- March 29, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
The city commission is scheduled to make a decision on the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation’s proposed $400,000,000 Van Wezel replacement on March 3.
They should vote to end this unsupportable and extremely expensive vision, and invest in protecting our city’s signature structure.
It is, in the words of Sarasota School architect Carl Abbott, "Sarasota’s icon."
The distinctive color selected by Frank Lloyd Wright’s widow raised eyebrows from the beginning. But in the words of longtime city manager Ken Thompson "if a building doesn’t provoke discussion, then it probably isn’t a successful piece of architecture."
Championed by former mayor David Cohen, co-founder of the West Coast Symphony (now the Sarasota Orchestra), the Van Wezel put Sarasota on the map as the arts and culture center of Florida’s west coast.
The landmark purple hall was designed by William Wesley Peters of Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy firm, Taliesin Associated Architects. Peters also served as site architect for New York’s Solomon Guggenheim Museum.
Sarasota’s award-winning seashell-shaped structure was described as acoustically perfect when it opened in 1970 with a performance of "Fiddler on the Roof."
But by the late 1990s, when I served on the city commission, the costs of keeping the lights on at the purple hall required a fresh look at the programming to include Broadway productions.
After studying the geography, demographics and market trends, the city made the strategic choice to enlarge the stagehouse to fit bigger shows.
Since the 2000 remodel, the Van Wezel has been recognized as the best touring theater in the world 7 times.
But the flytower — made taller to accommodate bigger sets — adversely impacted the unamplified acoustics.
This prompted the Sarasota Orchestra to begin exploring building a dedicated symphony hall, which it decided to build on land it purchased on Fruitville near 75. That is its prerogative.
But I can’t help wondering if the public and the orchestra wouldn’t be better served by merging efforts with the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation philanthropists pushing for a new hall in the city?
If not, then the LAST thing the city of Sarasota should be doing is competing with the orchestra for funding now and bookings once the new structure is built.
The replacement cost of Sarasota’s placemaking purple theater is almost $100 million (estimated by Staebler Appraisal and Consulting). That makes it the city’s most valuable asset.
As stewards of the public’s goods, city officials must take basic measures to prevent damage from future storms.
Karins Engineering estimated that a removable water barrier (like the aquafence that protected Tampa General from storm surge) could be installed for under $1 million.
If we’d had one in place for Hurricane Milton, the Van Wezel could have avoided almost $10 million in flood damage.
Protecting our city’s crown jewel is the right thing to do, and the Wright thing for Sarasota!
—Mollie Cardamone, former city commissioner
Shame on Sarasota’s Planning Board for approving the mammoth Obsidian tower to be built at 1260 N. Palm Ave.
This absurdly tall structure — by far the tallest in all of Sarasota County — will house a mere 14 ultra-wealthy, likely part-time unit owners while permanently blighting our skyline.
Despite massive opposition from residents, including petitions signed by more than 4,000 citizens, clockwork appearances before the city and even citizen-funded advertising campaigns, the board greenlighted the plan by a vote of 4-1.
The lone dissenting vote? Chairman Dan DeLeo, citing a “tremendous amount of evidence in this record to turn this building down.” And even though one board member stated he “hates this building” and another said it would “shock my wife when I tell her tonight,” they approved the project anyway.
In the coming decades, people will stare at this awful tower and say, “How on earth did THAT get approved?” Our city officials are ignoring the best interests of their constituents.
Perhaps they can learn a lesson from the Sarasota County Commission, which just resoundingly rejected a proposed housing development near the Celery Fields after similar vocal resident opposition. But perhaps they aren’t interested in listening to us at all.
—Thomas Waite, Sarasota
I am saddened by Matt Walsh’s Opinion in the Jan. 23 Observer.
Donald Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States. Walsh is ecstatic. I am not.
I am fearful that our democracy and rule of law are under attack, even since last week with the fusillade of executive orders — essentially unconstitutional decrees that have shut down our government, stopping programs that impact the lives of millions of our fellow citizens and humanitarian services we provide abroad that enhance our security at home.
Not to mention his pardon of the Jan. 6 criminals who are now back among us plotting further violence.
Walsh characterized the Biden-Harris administration and the Obama and Clinton presidencies as “catastrophes” deserving to be shamed “for what they inflicted on American families.”
Unbelievable and untrue.
His screed about Anthony Fauci is equally outrageous. I am thankful that President Biden pardoned him.
The 20 years of the Biden, Obama and Clinton presidencies were times of great prosperity for American families. Clinton left us a robust economy and a balanced budget; Obama led us out of the Great Recession of 2008; and Biden, with Dr. Fauci’s help, led our recovery from the ravages of Covid, a return to a healthy economy and passed historic legislation with unprecedented job growth.
Walsh’s selective memory does not erase these clear benefits to American families as a result of their leadership.
The truth as I see it is that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have left our country far better off than they found it. They deserve our thanks, not vitriol.
America needs unity, not divisiveness, calmness and not disruption.
I urge all Americans to pay attention to what is coming next. Our democracy continues to be at risk
— Raymond Roitman Sarasota
