Effort to improve site near Salvation Army grows complicated

The Salvation Army is expanding its services, planning to create a Sarasota park called Club Hope for the homeless at 911 Central Ave.

SARASOTA - It seemed simple enough. Redo the aging basketball and volleyball courts across from the Salvation Army. Lay sod on the scraggly grass and gravel, add benches, little gardens and a gazebo where the homeless could relax.

Create a place where everybody will be able to spread out a bit more; get their exercise, said David Clements, a Salvation Army resident.

On the weekends, Clements said it would provide a safe place to avoid the synthetic marijuana that permeates the streets. Or escape the Salvation Army patio, where another resident, Michael McMullen, said, You hear so much negativity that it starts invading you.

But confusion over the permitting process has slowed the effort to improve 911 Central Ave. though the Salvation Army is determined to continue with the changes, starting with an ice cream social at 1 p.m. Sunday on the property, where they will debut and discuss plans for what they call Club Hope.

Initially, members of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Sarasota class, who do an annual community service project, decided to help with the effort. They gathered in-kind donations and planned to use $5,000 from the Chamber of Commerce to complete it by their May 31 deadline.

But after meeting with Sarasota officials Thursday, leadership class member Tim Self said turning the lot into Club Hope is not the rubber stamp process they anticipated.

Instead, the Salvation Army, which owns the site, has to request a major conditional use approval. It could take four to six months to go through the process, which includes a neighborhood workshop, planning board and City Commission approval, said Tim Litchet, Sarasota's director of Neighborhood and Development Services.

That timeline would not work for the leadership class, which has to pick a new project.

Moving forward

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Effort to improve site near Salvation Army grows complicated