The Bay closes out its fourth-anniversary month this Sunday, Nov. 1, with the Best of The Bay Music Fest from 1 to 7 p.m. That wraps up a month the City of Sarasota billed as more than 70 free events. Past the anniversary lawn, the construction fences show where the park is headed next. Over the coming year its center moves toward the Centennial Park boat basin. Most of the basin work is still fenced off. The floating day dock is the exception. It opened in February and has been free to use ever since.
So the boat basin, the corner most of the park's history has treated as a parking lot with a ramp, is getting the restaurant, the expanded launch and the new shoreline. Its first piece is already usable. The rest of this season at The Bay makes the most sense once you know how the pieces line up.
The dock opened before anything around it
The Bay Park Conservancy announced on Feb. 20, 2026 that the new floating day docks were open to the public. They sit on the south side of the Centennial Park boat basin, just north of 10th Street. The Conservancy designed and built them. City of Sarasota Parks & Recreation runs and maintains them. The docks float, so they rise and fall with the tide and don't sit at a fixed height.
These are the posted rules that matter if you come by boat:
- Docking is free for now. The notice says fees may be added later.
- Five hours at most, and the City Parking Division writes citations when boats stay longer.
- First come, first served. The docks were designed for 13 or more boats of about 26 feet, and vessels up to 40 feet are allowed.
- No docking between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., which are the hours the park is closed.
- No jet skis, personal watercraft, kayaks, paddleboards, pedal boats or dinghies.
- No cleats on the section directly across from the boat ramps, which keeps room open for boats maneuvering at the launch.
Paddlers have a separate way in. The Bay's ADA-accessible paddle launch opens directly onto the bayou and the bay, and it has a spray station and drying rack for rinsing off afterward.
Five hours covers a sunset, a free class or a Sunday concert. From the dock it is a walk to The Nest Café, the park's current food stop, which serves Kahwa coffee, beer, wine and cocktails. The Nest is run by Venice Pier Group, the same operator lined up for the basin's restaurant.
What the fences are building, and in what order
The Conservancy's May 18 presentation to the City Commission set out the approximate completion dates. Here they are in order, so each fence can be matched to its finish date:
- October 2026: The Plaza and South Van Wezel Way. This is the new town square along Van Wezel Way, between the Municipal Auditorium and the Chidsey Library. According to Your Observer's May 21 report, the name comes from a 1964 dedication of the same ground as Plaza de Santo Domingo, after Sarasota's sister city in the Dominican Republic. Its centerpiece is a large shade structure, with room for events and gatherings. The Conservancy's closure notice, last updated Sept. 30, still listed the area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center as closed for Plaza construction.
- February 2027: Municipal Auditorium and the Resilient Shoreline. In August, Bay News 9 listed fixing the auditorium's roof among the park's ongoing work. The shoreline work explains why the Centennial Park lot and the western edge of the lot north of the Van Wezel are closed.
- July 2027: The Centennial Park expansion, labeled Phase 3A. The plan adds vehicle and trailer parking north of the basin, expands the ramp area and installs more day docks.
- Fall 2027: the basin restaurant. This is the first of up to three restaurants planned for the park site.
The schedule makes the direction clear. Three of the four items sit on or face the boat basin. The dock that opened in February comes first, the ramp expansion and extra docks arrive in July 2027, and the restaurant is scheduled for that fall.
The Conservancy's own sources give two end dates for Phase 2. The park's FAQ, updated Sept. 30, says Phase 2 construction "should be completed by the end of 2026." Its Phase 2 project page says the three projects "should be completed by 2027." The item-by-item dates above match the 2027 version. So does Bay News 9's August report, which said Phase 2 would "wrap up by next year" and that about half of the former parking lots would be parkland once it does. The same Phase 2 page says the Sunset Pier is on hold because of cost and timing.
