Sarasota County closes business at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

With staff having already vacated in preparation for the final move to its new administration center, the Sarasota County Commission gaveled out its final meeting there on Oct. 21.

By Andrew Warfield
| 5:00 a.m. October 28, 2025

The meeting chamber at the former Sarasota County Administration Center now stands empty after the final County Commission meeting held there on Oct. 21.

Sarasota
News

With the sharp rap of the gavel by Chairman Joe Neunder and a smattering of applause, the final meeting of the Sarasota County Commission at 1660 Ringling Blvd. came to an abrupt conclusion.

It was the last of 30 years of day-long meetings dating back to 1995 held in the former GTE building, after the county moved its administration center a few blocks west from the Terrace Building at the corner of Ringling Boulevard and South Washington Avenue.

Chairman Joe Neunder prepares to tap the gavel to close the final Sarasota County Commission meeting at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

The entrance to the meeting chamber at the now-vacant Sarasota County Administration Center at 1660 Ringling Boulevard.

Meeting complications characterized why the county is vacating the building and surrounding property it sold to Benderson Development for $25 million in 2021. Technical glitches with the live stream caused the recording to be shortened, indicative of the mounting maintenance needs, estimated at $32.5 million over 20 years in 2021, that rendered remaining there non-viable.

For the foreseeable future, all commission meetings will be at the South County headquarters in Venice as the county awaits completion of its new administration center at 1 Apex Road in Fruitville Commons, just a few hundred yards northwest of Celery Fields.

The county was to vacate the downtown building and move into the new $75 million, 120,000-square-foot facility by the end of the year, but construction delays have moved occupying the new space to a date uncertain. Until then, staff have moved into multiple temporary locations.

Redevelopment plan still unknown

Benderson Development has been mum about its future plans for the 5.3-acre former Sarasota County Administration Center site since October 2023. That’s when it hosted a three-day planning charette , an intensive visioning process, with community stakeholders.

The developer is planning a mixed-use project on the site, although it has yet to come forward with any details. But if the charette provides any indication, what may eventually emerge is:

Option A: 123,360 square feet of hotel space, 4,800 square feet of retail and 388,100 square feet of residential over more than 341 units and more than 540 parking spaces.
Option B: 188,970 square feet of office space, 8,600 square feet of retail and 295,400 square feet of residential over more than 250 units and more than 640 parking spaces.

Or neither.

Both options presented at the end of the charrette included preserving and repurposing at least a portion of the structure.

Beyond the building and the immediately surrounding parking lot, the property sits between Ringling Boulevard and the Laurel Park neighborhood and includes parking lots south of Morrill Street and east of Pine Place.

The end of the final meeting in the venerable room left some commissioners waxing nostalgic.

“I've walked these halls as an employee, as a county commissioner and as just a regular resident and citizen,” said Teresa Mast. “It’s very creepy to walk through these halls right now because the building is really quiet and empty. There have been a lot of incredible memories made here and I look forward to many more in the new building.

“It's truly just been an honor to be able to say at this last meeting in this building, we are moving on bigger and better things.”

Ron Cutsinger recalled his first meeting in the chamber nine years ago as a member of the Planning Commission, feeling intimidated sitting at the expansive dais facing the public.

“If anyone wonders about whether or not Sarasota County is efficient with their dollars, we’re sitting in the original seats that were here in this building when it was originally put into service,” Cutsinger said. “It’s been a great experience, and for me it wasn't so much about the building. It was about the staff, the circumstances, the people and that carries a lot of good memories, but I'm looking forward to the new office.”

Not all commissioners are as enamored by the 1660 Ringling building. Mark Smith, an architect, said he is looking forward to the new space, describing it as “employee centric,” and the now-former headquarters as anything but.

The new 120,000-square-foot Sarasota County Administration Center will be next to Celery Fields in Fruitville Commons just east of I-75.

