Sarasota community theater’s new performing arts center not coming to Lakewood Ranch
Within a month of developer Schroeder Manatee Ranch breaking ground in 2016 for Lakewood Ranch’s newest town center, Waterside Place, Sarasota’s community theater announced it planned to build its new facility there.
The Players Centre for Performing Arts would have been a crown jewel in the dining, shopping and entertainment district with a 70,000-square-foot multi-use venue, a 480-seat main stage auditorium, a 125-seat black box theater, a 100-seat cabaret, and an outdoor events plaza, arrayed around a two-story lobby.
It would cost $30 million, the Herald previously reported, and with inflation, perhaps more.
In the end, fundraising during the pandemic and rapidly escalating construction costs proved too much. The Players recently withdrew plans to build at Waterside Place, and Lakewood Ranch agreed to terminate its agreement with The Players.
William Skaggs, CEO of The Players, said Thursday that his organization is in conversation with the City of Sarasota to relocate its operations and performances to the Municipal Auditorium building on North Tamiami Trail.
The cost of constructing the planned theater proved to be too challenging in inflationary, pandemic times and The Players needed to find a permanent home to relaunch its programming, continuing its 92-year history, Skaggs said.
“In almost every way, it is business as usual and we are preparing to announce our 93rd season,” he said. “Everything is moving along. We are very pleased with where we are.”
Lakewood Ranch and The Players Centre will continue to collaborate on children’s and adult theater programming both at the Sarasota facility and in existing venues on the Ranch, SMR said.
The developer is seeking find a suitable use of the site previously reserved for The Players.
“The Players are an invaluable asset to this region, and while we would have enjoyed their presence in Waterside Place, we believe the new location in Sarasota allows them to expeditiously return to their full programming and build for the future,“ Kirk Boylston, president of LWR Commercial, said in a press release.
“Now that Waterside Place is complete, activated, and more than 80% leased, we are in a much better position to attract a highly impactful and complementary use that will serve our residents. We are just beginning the exploration process,” Boylston said.