The restaurant the dock was built for
The restaurant took its first formal step on Oct. 7, when its project team went before Sarasota's Development Review Committee for a pre-application conference. Your Observer reported on Oct. 18 that the site plan calls for 4,999 square feet. That is one foot under the 5,000-square-foot threshold that allows administrative site plan approval in the Bay Park Zone district. The paper also reported that the new floating day dock, which gives boats direct access to the restaurant, is already finished.
Your Observer's May coverage filled in the design. The restaurant will stand on 12-foot pylons at the former U.S. Coast Guard station site, on the southwestern tip of the boat launch basin. It is designed in the Sarasota Modern style by the Sarasota firm Sweet Sparkman Architecture, with about 5,000 square feet under roof, fewer than 220 seats inside and 100 outside. Venice Pier Group, which runs Sharky's on the Pier and Fins at Sharky's, will operate it. Your Observer quoted Founding CEO AG Lafley's description of the site: "It's an incredible location. It's a one of a kind."
The restaurant also helps pay for the park. Your Observer describes the commercial space as a key source of revenue for long-term park operations. Overall, The Bay is a $200 million project, funded half by philanthropy through the Bay Park Conservancy and half by city and county tax increment revenue from the district around the park.
Parking with the basin lots closed
The basin is changing most, so the parking closest to it is gone. The Centennial Park lot is closed, and so is the western edge of the lot just north of the Van Wezel. According to the park's FAQ, free parking is still available first come, first served:
- At the Van Wezel, 777 N. Tamiami Trail
- At the Municipal Auditorium, Art Center and Blue Pagoda lots, 655 N. Tamiami Trail
- Along the north side of Boulevard of the Arts
- On the street in the Rosemary District, east of North Tamiami Trail
The Conservancy asks visitors to avoid the south side of Boulevard of the Arts and spaces marked for the Sarasota Orchestra. Drop-off and 30-minute parking are in the lot next to the park at 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. The park also lists Breeze bus stops #2671 on Boulevard of the Arts and #2672 and #1284 on North Tamiami Trail. The park is open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The free weekly schedule on the finished side
Phase 1, which opened in October 2022 and cost about $35 million, keeps the free programs going while the work moves around the basin. The Bay's November and December calendars list this recurring week:
| Day | Free program | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Mat Pilates | 6–6:45 p.m. |
| Tuesday | The Y: Primetime+ / Bootcamp | 7:30–8:15 a.m. / 6–6:45 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Tai Chi and Qigong | 8–8:45 a.m. |
| Thursday | The Y: Primetime+ / Namaste at The Bay Yoga | 7:30–8:15 a.m. / 6–7 p.m. |
| Friday | Ride and Paddle guided kayak tours | Mornings |
| Saturday | Bootcamp / Namaste at The Bay Yoga / Ride and Paddle | 8–8:45 a.m. / 9–10 a.m. / mornings |
| Sunday | Sundays at The Bay music | 4:30–5:30 p.m. |
Wednesday evenings rotate through three dance series. Salsa & Sunsets is on Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, Zumba with Yaël Campbell on Nov. 11 and Dec. 9, and Dancing with Donald on Nov. 18 and Dec. 16. Sundays at The Bay concerts continue on Nov. 8, 15, 22 and 29 and Dec. 6, 13, 20 and 27. The park's FAQ says the Ride and Paddle kayak tours often fill up, though walk-ups sometimes get spots left open by day-of no-shows.
One-off dates through December
After the Nov. 1 music fest, Shred Stock runs Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon. Free outdoor movies run Thursday nights at 7 p.m. on Dec. 3, 10 and 17. The December calendar lists no Cinema at The Bay on Dec. 24 or Dec. 31. Holidays at The Bay is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 4 to 7:45 p.m. That is the same date Visit Sarasota County lists for the 40th Annual Sarasota Holiday Boat Parade of Lights, so the parade and the park celebration fall on one Saturday.
If you're weighing a Sarasota address and want to know how dock access, park closures and the 2027 basin schedule affect daily life on a particular street, Chadwick Knight can walk you through it. Request a free market consultation and bring your questions about the waterfront.
