City mulls relocation of G.WIZ

No real-estate parcel is more valuable to the city than a vacant sliver of property along the bayfront that sits between the Hyatt Regency, Sarasota and the G.WIZ Science Museum along Boulevard of the Arts.

But commissioners decided to hold off on selling the parcel to interested buyers until its staff assesses if G.WIZ officials would be willing to restructure what left of an approximately seven-year lease with the city and consider relocating the science museum to another location in town.

G.WIZ Executive Director Molly Demeulenaere was surprised to hear the news and said that G.WIZ regularly uses the bayfront as part of its museum activities. Demeulenaere also noted the museum has raised $4 million of its own money for capital improvements to the existing property.

A museum move though, commissioners said, would create a larger downtown bayfront parcel to attract top dollar to help pay down rising unfunded employee health-care costs. In the process, the city could lure an economic project to its bayfront.

Commissioners are weighing the pros and cons of putting some of the city’s real estate up for sale to gain access to some more money during tough budget times.

At Monday’s regular meeting, commissioners decided that six of the city’s top 10 pieces of real estate will be put up for sale (see below).

But Commissioner Shannon Snyder made the suggestion to hold off on the bayfront parcel at 1000 Blvd. of the Arts until the city can talk to G.WIZ about a relocation, which he said would help the city and the museum restructure a better long-term lease.

“The Boulevard of the Arts property is the most robust, but it’s connected to the G.WIZ property,” Snyder said. “We might be able to take that property back and create an investment package for that property as a whole if we take it back and find another location for G.WIZ.”

The vacant .35-acre bayfront parcel the city owns was last appraised at $1.09 million, according to the property appraiser’s website.

Commissioners agreed to hold a future workshop to discuss the topic further.

Mayor Suzanne Atwell, though, said she’s been in discussions with G.WIZ officials for a lease extension and thinks it’s the right time to broach the topic.

“This is a very valuable piece of property, and we really need to be careful what we do with it,” Atwell said. “It could be bigger and better for us, ultimately.”

Commissioners, meanwhile, said the discussion isn’t meant to scare G.WIZ officials.

“They (G.WIZ) do a fabulous job, but we could probably offer them something that would allow them to expand and further their mission in a different location,” Snyder said. “Then we would have a piece of property with a water view right next to a park.”

At its March 19 regular meeting, commissioners told city staff it was willing to sell some city-owned parcels and get them back on the tax rolls in order to generate more cash flow.

City purchasing manager Mary Tucker was given direction to re-zone properties as needed and hire a real-estate agent to market the properties.

A site at 3001 N. Lemon Ave. that currently allows five residential units will be re-zoned to allow for a maximum of 11 units. Another site at 2021 12th St. that has a restricted commercial industrial zoning label will be changed to allow for a wider range of commercial uses. The cost to re-zone the lots, including staff’s time to make the changes, will cost $3,500.

CITY REAL ESTATE

FOR SALE
The Sarasota City Commission approved these city-owned properties to be put on the market after they are appraised:
• 1869 Fourth St.
• 2021 12th St.
• 700 Central Ave.
• 2425 Central Ave.
• 701 Cohen Way
• 1007 N. East Ave.

ON HOLD
The following city-owned properties will not be put on the market until further discussions can be held:
• 1000 Blvd. of the Arts
• 1362 32nd St.
• 3001 N. Lemon Ave.
• 1384 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way