The trail at Bobby Jones Nature Park starts at Circus Boulevard. It runs through the golf course entrance and past the practice range, then into 110 acres of new marsh and ponds where fairways used to be. Sarasota held a ribbon-cutting in July to mark the end of Phase 1. Phase 2 hasn't started yet.
That half-done status is true of most of what's around Regency Cove this fall. The co-op sits in north Sarasota near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way and North Lockwood Ridge Road. The nearest mapped bus stops are at MLK Way and Rockwood Cove, and on Lockwood Ridge at 40th Street. Three public places within a short drive are all midway through long plans: a nature park, a bayfront park and a neighborhood corridor in Newtown. October lets you use the parts that are finished and see what each one has scheduled next.
Bobby Jones Nature Park, Phase 1 Complete
The nature park sits inside the 307-acre Bobby Jones complex, on low, marshy ground between Fruitville Road and 17th Street. The area was historically called Little Camp Sawgrass. The old 36-hole course was cut back to the original 18-hole Donald Ross layout. Golf came back in December 2023, along with trails through what was then a rough, early-stage park.
After Phase 1, the trail system looks like this:
- Marlon Brown Eagle Trail: 1.57 miles, the main path, named for the former city manager who oversaw the project
- Prairie Trail: 0.4 mile
- Hammock Trail: 0.12 mile
- Osprey Trail: 0.07 mile
The paths are a mix of new crushed shell and old golf cart paths. They're open to walkers and cyclists. Phase 1 also added 18,000 shrubs and grasses across 12 species. The wetlands do more than look nice. Big Waters Land Trust President Christine Johnson said all the stormwater from University Town Center passes through the property before it reaches Philippi Creek and the bay. Mayor Debbie Trice told the ribbon-cutting crowd that as a child she was told she couldn't walk the course unless she paid to play golf. Now anyone can walk it for free.
Phase 2 is supposed to add a boardwalk, a bird blind, overlooks and up to 2,000 more trees. Work was expected to begin late this year or in early 2027. The park map also shows a future Legacy Trail connection into Sarasota County's 17th Street Regional Park, which is being rebuilt as an outdoor athletic complex.
The money behind Phase 2 changed in September. The City Commission moved $5 million in penny sales tax money from the nature park to building the golf clubhouse. Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich said she didn't like taking money from one to pay for the other. Parks and Recreation Director Jerry Fogle said the city has an agreement with Big Waters for $3.5 million over three years, plus $1.6 million in park impact fees. He said that would be enough to finish the park if Big Waters raises the money. The clubhouse is still at the planning stage too. Golfers are using a temporary modular building for now. The planned clubhouse is a one-story, 6,860-square-foot building with a separate cart barn, and it still needs City Commission approval.
That means the Bobby Jones you can walk this fall is the finished first phase. The boardwalk and bird blind depend on a fundraising campaign that's still underway.
The Bay Celebrates Its Fourth Year
On the bayfront, The Bay opened in October 2022 and has logged more than 1.2 million visits since then. The Bay Park Conservancy is marking the anniversary with "One Park FOUR All," a month of more than 70 free events running October 1 through November 1. Founding CEO AG Lafley described the anniversary as a step toward the full 53-acre plan, and the parts still to come are as interesting as the parties.
Here are the six signature events:
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 7 | Salsa & Sunsets Community Celebration | 6:30–8:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 9–11 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 11 | Park-toberfest | 5–7 p.m. |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Boo! at The Bay Family Halloween | 5–7:45 p.m. |
| Sun., Oct. 25 | Taste of The Bay Food Festival | Noon–3 p.m. |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Best of The Bay Music Fest | 1–7 p.m. |
Park-toberfest includes a stein-hoisting contest and chicken dancing. Taste of The Bay is presented by Sarasota-Manatee Originals and features dishes from locally owned restaurants. The rest of the month adds Opera at The Bay, fitness classes, movies and guided kayak tours.
The construction is running alongside the celebration. A town square on Van Wezel Way, between Municipal Auditorium and Chidsey Library, was scheduled to open this October. It will be called The Plaza, a nod to the Plaza de Santo Domingo that the mayor dedicated on that spot in April 1964. The centerpiece is a large shade structure, with space for events and programming. We haven't seen an opening date announced, so check The Bay's calendar before planning around it. Municipal Auditorium is closed for renovation from April 2026 through February 2027. The park's first restaurant is planned for fall 2027 on the former U.S. Coast Guard station site. It will be run by Venice Pier Group, the family that operates Sharky's on the Pier in Venice.
The Bay's pattern matches Bobby Jones: a finished first phase, a busy calendar on top of it, and next pieces with dates attached.
Newtown's Corridor Is Still in Conversation
Closest to Regency Cove, the plans in Newtown are at an earlier stage. On August 25, more than 100 people came to a community conversation at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex. Early ideas there pictured a more walkable, transit-friendly MLK corridor with shops, homes, arts, events and festivals. WWSB reported that some residents also raised concerns about gentrification. Officials haven't set a completion timeline. Right now the corridor is a set of ideas, not a construction project.
What Newtown has on the calendar this month is a festival. Newtown Nation is bringing back Big Mama's Collard Greens Festival on Saturday, October 17, at the Robert L. Taylor Community Center. It includes a cook-off, and vendor and sponsor signups are open. The complex is at 1845 John Rivers St., next to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Newtown Nation also runs the Newtown Farmers Market on Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its site lists a new location.
Saturday, October 17, Is Crowded
Because so much is happening at once, three good options fall on the same Saturday. The Collard Greens Festival is in Newtown. Boo! at The Bay runs 5 to 7:45 p.m. on the bayfront, with trick-or-treating, pumpkin painting and a family movie. Van Wezel has Rumours of Fleetwood Mac the same night. The festival is closest to home, and the Bay and Van Wezel events are both on the bayfront, so you could pair them in one trip.
The weekend starts a day earlier. On Friday, October 16, The Ringling opens its season with Night of Wonder in the Museum of Art Courtyard, featuring José "Pepito" Gómez and La Royal Orquesta. The Ringling has more later in the month:
- Compagnie Leïla Ka at the Historic Asolo Theater, October 28 to 30
- Halloween at The Ringling, October 31, 4 to 7 p.m.
- Georgia Heers on November 13 and Valerie June on December 18, part of the fall performance lineup
For a meal on the way, Olive Eats is a small Mediterranean spot at 2801 N. Tamiami Trail, across from Ringling College. Sarasota Magazine counted 21 seats inside and 22 on the patio, and said the food is made from scratch.
Lockwood Ridge Road Work
One thing to plan for close to home: Sarasota County's road-closure listing shows HDPE installation work, with a bi-directional bore, on North Lockwood Ridge Road from University Parkway to 47th Street, from September 16 through October 9, 2026. A separate job, FPL pole replacement on Lockwood Ridge between Village Lane and 40th Street and on MLK Way between North Tuttle Avenue and Booker Avenue, was scheduled to end September 25. Through the first week of the anniversary celebration, a trip north on Lockwood Ridge toward University Parkway can still run into crews.
The projects around Regency Cove are moving at different speeds. The boardwalk at Bobby Jones depends on the Big Waters campaign. The Plaza at The Bay was scheduled for this month. The MLK corridor is still at the meeting stage. Our team follows how these projects affect north Sarasota, including what a nearby park phase or corridor plan might mean when a co-op owner decides to sell. If you'd like to talk it through, Smith Garcia Group can help. Schedule Your Market Consultation and we'll go over what's planned near your block and how buyers are likely to see it.
