Van Wezel’s big parking lot will disappear, to be replaced with park and a one-acre garage.
By Gretchen Cochran
Original Air Date: May 20, 2026
Host: The big parking lot around the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall is about to disappear, and—on top of a big pile of dirt—expect a taxpayer-funded garage to go up. Gretchen Cochran was at a Sarasota City Commission meeting where the leaders of the non-profit that manages the growing Bay Park shared the latest details for Phase 3 of the big park project.
Gretchen Cochran: On Monday, the chief honchos of the Bay Park Conservancy crammed the ever-moving parts of the 40-acre public park into a fast-moving report to the city commissioners. Hang on to your hat.
Here’s A. G. Laffley, the chief executive officer.
The Van Wezel Performing Arts Center sustained significant damage during 2024’s brutal storm season
A. G. Laffley: The purpose today is to preview a balanced, coordinated and, we believe, integrated plan to complete the Bay Park and the site buildout in the next three and a half years, time up that development with renovations and rehabilitation that’s going to be going on at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and time it up with the building of a parking garage.
GC: The news of the day, he said, was that The Bay Park Conservancy intends to trade its eight acres of polluting asphalt parking lot for a one-acre parking building. That to-be-vacated lot is where folks park their cars when they attend events at the Van Wezel.
Rendering of the proposed SPAC. Photo courtesy of City of Sarasota
But there was more news in his progress report. It was his assumption that construction would begin on a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center in 2030. While the city has given its encouragement, it has not inked a contract for the new performing arts hall. It is estimated to cost $200 million. Still, new SPAC or not, the 700-space parking lot has to go, and Van Wezel attendees will need a place to park their cars and school buses.
The 53-acre park property sustained $1 million in damage from Hurricane Milton, said Diana Shaheen, Chief Operating Officer of the Bay Park Conservancy. To combat future storms, the park’s ground must be raised, Laffley said.
AGL: One of the single best ways to combat sea-level rise and storm surge is to elevate. The higher you are from mean water in the bay, the better off you are during a storm condition.
GC: Truckloads of rocks and dirt will be hauled in to raise the park’s center to 19 feet above sea level. The new garage is expected to sit atop that hill and hold 700 to 750 vehicles. Its design will go to the city commission by the end of this week, Laffley said, hoping for approval in July.
Shaheen had more news, addressing it to Mayor Debbie Trice:
Diana Shaheen: You may not know this. In April of 1964, then-mayor Herschel Hayo dedicated the area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center as Plaza Santa Domingo in recognition and dedication of Sarasota’s sister city, which is the capital of the Dominican Republic. He called it—the quote he did as part of that dedication said, “It is the very hub of our civic life.” Seems pretty appropriate, so we will call that area when we open it up in October “The Plaza.”
GC: The plaza-to-be is that area between the Municipal Auditorium and the Art Center.
Funding for all this is complex. The total cost, not including the SPAC, is expected to approach $200 million with some help from the county commissioners. Laffley will return to them in the fall to formally request more help, Jennifer Jorgensen, acting city manager, said in a memo to the commissioners. The park’s funding, like much else, is fragile due to the Florida legislature potentially cutting personal property taxes, a major funding source for government services.
Van Wezel will be closed September 2027 for major work inside. That’s when Laffley wants construction on the garage to begin. That’s also when the new restaurant to be managed by the Venice Pier Group should be open.
All these moving parts making your head spin? Ours, too. Keep checking back, and we’ll keep you posted on what’s next.
For WSLR, this is Gretchen Cochran
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.