$13.5M approved for St. Armands Circle Resiliency Project aimed at targeting stormwater infrastructure

Stormwater upgrades coming to St. Armands Circle mall

A newly funded Sarasota project is targeting stormwater infrastructure in St. Armands Circle. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.

SARASOTA, Fla. - A newly funded project is targeting stormwater infrastructure in St. Armands Circle. 

What we know:

Sarasota County approved $13.5 million for the St. Armands Circle Resiliency Project. This is one of three stormwater infrastructure improvement projects for which the county recently approved funding.

The Sarasota County Commission approved $13.5 million in Resilient SRQ funding for the St. Armands Circle Resiliency Project. The City of Sarasota says it's working in conjunction with the county, and that the county is taking the lead on stormwater infrastructure projects within city limits.

The backstory:

St. Armands Circle was one of the areas that was inundated with floodwater after Hurricanes Debby and Helene.

"The goal of this project is to get the water out as quickly as possible after the storm," Sarasota Public Works Director Nikesh Patel said.

Patel says the project will address tidal valve, pumping systems and generators in St. Armands Circle.

"Upgrade the pump systems, look at upgrading the generator system, as well as providing a title valve, which essentially is a backflow preventer," he said. "So when the surge comes up, the water doesn't get back into the system."

Patel says the area got five to seven feet of water from Helene, which caused some of the electrical systems to be underwater. He says because of this, some of the pump systems didn't operate the way they were supposed to.

"The water stayed on some of the businesses for up to three or four days," he said.

What they're saying:

Almost every business in St. Armands Circle had several feet of water inside after Helene.

"We had about two feet of water inside the store, so we had to replace everything inside the store," Dino Coit, the Manager of Kilwin's Ice Cream said. "Floors, wallpaper, everything."

Coit says they only reopened a few months ago.

"It was almost a year since we couldn't open," he said. "Just shy of a year, we were closed for. Some stores aren't even open yet."

Coit says the damage was exacerbated by the fact that they couldn't access the area after Helene due to the floodwater.

"The water was so high, we couldn't even get out here, I think, for a couple of days," he said.

Businesses are continuing to reopen in St. Armands Circle.

Coit is hopeful that these improvements will be effective, and that the city will be proactive in making sure the infrastructure systems are operating properly year-round.

"Hurricanes are probably going to happen regardless, but if we can minimize the flooding and the water out of the stores, then that would be beneficial," he said.

Big picture view:

The St. Armands Circle Resiliency Project is one of three recently approved stormwater infrastructure improvement projects.  Sarasota County also recently approved funding for two dredging projects — one for Hudson Bayou and another for Whitaker Bayou.

City officials say funding for these three projects totals about $48 million. They say the funding comes from Sarasota County, Resilient SRQ funds and the federal government.