"It's as hurricane resistant as anything we could do." DeWitt said that to Your Observer in January 2025 about the new Bird Key Yacht Club clubhouse. That same story says work on the project began about a year earlier, before Hurricanes Helene and Milton reached the area. The club came through both storms without significant damage, and DeWitt said the hurricanes "only confirmed that we were moving in the right direction."
That timing explains how Bird Key looks this fall. The island's three shared spaces are all fenced off or detoured at once: the clubhouse, Bird Key Park and the causeway out front. They are on different timelines. The project the storms did not cause is closest to finished. The park the storms did damage hasn't started construction yet.
The Clubhouse Is Furthest Along
The old clubhouse came down in late October 2025. Club leaders held the formal groundbreaking on Nov. 13, 2025, with micropile testing as the next step before construction began in earnest. DSDG Architects designed the building, and Tandem Construction is building it. By March 31, 2026, crews had begun pouring the building slab.
The schedule has moved more than once. A 2024 projection called for a soft opening in August 2026. In April 2025, the club paused demolition plans for 90 days after the final estimate came in 25% above expectations, then aimed to start construction in early September 2025. The most recent dated forecast came on June 20, 2026, when Saul Landesberg took over as commodore from Tony Britt. Landesberg said his main goal is keeping construction under budget and on time, with completion expected at the beginning of 2027. No public update since then has given an opening day.
The club's website describes a $25 million, 21,500-square-foot clubhouse with a resort-style pool, bocce courts and four Har-Tru clay tennis courts. The January 2025 coverage described a one-story, 23,000-square-foot building of concrete block and steel, with hurricane-rated windows and doors and a standing-seam metal roof. The new building sits 15 feet farther inland and about 3 feet higher than the old one. The two square-footage figures haven't been reconciled in anything published. The siting change is the detail that stays consistent.
A Club Without a Clubhouse, Using Venues Across Town
The club chose to keep operating rather than shut down until the new building opens. Landesberg credited Britt with finding programming that kept members together through the gap. General Manager Tammy Hackney's staff kept the calendar going. Over the past year, that has meant borrowing venues across town:
- The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota hosted the Seafarers Speaker Series talk with Bobbi Brown on March 20, 2026.
- Sarasota Sailing Squadron hosted the post-race reception and awards for the Sarasota Bay Cup, which sailed April 11.
- Art Ovation Hotel hosted the June 20 change-of-watch, where Britt handed the gavel to Landesberg.
Leadership changed hands during the same stretch. Britt now leads the Bird Key Homeowners Association. Lynne Pettigrew moved up from rear commodore to vice commodore. Britt's move puts someone who just led the club through the rebuild in charge of the homeowners group.
The club hasn't posted a dated fall 2026 sailing calendar. For anyone who wants racing on Sarasota Bay this fall, Sarasota Sailing Squadron's 2026–27 notice of race lists its own regattas: the Great Pumpkin on Oct. 24, the Drumstick on Nov. 21 and the Commodore's Cup on Dec. 12. These are Squadron events. If the clubhouse opens on schedule, the Commodore's Cup will be one of the last regattas of the clubhouse-free period.
The Causeway Is Set to Finish Around the Same Time
Bird Key Drive meets State Road 789 at the start of the island's biggest public project this fall. FDOT's $12.3 million corridor project adds dedicated bicycle and transit lanes on the bridge and upgrades drainage. It also raises the seawall cap near Sunset Drive and installs new traffic signals at Sunset Drive, Golden Gate Drive and Bird Key Drive. The project also moves palm trees and small shrubs from the eastern stretch of the John Ringling Causeway to medians closer to St. Armands Circle.
As of the MyMPO traffic watch for the week of Sept. 27, 2026, here is the work and what it means for anyone driving or biking the causeway:
- Crews are widening the roadway, pouring curb and sidewalk, placing drainage, and installing median barrier wall and light poles.
- The bike lanes are closed, and cyclists follow a posted detour.
- Sunset Drive is closed at the Ritz entrance off Gulfstream Avenue for driveway reconstruction. The closure is expected to last about 60 days.
- The speed limit on Gulfstream Avenue and the causeway stays at 35 mph, and speeding fines double when workers are present.
- Most work happens during the day, with occasional night work and the noise that comes with it.
FDOT estimates completion in early 2027. The new bike lane is the reason our earlier Bird Key piece described Bird Key Park as the island's own on-ramp to St. Armands. That idea depends on two finished projects. The lane should be ready this winter. The park won't be.
The Park the Storms Hit Comes Back Last
The City of Sarasota lists Bird Key Park on its hurricane recovery project page, with a photo of a destroyed sidewalk. Its permits are approved. The project is still in pre-construction because a partial federal government shutdown delayed the start. The City estimates construction will begin in early 2027 and finish in early 2028. The page carries no publication date, so treat those dates as the City's current estimate rather than a commitment. The same shutdown paused construction at Eloise Werlin Park, which the City expects to resume in late 2026 or early 2027.
Residents have asked about it. On July 9, 2026, a Bird Key resident emailed City commissioners that Bird Key Park and the park across the causeway were still closed and asked for a reopening timeline. Commissioner Liz Alpert forwarded the question to city management. The public record doesn't show a substantive answer.
The difference comes down to who controls each project. The yacht club picked its own contractor, absorbed a 25% cost increase and kept building. FDOT is running a funded corridor project on a state schedule. Bird Key Park waits on City recovery work that was held up by a federal shutdown. The two privately or state-driven projects are expected to finish around the same time in early 2027. The one public space on the island that took storm damage is expected to start construction only then.
| Project | Who runs it | Status this fall | Latest estimated finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bird Key Yacht Club clubhouse | The club, with DSDG Architects and Tandem Construction | Under construction; slab work underway by March 2026 | Beginning of 2027 |
| SR 789 / Ringling Causeway corridor | FDOT | Under construction; bike lanes closed, Sunset Drive closed at the Ritz entrance | Early 2027 |
| Bird Key Park | City of Sarasota | Permits approved; pre-construction, start delayed by partial federal shutdown | Early 2028 |
Where Each Timeline Gets Updated
Each project reports progress in its own place, and none of them has announced a firm finish date. Your Observer has covered the yacht club rebuild from the 2024 planning stage through the June 2026 change of watch. MyMPO's weekly Traffic Watch lists the SR 789 work week by week, including closures. The City's hurricane recovery page carries Bird Key Park's permit and construction status, and the estimated start of early 2027 is the date to watch there.
If the estimates hold, early 2027 should bring a new clubhouse set 3 feet higher and a causeway with dedicated bike and transit lanes. Bird Key Park would follow about a year later, in early 2028.
If you own on Bird Key and want to talk through how the clubhouse opening, the finished causeway and the park's later timeline could affect your plans, Pamela Hagan has watched this island change for nearly 40 years and would be glad to talk. Request a Private Consultation.
