Greenspon donates inaugural gift for Jewish Federation renovations

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee has decided to continue calling its McIntosh Road campus home. But like most homes, the Sarasota site needs some periodic updating.

Longboat Key resident Larry Greenspon has donated the first gift in this endeavor to kick off refurbishment of the 32-acre campus.

Greenspon calls the campus a diamond in the rough. Through Greenspon’s donation, the refurbished campus will be called The Larry Greenspon Family Campus for Jewish Life and The Larry and Mary Greenspon Sports Complex. The exact amount of the donation wasn’t disclosed.

“It has so much potential there with their facilities and space that they have,” Greenspon said. “There’s so much that can be done, and it basically needs a major, we’ll call it, refurbishing and a redevelopment of the campus.”

Michael Ritter, the Federation’s board chairman, said going forward, the Federation will finalize plans for a community-wide campaign to raise money for the rest of the project.

“When you receive a gift of this size, it’s just going to enable us to really focus on the things that are really important to our community, and I can’t thank Larry enough for this, and I know others in the community have expressed the same gratitude to him for what he’s done,” Ritter said.

Greenspon recalled attending a celebration event on the campus for Israel’s 70th anniversary in April that attracted about 3,000 people. Greenspon said he was happy to see the turnout, and it shows that with the right programming and space, the venue can be ideal for those in and out the Jewish community.

Greenspon said he is big on coexistence, and Ritter said in the future, the Federation hopes to continue hosting events for the entire community.

“The Federation is a key organization in the general community, not just specific to the Jewish community,” Ritter said. “We have a lot of interaction with other organizations both Jewish and non-Jewish, and we have opportunities on our campus…”

Greenspon is a longtime supporter of Israel Tennis Centers, a foundation that uses tennis to educate and shape the lives of Israeli children. Not only is he a former international chairman for the organization, but since 2001, Greenspon has chaired exhibitions for ITC in Sarasota and Longboat Key. In 2017, Israel’s premier tennis center in Ramat HaSharon was named after Greenspon and his fiance, Mary Gratehouse.

Greenspon said if it were possible to host events for ITC at the Federation’s campus, it would bring the foundation, along with other organizations, more exposure.

“I think any events out there could get additional exposure,” he said. “I think it could be very helpful for other events, including ITC.”

Greenspon’s vision for the new campus includes showing films during the Jewish Film Festival, adding more soccer fields and pickleball courts and starting a summer day camp. Right now, Ritter said the Federation is gauging the community’s needs.

“The Federation campus will be focused on myriad activities including education, arts and culture, sports… the exact determination of how all these activities will come together will be processed through our committees and boards and management,” he said.