Sarasota has a strong tradition of supporting and celebrating our culture and arts. Since the mid-20th century, we have been globally recognized as an epicenter of innovative modern architecture and design, often referred to as the Sarasota School of Architecture. 

Today, the region is experiencing a period of rapid growth and transformation. Over the past two decades, Sarasota County has added over 140,000 new residents. What we choose to preserve, adapt and build will resonate for generations to come. 

This is why Architecture Sarasota created Moderns That Matter – an initiative to identify the Sarasota landmarks – from the iconic structures to everyday places – that gives our community its architectural character and distinct sense of place. 

Launched in April 2023, Moderns That Matter employed a multi-phase approach to assemble and record an inventory of places and spaces that have and continue to define Sarasota. We began this comprehensive strategy by reviewing previous surveys, research, and studies. We also examined archives, existing local landmark nominations, and National Register of Historic Places listings. Through a field survey, our team inventoried approximately 800 properties. Over 580 sites were nominated by residents and others who care about Sarasota through an open call that occurred over 90 days, from November 2023 through January 2024. From a combined list of thousands or properties, the research team assembled the Sarasota 100. 

Reviewed and approved by a panel of external experts, the Sarasota 100 is a representative list of places and spaces organized across 10 categories and representing 100 years of Sarasota’s built and cultural heritage (ca.1925 to present day).

Over the next few years, Architecture Sarasota's education, preservation and advocacy efforts will be focused on the Sarasota 100 sites with half a dozen initiatives and collaborations already underway. For example, Architecture Sarasota is partnering with Ringling College of Arts’s Sarasota Art Museum to explore the feasibility of restoring and adaptively using the former Galloway’s Furniture Showroom by Sarasota School of Architecture designer Victor Lundy. The building was significantly modified in the 1980s and occupied by Vision Works. Architecture students from Hampton University in Virginia are developing concepts for rehabilitating, expanding and repurposing the building. Their work will be part of an exhibition at SAM that will open in July. 

We hope residents and others will join Architecture Sarasota next Wednesday, March 20, 5:30-8:30pm, for the opening of the Moderns That Matter exhibition and announcement of the Sarasota 100, 6:30 pm. 

Morris “Marty” Hylton III is president of Architecture Sarasota. Architecture Sarasota’s mission is to steward the Sarasota School of Architecture and to provide a forum for the education, advocacy and celebration in the global built environment.

Photo courtesy State Library and Archives of Florida: Galloway's of Sarasota in 1960.

Architecture Sarasota

The Argus Foundation last month wrote about the City of North Port increasing city fees dramatically and the lack of transparency as to how that occurred. Unfortunately, we are seeing a disturbing trend in artistically crafted language that seems to be unchecked by the City Commission in terms of accountability, the commission’s main responsibility in city government.

As a reminder, we detailed the inability to secure background on the proposed staff recommendation for North Port city fee increases.  The language as to the justification changed from “Analysis and comparison to local market fee rates” to what the City Manager called, “Unorganized Analysis” after constituents and groups attempted to secure the background and data without success. City Commissioners never publicly asked to clarify this, questioned it, or asked to make this transparent to the public.   

Now, however, we have a different topic and new artistically crafted language carefully used to cover the real situation. 

North Port needs a new and bigger police station. This has been a need but came to the forefront after the current station suffered damage from Hurricane Ian. The City Manager has proposed reallocation of Surtax IV dollars in order to do this.

Surtax IV is the extra penny consumers pay on the purchase of goods, which stays here in Sarasota County for building and paying for infrastructure like government buildings, roads, technology and other capital items. The money goes to the School Board, the county and all of the cities in the county. It is a referendum that comes around every 15 years.

As part of this process, each local government, including North Port, goes through a public process to put together a list of capital projects for the next 15 years that the governments each represent the money will be spent on. They submit those lists to the county and they are attached to the county ordinance that places the referendum on the ballot.

It was last passed in 2022 with the support of the Coalition of Business Associations members leading the way by paying for the campaign to ensure the community understood its importance. The community widely supported this effort and Sarasota County had the highest surtax passage rate in the state in 2022.

