Foundation presents Renzo Piano concept and $300 million estimate for new performing arts center

The Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation presented Concept Design 2 for a major performing arts center and told the Downtown Improvement District board the project now carries an estimated price tag of about $300,000,000. Tanya Castroverdi Moskalenko, the foundation's chief executive officer, said the figure includes building construction and roughly $10,000,000 for site preparation and noted costs are rising monthly.

Moskalenko outlined the site plan and program: a 2,200-seat main theater, a 300-seat multipurpose performance and education space, and a flexible community space with donor lounge. The presentation emphasized integration with Bay Park and the use of transparency and color to reduce the building’s visual mass. "The project cost right now stands at about $300,000,000," Moskalenko said during her remarks.

Why it matters: the project would be a major capital investment for Sarasota and for Bay Park’s long-range use, and Minneapolis–sized cost increases since the initial concept make timing and funding strategy central. Moskalenko said the foundation will return to the city commission after the summer hiatus to request approval of an implementation agreement. That document would trigger schematic design and open the door to a capital campaign for philanthropic support.

Board members asked about financing and program details. Moskalenko said soft costs and studies to date have been funded largely by the foundation—"close to $10,000,000," she said—covering site studies, demographics, concept design and owner's-rep fees. She identified the owner's representative as Paradis Group (recently rebranded as Rhine Consulting Group) and said the foundation coordinated with Bay Park leadership so designs were integrated. On Van Weisel Hall, Moskalenko said the city will decide whether to retain and operate that building and that the foundation would consider operating multiple venues if the city requests it.

On scale and operations, the presenter said the final business plan will be updated for the 2,200-seat design and provided comparative operating figures from other regional centers: when earlier designs increased seating to 2,700, annual operating-cost estimates used in prior business plans were in the mid-to-high tens of millions (the presenter cited a range near $36–40 million for that larger configuration); a finalized business plan reflecting the current seat count was expected in a few weeks.

Next procedural step: Moskalenko said the foundation expects to return to the city commission after the summer break to seek approval of the implementation agreement that would authorize schematic design. If the commission approves that agreement, the foundation intends to launch a capital campaign for philanthropic funding.