“This building has always been awful,” Smith said. “When I got elected, I thought I was sentenced to that awful little office with the narrow window. If I stood on my desk I could see the Post Office, and to those of you all who have been sentenced here longer than I have, the new building is amazing.

“I’m not sad to see us go. We're on to much, much better things ahead, and I'm looking forward to moving into the new building.”

Sarasota County commissioners and administrators toss the ceremonial sand at the groundbreaking for the new county administration center. The construction began in 2023 and is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The new Sarasota County Administration Center boasts a clear view of what Neunder calls “cardiac hill” at Celery Fields, which coincidentally the county also purchased in 1995, converting the former farmland into a stormwater collection zone, bird sanctuary and nature park.

In addition to the new, modern meeting chamber, the new building will house offices of the county administration, county attorney, clerk and comptroller, communications, human resources, libraries and historical resources and financial management. Other facilities will include Access Sarasota television studio, conference rooms, break rooms and a wellness center.

The Sarasota County Seal in floor tiles remains in the foyer at the 1660 Ringling Blvd.

And unlike the now-vacant administration center, it will come with some pleasant views. Smith said the commissioners’ offices will have a view of the parking lot and beyond toward Fruitville Road and that of the staff, deservedly so he said, of Celery Fields.

No standing on a desk to see outside required.

Neunder closed the final 1660 Ringling Blvd. meeting with some parting thoughts of his own, recalling how the former GTE building impressed him as a child with its blue lettering on a white background lit up at night.

“It's a new chapter in the history of Sarasota County,” Neunder said. “I do believe we're all very excited to be part of that. But with this final ceremonial stroke of the gavel, we do close a chapter in Sarasota County's history, and as preparations continue for our final move to the new county administration center, we carry forward the legacy of service and leadership that began right here in these chambers.

“This meeting is adjourned.”

Big decisions

Some of the most consequential decisions made by the Sarasota County Commission while meeting at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

2007: Commissioners first approved a version of the University Town Center plans in January, then in July 2007 allowed for a large-scale retail, office and residential project. The mall broke ground in October 2012 and opened in October 2014.

The Sarasota County Commission approved major renovations to Ed Smith Stadium in 2009 which was completed in 2012.

2009: Built in 1989, commissioners approved the county taking ownership of Ed Smith Stadium and for the Baltimore Orioles to move their spring training there, leading to a major renovation project in 2010.
2014: Commissioners approved the Lakewood Ranch Waterside Village mixed-use development, initiating the sprawling community’s move south of University Parkway into Sarasota County. The project included the extension of both Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Lorraine Road to Fruitville Road.
2017: Commissioners approved the operating agreement for CoolToday Park, which included a 30-year, non-relocation agreement with the Atlanta Braves to hold spring training there. Built in North Port, construction of the stadium began in October 2017 and opened in March 2019.
2019: Commissioners approved new district maps that led to a federal civil rights lawsuit, which was ultimately dismissed. The redistricting was alleged to have politically motivated goals.
2019: County commissioners approved the Mote SEA at the UTC location in January with an omnibus agreement for the project. Subsequent approvals were granted in the following years, including amendments to the comprehensive plan in August 2021 and the final conveyance of the land in July 2022. The aquarium opened in September 2025.
2020: By a 3-2 vote, commissioners approved a 30-year tax-increment financing plan in collaboration with the city of Sarasota and the Bay Park Conservancy to fund the creation of The Bay park.
2021: Commissioners approved the critical area plan for Wellen Park, which allowed for the development of nine communities. Although originally known as West Villages, rebranding to Wellen Park occurred in 2020.
2021: Commissioners approved sale of 1660 Ringling Blvd. and surrounding properties to Benderson Development with the final sale documents signed on Dec. 30, 2021. The county agreed to sell the building for $25 million and leased the property back for four years.

author

Andrew Warfield

Andrew Warfield is the Sarasota Observer city reporter. He is a four-decade veteran of print media. A Florida native, he has spent most of his career in the Carolinas as a writer and editor, nearly a decade as co-founder and editor of a community newspaper in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.