For the past 50 years, Sarasota’s Bath & Racquet Club has been an important part of the community, a place for all generations to interact and exercise.  The facilities are outdated and the old club has reached a point of disrepair.  The Sarasota City Commission will soon review a design that proffers to save the Bath & Racquet Club.  The club operation will not support the facility on its own. The intent is to rebuild the club with a residential facet made possible by a rezone that is more compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood.  The residential portion of the project will allow for an infusion of capital which makes re-development and sustained operation of the Bath & Racquet Club site feasible without receiving any public funds from the City.

The Bath & Racquet Club is not part of a fitness club chain where people only come to exercise and leave.  It is part of the shared history of our community.  It is a place for people to linger, and a place for their children and grandchildren to take classes.  The Bath and Racquet Club is a meeting place which holds an important social function for its members.  We need more places that bring people together as a united community.  This club has historically brought together people of different generations and backgrounds and can continue to do so.  This is in large part because of the variety of fitness and sports options on hand.  The proposed design will create a community where one can Live, Work, and Play.  It will enhance the sense of community and wellbeing with a 1- acre park, playground, dog parks, and 1-KM running trail that will be open to the public from dawn to dusk.    

This proposed design by Halflants + Pichette Architects is an opportunity to rejuvenate a beloved club and a piece of Sarasota’s history without spending from city coffers.  The Bath & Racquet Club can continue to take pressure off the City’s limited recreational resources, while still providing a true asset to the city.