Sarasota Orchestra buys 32 acres to build new music center
By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 2, 2023

The Sarasota Orchestra has purchased a 32-acre parcel on Fruitville Road for $14 million, where it intends to build a new music center.

The purchase of the property at 5701 Fruitville Road represents a “significant milestone” for the orchestra’s project. According to a Sarasota County deed, the sale closed on April 25. The endeavor will feature one of four concert halls for acoustic music in the state, and will be the first of its kind on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

“The need for a music center is existential,” Tom Koski, chair of the orchestra’s board, said in a release. “Like the great halls that have elevated orchestras around the world, Sarasota Orchestra’s music center and its acoustic concert hall are critical to the continued vitality and growth of our organization and furthering the performing arts brand of the region.”

The project is nearly 10 years in the making, and the Sarasota Orchestra will be finalizing both the project scope for the music center and the timeline for the development later this year after completing a fundraising feasibility study, which is underway.

On Jan. 18, Sarasota County commissioners unanimously approved the orchestra’s application for rezoning and special exceptions.

The concert hall will feature 1,800 seats and be “built specifically to showcase acoustic music,” according to the orchestra. It will have a building height of up to 110 feet to optimize acoustics. Plans for the center also include a 700-seat flexible-use performance space, music storage and office space and various rehearsal and practice rooms.

Twelve acres of the project will be devoted to wetlands, water features, natural parks and trails. The other 20 acres will be entirely dedicated to the music center. A conceptual plan on the orchestra’s website shows the main building — which will house the concert hall and the 700-seat recital hall — will be approximately 245,000 square feet. Plans may later include a parking structure and an additional building.

The Sarasota Orchestra was founded in 1949 and currently has 76 members. Each year it has more than 100 performances, and an average of 88,000 people a year attend its live performances.