Sarasota officials approve $2.5M sale of historic downtown building

As an organization, Architecture Sarasota “stewards the legacy of the Sarasota School of Architecture and provides a forum for the education, advocacy and celebration of good design in the global built environment,” according to its mission statement.

As the future owner of the downtown Sarasota building it occupies at 261-265 S. Orange Ave. — McCullough Pavilion — the organization will be a steward of its own historic property.

Built in 1960, the approximately 7,000-square-foot building on nearly a half-acre has been home to a variety of uses. That includes Barkus Furniture Co. and the office of its architects, William Rupp and Joseph Farrell, which now is the office of Architecture Sarasota President Marty Hylton. 

In its 2024 Sarasota 100/Modern That Matters project, Architecture Sarasota listed the McCullough Pavilion as among the top 100 architecturally significant buildings in the county.

Known as the Scott Building at the time, it was purchased by Sarasota County government in 1999 and converted into a printing and mailing center.

Courtesy image

Courtesy image

Rehabilitated in 2015 through funding from major donor Nathalie McCullough, it reopened under the name McCullough Pavilion as home to Center for Architecture Sarasota, one of the legacy organizations to today’s Architecture Sarasota.

At its Jan. 13 meeting, the Sarasota County Commission, by a 4-1 vote, approved a request to sell the building to Architecture Sarasota for $2.5 million. In her dissent, Commissioner Teresa Mast said the property could get more via the invitation to negotiate process, and that maintaining the site as a single-story commercial building on the edge of an encroaching downtown may not be its highest and best use.

After all, adjacent to the east is the Benderson Development-owned former Sarasota County Administration center and surrounding parking, and across Orange Avenue is a planned mixed-use commercial and residential complex. 

“This building is on the National Register and on the local Register of Historic Places,” countered Commissioner Mark Smith, an architect. “I believe strongly that we need to preserve our history, and that's why I'm in favor … keeping in mind the in-house appraisal is $3.5 million and their offer is two-and-a-half (million).

”I'd also like to remind the board that they put a million dollars already into the building, so they're closer than perhaps it would appear.”

Benderson, in the early stages of developing plans to redevelop the now-vacant county headquarters, had approached the county about buying McCullough Pavilion as well, which triggered the in-house appraisal.

Image courtesy of Julian Cassady Photography

Architecture Sarasota board member and adaptive-reuse expert Howard Davis told the Sarasota Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer, that members of the organization have connections with Benderson and approached the developer about its interest in the property.

“They said it's perfect," Davis said about Architecture Sarasota buying the building. We (Benderson) just really wanted to make sure the perimeter around our project was going to be supportive of what we're doing, and you're a perfect user. You’re a cultural organization. You add to the dynamic street life. We’ve got an open front. There are things going on. If you want to pursue this, go ahead.”

Florida statute permits local governments to engage directly with nonprofits in the disposal of surplus property. That allowed the county to negotiate the sale of McCullough Pavilion without undergoing the public-bidding process. Over the past six months, Architecture Sarasota “got comfortable that we would be able to raise the money,” in order to pursue the purchase. 

“It is truly a win-win,” Davis said, describing the preservation of a structure of historic significance a rare victory. “We preserve a very important building. It provides a perfect permanent home for us. This is an activated use. People come in and out of here. They can walk in and see whatever Marty's got in the gallery right out front. It’s a great use from an urban planning standpoint.”

Once the building is under Architecture Sarasota ownership, some minor enhancements may take place. It has been a decade since the last round of renovations.

“But right now,” Hylton said, “we're just really focused on getting the getting the ink dry on the sale.”

This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.