Now, the City Manager is proposing, less than two years later, reallocating significant surtax dollars from the publicly vetted project list to the police station. He is proposing to move the projects, Price Boulevard widening phases 2 and 3, and shifting the funding of those projects to the next surtax, Surtax V.

The problem is that there is no Surtax V, and therefore, there is no Surtax V project list. The Argus Foundation submitted a public records request to the City of North Port asking for the “Surtax V project list” and received the response, “The City of North Port has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request.”      

When the City says they would be shifting projects to Surtax V, they are really saying they are UNFUNDING projects, namely two phases of the widening of Price Boulevard, the main east-west artery through the city, but don’t want to say that out loud. That sounds bad after they held out a list of infrastructure promises to voters that enticed them to tax themselves just months ago.

Now, let us be clear, this is a funding source issue, not an issue about supporting the police department or whether they need a new station. This is about the city’s transparency problem and not properly planning for its future. 

This is a wakeup call for City Commissioners. The city fee situation should have been a wakeup call on its own. But now, North Port is risking its infrastructure future, and, with that, the trust of voters for referendums in the future.      

Christine Robinson is executive director for The Argus Foundation. 

Photo courtesy City of North Port.

Gulf Coast Community Foundation has a unique way of keeping the pulse on emerging opportunities in our region. 

Sixty-five members of our community, hundreds of survey responses, and 30,000 discussion notes helped set the course of impact for our 2023 Regional Scan. Gulf Coast has identified affordable housing, water quality and access to green spaces, and mental health as our three priority areas to focus on from the results of the scan. These vital themes set an ambitious agenda for our regional philanthropic work and guide us in developing transformative initiatives to address them.

Seven regional scans have been conducted since 2009 and only one issue rose to the top in all seven — community stakeholders prioritize protecting our natural environment. In 2018, Gulf Coast’s Board of Directors created an Environmental Initiative based on the regional scan data. The initiative's mission is to create a region known for protecting its natural environment and educating its citizens on the benefits of a healthy planet.

I’m proud to say at Gulf Coast we recognize that water quality supports future generations, our quality of life and our local economy. We will advocate for revisions to stormwater and facility maintenance, utility assessment fees and methodologies to focus on long-term water quality. We will also continue to share strategies from our Community Playbook for Healthy Waterways (Water Quality Playbook) at conferences locally and nationally and with governmental decision-makers. The digital Playbook, a living document that is updated regularly with the most up-to-date data, is a direct response to the 2018 prolonged red tide that devastated our region. The Playbook outlines actions that everyone can take to have a measurable impact on water quality. 

We have supported The Bay Park, our one park for all, since its inception in 2013. Our Board recently approved a $1-million grant amplified by anonymous Gulf Coast donors, totaling $2 million in matching dollars available for The Bay Park. This milestone is a challenge match to you, our community and philanthropists, to raise a total of $4 million by Dec. 31: www.thebaysarasota.org/support-the-park. One of Gulf Coast’s many contributions to The Bay is a denitrification trench, an enhancement that uses natural processes to filter and clean rainwater that falls on the site, neutralizing nitrogen pollution before it seeps into the bayou and Bay. The Bay Park is a model for how philanthropy and the community can turn a dream into a thriving outdoor space for everyone.

I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight Gulf Coast’s connection to the Legacy Trail. Our Foundation catalyzed the vision of our communities being connected by a beautiful bike and pedestrian trail. Through initial surveys and engineering, to grants to Trust for Public Land and advocacy work, Gulf Coast has supported the Legacy Trail every step of the way. If you haven’t experienced it, I highly recommend a walk or ride with your family on one of these cooler mornings. 

The Venice Urban Forest improves stormwater management, reduces air pollution, and provides a habitat for wildlife under a 1.75-mile-long tree canopy. Gulf Coast has contributed $500,000 in grants for the Urban Forest, which was matched by Venice Area Beautification, who created and maintain the forest. I invite you to discover the hundreds of native trees and various species of birds when you visit the forest.

With Earth Day approaching in April, together we can create solutions to improve our environment for the benefit of all. I look forward to seeing you at one of these community and environmental gems.

To read Gulf Coast’s 2023 Regional Scan, click here. To learn more about our Environmental Initiative, including additional partners, click here. 

Phillip P. Lanham is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation. 

Photo courtesy of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.