U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s office announced that the Department of Transportation awarded Sarasota a $12 million grant for a “Complete Streets” project on 10th Street and Boulevard of the Arts. A complete street is an age-friendly design that promotes safe, multi-modal travel—whether walking, biking, riding transit or driving a vehicle—through dedicated infrastructure.
The grant award comes as a relief. The city has applied for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant four times, making adjustments before each resubmission. But as Mayor Liz Alpert proclaimed in her announcement, “If you don’t succeed, try, try again!” In addition, the city of Sarasota matched another $3 million.
Sarasota’s project is one of 109 awarded funding through the RAISE grant as part of President Biden’s agenda to modernize American infrastructure, totaling $1.3 billion awarded in 2025. Announcing the grant awardees, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg noted, “…we’re setting in motion over 100 projects that will make roads safer, help mitigate the impact of climate change, and ensure that people in communities of all sizes can get where they need to go safely and efficiently.”

Construction could begin in two years
The combined finances of the city and the grant will improve streets in the Rosemary District—expanding sidewalks, adding protected bike lanes, developing a roundabout at 10th Street, and overhauling landscaping, lighting, and stormwater and utilities infrastructure.
The project’s initial phases began in 2021, and the public was invited to provide feedback. According to Mayor Alpert, the design plans are 60 percent complete. The next phase requires the city to negotiate specific requirements with the DOT. If the plan and agreements are finalized before the end of the year, construction could tentatively begin within two years.
For more information about the project, read the city’s overview plans here.
