Bayfront Parcel Sale Hits Snags

If Sarasota City Commissioners want to sell a bayfront parcel on Boulevard of the Arts, it will require an agreement and possible payment to the previous owners.

It turns out that 1000 Boulevard of the Arts has a deed restriction saying that when the city took over the property in April 2001 from Hotel Associates of Sarasota Inc. and Air Rights Developments of Sarasota, the city agreed to leave the site mostly untouched, City Attorney Robert Fournier told commissioners in an e-mail Friday.

In other words, it was meant to be a park when sold. Additionally, the parcel should never be sold to anyone else after the city took it over, the deed states. The deed prevented the city from selling, transferring or conveying the property to another owner. 

Hotel Associates had planned to build the Beau Ciel condos while another developer, had plans for the Quay property that fell through, Fournier wrote.

“If the property were to be sold at this point, the only possible way to effect a sale would be to enter into an agreement with the two Grantors to the effect that they would receive some payment out of the proceeds of the sale in exchange for a release of the restrictions and the reverter rights that they presently hold,” Fournier wrote.

The deed states:

“The Grantee shall not sell, transfer or otherwise convey or attempt to sell, transfer or otherwise convey the Property or the Air-Rights Parcel, shall not use the Property or the Air Rights-Parcel for other than passive recreation purposes and shall not permit or attempt to permit the use of the Property or the Air-Rights Parcel for a use other than a passive recreation use.”

While the city is certainly entertaining the notion of selling the parcel, it’s unclear what an “attempt” might constitute to violate the deed. 

The agreement was in place because the city wanted it to meet the goals of its Downtown Master Plan 2020, Fournier wrote.

City staff had listed the city could sell, and profits would go to pay unfunded pension benefits. The commission gave direction to staff at its April 2 meeting to proceed with research and to start the sale of the properties. The lot was last valued at $1.09 million in 2011.

At the same time, commissioners were eager to look into ways to package the lot with the property for a bigger sale and relocate G. WIZ inland.

Commissioner Shannon Snyder has identified a parcel near Washington Boulevard beside Payne Park that G. WIZ could move to, but the city would not terminate a lease to make that happen, SRQ magazine reported. 

SRQ magazine also reported that if the museum ever did move, it could happen, but with reservations: 

“G.WIZ Executive Director Molly Demeulenaere last week did say G.WIZ might enjoy at some point in the future building a green facility with custom design, but said that would mean leaving behind a facility with a number of custom improvements. G.WIZ continues to stress the importance of the waterfront in its natural sciences exploration programs and science camps.”

Demeulenaere also told The Herald-Tribune that the talks are causing fundraising issues:

"G. WIZ has a $1-a-year lease through 2020, but city officials are hoping to move the organization out sooner so they can sell the property. No official plans have been announced.

But Molly Demeulenaere, executive director of G.WIZ, says she is getting mixed messages from the city, making some donors who finance museum operations hesitant to send money to an organization in limbo.

"We've heard everything, from 'We can't make you any guarantees,' to 'You don't have anything to worry about,'" she said."

Fournier also wrote in his e-mail that he wanted to research the deed for these types of issues before city staff would contact G.WIZ about a potential package deal.

This story has been updated.