city that inspires as much debate as devotion is rarely boring. I enjoyed reading about the many accolades recently bestowed on my beloved hometown. Though the article is short, there are ample links to detailed information. Please share the Tours with your LAI Friends and invite them to join you! if you recommend the Tours to friends, I will provide a discount code to reinstate the early bird discount - simply send me an email for the code. With Enthusiasm, Holly Elmore
FL Suncoast Chapter President
holly@earth-impact.org
404-510-9336
Photo credit: Everett Dennison via Sarasota Magazine.
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The Tours begin with a lovely opening reception at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens located on Sarasota Bay, and the final tour is at The Bay, a 53-acre public park located north of Selby Gardens and on Sarasota Bay near downtown. From a land economics standpoint, 53 acres of primarily parking lots and other impermeable surfaces were transformed into an amazing public park; The Bay was designed to provide resilience to the downtown district during extreme weather events, provide food and habitat for urban wildlife via a native-plant or Florida-friendly landscape, and serve as a public amenity for the community. Speakers will educate on the behind-the-scenes efforts to create a public-private partnership to bring The Bay from vision to reality. Additionally, the former Bay Park Conservancy Managing Director and COO will share the intricacies of planning, designing, and implementing the completed Phase I of The Bay.
Photo courtesy of Holly Elmore Images.
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The Bay
About The Bay
The Bay is a signature public park along Sarasota Bay. Designed to be “One Park for All,” The Bay is open and accessible, free and welcoming to the full and rich diversity of the community, now and for generations to come.
The Bay conserves, preserves, restores and transforms 53 acres of precious city-owned land along Sarasota Bay from what was mostly parking lot into a blue and green oasis – providing a sustainable bayfront gathering place for the community to experience and enjoy a wide range of park uses, free programs and events.
The first 10-acre phase of the park opened in October 2022. Design and development of Phase 2, the next 14-acre $65 million development, is fully funded and underway with expected completion in 2026. The completed park in total will cost an estimated $200 million and will take approximately 8-10 years to complete over four or more phases.
Source The Bay Website
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For those traveling to Sarasota for the Tours, we HIGHLY recommend that you secure downtown lodging accommodations. Tours activities begin and end in the quaint downtown. Thus, a car is not necessary during the Tours. Here is the standard hotel copy from the "thank-you-for-registering email:"
It is best to make reservations at a downtown hotel as tours begin from downtown locations. The unofficial host hotel is the Aloft Hotel - Downtown Sarasota. Here is the Aloft Room Block link: https://bit.ly/4fuIJu4; other attendees found AAA or AARP discounts gave a better rate than the block rate.
The Aloft Hotel is conveniently located two blocks from lovely Sarasota Bay and amazing waterfront-dining destinations.
Photo of Aloft Sarasota is courtesy of Visit Sarasota.
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Land Economics Dialogues (LED)
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Water Challenges, Economics, Nature-Based Solutions LED
If you are not registered for the LED, please consider sharing your expertise at the LED the day prior to the Tours.
As a precursor to the February 25 – 27, 2026 One-by-Land, Two-by-Sea Tours, the Chapter hosts a Land Economics Dialogues (LED) event on Wednesday, February 25 from 9 am – 4 pm. The LED focus is on local Water Challenges, Economics, and Nature-Based-Solutions.
An LED is an FL Suncoast-event series where prominent LAI members from around the globe provide expertise and advice on land- and water-related issues.
The LED agenda consists of four morning speakers followed by a brainstorming session during lunch. Morning presentation topics include Coastal Water Dynamics, Surface Water (Sarasota Bay, Gulf, Inland Waters), Extreme Weather, and Local & Regional Economics. The afternoon is dedicated to an empowering strategy session. A formal report will document the LED presentations, strategy session, and recommended nature-based solutions.
Land and water economics are the common thread within the LED–strategy points.
The LED is open to Global LAI members.
REGISTER HERE - early pricing ended on October 20; use the HollyDiscountLED to reinstate the discount through December 31.
Sponsorship opportunities are detailed HERE.
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LAI SemiQ East Coast Tours
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The LAI SemiQ East Coast Tours: Land Use & History (1776-2026) celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a series of tours hosted by the seven Eastern Region chapters: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, FL Suncoast, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. The One-by-Land, Two-by-Sea Tours hosted by the LAI Fl Suncoast Chapter is the first tour in the series.
Registration is open for the following Tours:
- Annapolis, March 19 - REGISTER
- Atlanta, April 16 - REGISTER
- New York City, May 14 & 14 - REGISTER I hope that you register for other Tours, they will ALL be fantastic!!!
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