Presentation to be made during regular commission meeting
On Monday, Aug. 18, the Sarasota City Commission formally will receive the 56-page final report of the Purple Ribbon Committee regarding future uses of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
The committee members conducted meetings for almost two years, focusing on whether the Van Wezel can continue to function in its current capacity until a proposed new Sarasota Performing Arts Center (SPAC) can be constructed, as well as whether the 55-year-old “Purple Cow” would be suitable for other purposes if a SPAC supplanted it.
(In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry on Aug. 13, in regard to whether a date has been set for the City Commission to get an update from the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation on its plans for the SPAC, Jan Thornburg, general manager of the city’s Communications Department, wrote, “A date has not been set at this time.”)
The presentation of the Purple Ribbon Committee’s report is item V on the Aug. 18 agenda, following the routine period for citizens’ comments and the approval of minutes of the July 21 City Commission meeting.
The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at City Hall, which stands at 1565 First St. in downtown Sarasota.
On July 9, when the Purple Ribbon Committee members conducted their last meeting, they discussed details of the final report, making changes in it over a period of approximately three-and-half hours, before approving it for submission to the City Commission.
“The goal of this meeting is to get the consensus of everyone [on the committee],” Jim Shirley, the group’s facilitator, pointed out early on during that session.
(Shirley retired about two-and-a-half years ago after a 13-year tenure as executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County.)
Among the recommendations in the final report are that the city should keep the Van Wezel “operating, optimally, at peak levels as our community performing arts hall until a new PAC is completed and fully operational.”
The committee members also concurred that city leaders should “[i]mmediately continue on-going efforts to dry-proof the [Van Wezel]” in accord with a 2025 evaluation of the structure undertaken by the Karins Engineering firm of Sarasota, so the structure would be protected from future storms.
A section of the report’s Findings explains, “Located 25 [feet] from the bay in a flood zone, the Van Wezel is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes and flooding from torrential rains which are increasing in frequency and intensity. The potential liability from storm damage and interruption of booked presentations extends to the major local arts groups that regularly book the hall, and, potential future booking opportunities. The third hurricane of 2024, Milton, interrupted use for 3 months and required prompt, speedy, and costly remediation. Both the lost revenue, repairs, salaries, and remediation costs added up to nearly $5 million* and more remediation will be funded by a State of Florida grant. For years, hydrostatic pressure on slabs-on-grade, foundations, and lower walls — which is increasing as Sarasota Bay rises — has resulted in chronically wet lower levels that cannot be easily remediated. With the prediction from climate science that summer hurricanes will consistently worsen, this threat imposes an immediate and long-term real danger to the building and its insurability.”
The asterisk in that section refers to the fact that Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel, provided the figure to the committee members.
Another finding points out that the Karins Engineering report “included suggestions for still water floodproofing that included temporary barriers at vulnerable doors and along the glazing of the Grand Foyer and main entrances, back-flow valves, pumping to mitigate the on-going water infiltration, and a temporary perimeter barrier. For storm surge, they proposed a 12’ high breakwater along the perimeter of the bayfront, that may be antithetical to the environmental philosophy of The Bay Park. These floodproofing measures, while based on current code standards, did not include a dual storm surge and wind analysis by category of storm.”
The other recommendations are as follows:
Additionally, the report notes that the committee members “heard many ideas for reuse” of the Van Wezel. Those came from city residents, “several venue and entertainment specialists, and business experts,” it adds.
Nonetheless, that section continues, the reuse “is completely contingent on [the following]”:
The report does list the following examples of “Future Use/Repurpose/Reuse” of the Van Wezel:
Nonetheless, the report adds that should the Van Wezel “sustain unrecoverable storm damage, it would seem prudent to clear and incorporate the site into The Bay Park.”
The report devotes nine pages to climate and weather concerns in regard to the building, including a number of graphics and details of how the Van Wezel was affected by the three 2024 storms that left significant damage in the city — Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, Hurricane Helene in late September 2024, and Hurricane Milton, which came ashore at Big Sarasota Pass on Siesta Key on Oct. 9, 2024 and then made a turn that took it directly over the city.