Some of the school’s aspirations have been blocked, but the governor plans to give it the Ringling Museum—and more.
Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: Feb. 5, 2025
Host: New College continues its efforts to expand its campus—with mixed results. In the last months of the Biden administration, the Federal Aviation Administration blocked its bid to buy the airport land most of its eastern campus sits on. On Monday, the land-hungry public college seemed on track to get a major addition when it announced the governor’s intent for New College to take over the art museum that splits the southern part of the bayshore campus. 24 hours later, on Tuesday, a Manatee County Commissioner made a motion that would expand New College northward.
Tal Siddique
Johannes Werner: Tal Siddique is a recently elected newcomer to the Manatee County Commission. On Tuesday, he surprised everyone by seeking a motion for a land swap. In the agenda, he cryptically called his item “New College expansion to Manatee County.” Siddique provided a short description of the college’s intent to expand more into Manatee County, but he did not give any specifics, or that he would ask for any action.
At the meeting on Tuesday, he said that New College apparently wants to swap the Tidy Island property, a 183-acre natural preserve in Sarasota Bay for complete use of the Powel Crosley mansion, the historical building owned by Manatee County north of the current New College campus. And he made a motion for county staff to begin negotiations with the college about this swap.
Tidy Island: In the 1980s, a developer gave New College 183 acres in Manatee County for natural preservation.
The college already straddles the Sarasota-Manatee border, after Manatee County early last year gifted it nine acres in the northern portion of the Powel Crosley property.
But Siddique’s pitch was immediately swatted away by Commissioner Jason Bearden.
Jason Bearden: I’m just gonna be straight up: I ain’t in favor of that, period. That is a jewel for Manatee County—for the constituents—and they own it, and they want to continue to own it, so I promise you you will always have a “no” vote from me regarding that. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
JW: Commissioner Mike Rahn sits on the New College Foundation’s board. He said he had discussions with the college about the swap but that he was not familiar with some details. After Siddique downworded his motion from “negotiations” to “discussion,” Rahn seconded it.
Powel Crosley mansion
But Siddique and Rahn ended up on the losing side, in a 2-5 vote.
The day before, New College announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis in his budget proposal includes four paragraphs about shifting control of the Ringling Museum of Art from Florida State University to New College by Aug. 1. If accepted by the legislature, New College would assume “all duties, responsibilities, and state financial obligations of the Ringling.” That includes the big art museum, its temporary exhibits, the Ca’d’Zan historical mansion, and the circus museums. The complex also includes the Bayfront Gardens, an art library, and a historic theater. It’s not clear how many employees the small college would have to add to administer the Ringling Museum complex, which has been under the wings of the much larger Florida State University since 2000.
Map of New College campus
FSU also administers the Asolo Theater complex across the street.
In an interview with the Observer, State Senator Joe Gruters said the governor plans to eventually fold all of FSU’s operations in Sarasota, as well as the University of Florida’s operations, into New College.
Reporting to WSLR News, this has been Johannes Werner.
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