Aug. 20, 2024

Editor's note: This article has been updated to highlight the park's new name.

At yesterday’s regular city commissioner's meeting, commissioners heard from four public speakers and weighed the outcomes of a city-wide survey to vote unanimously on Overtown Square as the name of Rosemary District's new pocket park. Overtown was the original name of the Rosemary District area and Sarasota's first Black neighborhood.

Three public speakers spoke to commissioners in favor of the name and paying homage to the area's local history. One dissented.

In addition to pointing out the historical context for the park's name, David Lough, a Rosemary District resident, highlighted the possible upcoming loss of the historic, Black-only Colson Hotel to the development of pricey townhomes.

“We could lose the Colson [Hotel] and then choose a generic name for our park, missing a real opportunity and an avoidable tragedy. Think of the context of history and what we could do,” he said.

The name, Overtown Square, was submitted as the first pick by the Rosemary District Association, which represents the roughly 3,600 residents who live in the neighborhood. It was the third most popular name on the citywide survey. 

The "square" part of the name reflects master city planner Andrés Duany's vision for the neighborhood to include a civic square. 

Mayor Liz Alpert added to the motion adding a plaque to the park, which would explain the Overtown Square name and the neighborhood's history.

The name complements some of the murals throughout the neighborhood, which highlight some of the original Black settlers and pioneers who contributed to Sarasota's local history.

The park is almost complete, and a grand opening is expected in September. 

Aug. 16, 2024

A new pocket park is under construction at the corner of Central Avenue and Boulevard of the Arts (conveniently located right next door to Sarasota's Magazine's office) and the space needs a name. With that in mind, the City of Sarasota organized a survey asking the public for suggestions on what the park should be called, and the City Commission is set discuss potential names during a meeting on Monday, Aug. 19.

The online survey was open for 10 days in June, and the city received more than 700 responses. Offensive suggestions were removed from the final tally, and repeating I.P. addresses were reviewed to ensure that the same entry was not bring submitted by the same I.P. address multiple times. Similar names with obvious spelling discrepancies were merged, but names that could potentially have been misspelled on purpose were left intact, and entries that included long descriptive text about the submission were streamlined.

After all that cleanup work, the five top vote getters were:

1. Rosemary Park: 166 votes

2. Rosemary Central Park: 93 votes

3. Overtown Square: 87 votes

4. Overtown Park: 64 votes

5. Rosemary Park Commons: 53 votes

"Parky McParkFace" came in seventh place, and the public shared other funny ideas, with riffs on the Rosemary District's herb-heavy name, like Thyme Park or Parsley Park.

Many sought to honor the history of the neighborhood. Most of what is now Rosemary District was Sarasota's first documented Black community and was known as Overtown until 1994, when the name was officially changed. Today, most of its streets are occupied by mixed-use projects, multi-level condo buildings and retail shops and restaurants, with more on the way. With its proximity to downtown, the area has become an enviable ZIP code with high price tags.

Some survey respondents chose relevant prominent figures from local Black history. Suggested names included Lewis and Irene Colson, credited with founding the Overtown neighborhood, and baseball legend Buck O'Neil, who has been honored with a mural near the park. Current-day figureheads from the local Black community, like former Sarasota Mayor Willie Shaw and Walter Gilbert, were also among the suggested names.

Other suggestions with local names included Paul Reubens and Jerry Springer, who may have plenty of name recognition, but no connection to the neighborhood.

The City Commission will vote on a name for the new park at its upcoming meeting. Commissioners can choose from the list of survey responses or come up with another name of their choosing. The public is welcome to chime in, too.

Plans for a pocket park in the Rosemary District stretch back to 2000, when the city created a downtown master plan with the help of architect and urban planner Andrés Duany. Rosemary District Association members have lobbied for one since 2016 and, together with the City of Sarasota, they purchased the quarter-acre plot in 2021 for slightly more than $1 million. The city contributed $890,000, while donors raised an additional $120,000.