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Bruce Franklin was a ubiquitous presence inside Sarasota's City Hall a decade ago.
As president of architecture and land planning firm The ADP Group, he was also a staunch — and at times, fiery — advocate for developers and clearly articulated rules regarding development.
From 2002 to 2009, Franklin was the face of a multitude of proposed downtown projects: Rivolta Group's 13-story Rivo on Ringling condominium tower; Ersa Grae Corp.'s 16-story Plaza at Five Points; a $60 million headquarters planned for Michael Saunders & Co. on Orange Avenue; Irish-American Management Services Ltd.'s $1 billion plan for the former Sarasota Quay site; and the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's headquarters on Fruitville Road.
ADP also worked on projects for Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Arvida Corp., University Park Country Club, Morton's Market and Southgate Mall.
“With his knowledge and expertise, he was very helpful to us,” says Harry Hobson, CEO of the 17-acre senior living complex Plymouth Harbor, which hired ADP in 2006 and most recently turned to Franklin for help on a new $40 million assisted-living and memory care center, set to break ground in December.
“He's my go-to guy whenever we have a planning or development question,” Hobson added. “He always has his clients' interests at heart.”
ADP became so successful that its payroll topped 40 employees, and its billings exceeded $4 million a year.
But when the recession tightened its grip on Florida in the waning years of the last decade, Franklin and his partners believed the downturn would be a long one, and decided the firm's overhead was too large.
ADP closed, and Franklin wasn't seen around City Hall so much.
When Southwest Florida's economy rebounded in 2011, though, Franklin, now 63, dusted off a land planning business that had been part of ADP and began attracting new clients.
Today, working out of Parker Walter Group's architectural offices in Sarasota, Franklin's Land Resource Strategies LLC is once again leading the charge for new development in and around the city.
Downtown, he's working on behalf of Kolter Group's Vue Sarasota Bay condo and hotel towers and a plan to convert the former DeMarcay Hotel to residences. On Longboat Key, Franklin is helping MW Corp. in its bid to resurrect The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.
“People often have a really difficult time getting through the government process, so we help coordinate that,” Franklin says. “I do the same thing I did while at ADP, only now I bring together teams of outside consultants. And I enjoy tackling developers' problems. It's frustrating to some, but I'm accustomed to dealing with regulations, impact fees, procedures and public hearings.”
Franklin hasn't lost his fight, either, as evidenced by the framed, autographed Muhammad Ali souvenir boxing shorts that hang in his office — a gift from a client.
“Local government is often in the business of no, and not how to, I find,” Franklin says. “I don't accept bureaucratic logjams. Tell me what the rules are and what's the prescribed time frame to get something done, and then let's stick with it.”
He also still believes in Sarasota's future, nearly as much as the Cincinnati native did when he first visited in 1978.
“I'm proud of what we've accomplished in this community, despite the naysayers,” Franklin says. “I used to take a lot of heat from people who weren't shy about telling me how they did things in Connecticut or wherever. But to have been a part of Sarasota's growth has been pretty gratifying, and exciting.”
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