Venice Beach renourishment: Shoreline project nears projected September completion

VENICE, Fla. - A beach renourishment project along 3.2 miles of Venice Beach is reaching its final stages. 

Venice Beach restoration project

What we know:

Crews have completed dredge and fill operations along 3.2 miles of coastline stretching from south of the Venice Inlet and south jetty to south of the Venice Fishing Pier. The federally funded project added nearly 600,000 cubic yards of sand, extending the shoreline width between 50 and 100 feet depending on the location.

The shoreline restoration comes after erosion caused by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in 2024. Officials expect subcontractor work — including demobilization, equipment removal, rock clearing, and extending stormwater outfalls — to finish by September.

"All the dredge and fill activity has completed. All the new sand is placed on the beach," Steven Berens, stormwater engineering manager for the City of Venice, said. "The beach renourishment is regularly scheduled and there is background erosion that happens every year, but the timing is great with the storms because there was major shifts in our beach and what the beach looked like. So this was a great chance to restore the beach to what everyone expects."

Venice Jetty maintenance timeline

The backstory:

The City noted that residents questioned why beach renourishment occurred before repairs to the South Venice Jetty. The beach work stems from a long-standing agreement between the City of Venice and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dating back to the 1990s, requiring regular maintenance planned years in advance.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to release a major maintenance report for the Venice Jetty in November, detailing projected costs and a potential construction timeline.

Local impact and closures

What they're saying:

Local business owners near the beach expressed relief over the expanding shoreline and dune protection.

"We did see a lot of shoreline erode, especially with the storms we had seen it kind of gradually happening, that was a big thing," Justin Pachota, the owner of Sharky's, said. "Really the damage to the dunes was a big chunk of it. Hopefully, with more beach on the sand, the dunes can kind of build back up and give us the protection here on the barrier island."

Pachota added that seeing the fast pace of the project has been positive for the community.

"It's great, the beach renourishment is a great project," Pachota said. "This isn't the first time we've gone through it. It's really great for us to see how quickly they came through, got the beach fixed up, and now they're getting ready to move out."

Brohard Paw Park status

What we don't know:

Sarasota County Parks temporarily closed the beach section of Brohard Paw Park to protect visitors and pets during ongoing work. Officials indicated the park area could reopen as early as later this week. 

VeniceHurricane HeleneHurricane Milton