3,000 signatures to keep the historic performing arts center did not sway the Purple Ribbon Committee.
By Johannes Werner
Original Air Date: May 28, 2025
Host: The originator of keepthevanwezel.com submitted 3,000 signatures. But at its meeting on Tuesday, the panel that will make recommendations to the City of Sarasota—the owner of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall—moved into the opposite direction.
Photo by Harriet Thorpe via keepthevanwezel.com.
Roger Dehus: It is not obsolete in any way, shape or form. It does need support just like any other building in terms of AC, electrical, plumbing, et cetera. It’s located in the same location as you have the Ringling Museum, Ca’ d’Zan—you have buildings there that are actually more precarious than what the Van Wezel is. Are you just going to say “Let’s dump those” because they’re there? The water fence which was used around the Tampa hospital—I was up there when they put it up, and it works, and it is not expensive, and it would solve up to a cat three, cat four, maybe even cat five hurricane.
Johannes Werner: That was Roger Dehus, an architect and builder of hurricane-resistant homes in the area, pleading with the seven-member panel. He said the nonprofit that owns Ruth Eckerd Hall, one of the competitors of the Van Wezel, does not have any intention of doing away with that building even though it sits near the shore of Tampa Bay.
Activist Kelly Franklin submitted more than 3,000 signatures with an online petition on keepthevanwezel.com.
Kelly Franklin: My name is Kelly Franklin. I am a city resident, and I’m here today speaking on behalf of 3,000 of our neighbors—also Sarasotans—who have signed the petition at keepthevanwezel.com. Lots of us have been looking at this question for many years, and this is a people’s resolution summarizing the data you’ve been provided and we’ve been provided and our collective wisdom about what others—experts in the field of architecture—describe as Sarasota’s civic signature.
JW: Franklin read the wording of the petition into the record.
KF: Now, therefore, be it resolved, the people of Sarasota recommend the Van Wezel’s continued use as a presenting hall. Further, the public recommends the City of Sarasota undertake the flood proofing measures and upgrades detailed in Karins Engineering’s 2025 building study and pursue listing of the landmark in the National Register of Historic Places.
JW: The seven-member panel did not have any direct response to those statements. They proceeded to the sole point of the agenda: Reports by members, and massaging those reports into a list of recommendations.
It turned out quickly that most of the committee members were moving in the opposite direction of the Save the Van Wezel advocates. In the last meeting, the discussion was about moving the Van Wezel’s function as Sarasota’s performing arts center to another building. Now, they went beyond that.
First, climate change activist Bob Bunting, with help from David Rovine, convinced his peers to discard Selma Goker Wilson’s suggestion to include historic designation of the building in the list of recommendations.
Bob Bunting: One thing I worried about is that, once this happens, it can slow the process down, and it can be used for saying, “Well, see, it’s a historic building; therefore, we should—” whatever, despite the fact that it’s at risk. When you have historic designations, which it does not have now, that means that other options can be taken so that you don’t have to meet code. It actually ends up, in my view, putting more risk on the very risky situation we’re already in.
JW: The chair decided to move the historic designation recommendation into a footnote.
Then, Chair Charles Cosler presented his summary of suggested recommendations. He determined that finding a re-use is “beating a dead horse” and moved the recommendation to put out a request for proposals to arts organizations into an “additional options” section. He included the recommendation to accelerate construction of a new performing arts center. And he stopped short of calling for a tear-down, but his core recommendations include reducing the building to a shell.
Photo by Harriet Thorpe via keepthevanwezel.com.
Charles Cosler: Re-use of the Van Wezel is impractical due to risk highlighted here and low market demand. Competing with the new PAC is not advised. A financially viable business case for reuse cannot be made currently. The building should be removed from the site as soon as the new Sarasota PAC is completed so the Bay Park is not negatively impacted by the interaction on storm surge and erosion being made worse by the building itself. The Van Wezel site and parking lot is best used as a park.
A possible option for the Bay Park conservancy could be the erection of a smaller roofed structure that would provide shelter for a temporary stage or dance floor. The structure would permit views through to Sarasota Bay and the Ringling causeway, would visually have minimal impact on the Bay Park and would allow stormwater to flow through. Electrical power in the roof would permit the seasonal hanging of lights and sound equipment. Citizens would bring their own lawn chairs and array them on the lawn north of the shell to enjoy entertainment under the stars.
JW: Bob Bunting is the founder of the Sarasota-based Climate Adaptation Center and an advocate for resilience in the face of rising sea levels. When facing pushback from Selma Goker Wilson, he bluntly stated Sarasota would be best off without the building.
BB: Using it as a park—that is a re-use.
Response: That is not.
BB: It is!
Response: When it’s not there anymore, how can it be reused?
BB: It wasn’t there to begin with.
Response: Neither was the park.
BB: It was built in the park, and the best use of that site there, in my opinion, is as park and as buffer for storm surge.
JW: The Sarasota City Commission will discuss the committee’s recommendations July 21 at the earliest. Most likely, the commission will not take any decision before August.
Reporting for WSLR News, Johannes Werner.
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