Marian Anderson property redevelopment plan advances

The transformation of a long-blighted brownfield site owned by the city of Sarasota in Newtown has advanced another step as the City Commission, on second reading, unanimously approved a land use designation change on the property.

At their Feb. 2 meeting, commissioners put their final stamp on a future land use category change of 9.22 acres, at what is called the Marian Anderson site, from Community Commercial to Production Intensive Commercial. 

That clears the way for developer Newtown Gateway LLC to secure a rezoning to Industrial General District, which will enable it to market that southern portion of an overall 13.95-acre parcel for light industrial use such as a warehouse distribution center. 

On the northern 4-plus acres at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way between U.S. 301 and the railroad, Newtown Gateway intends to build 45,000 square feet of medical clinic plus another 51,600 square feet of office space. The light industrial and office space will be separated by a retention pond.

Commissioners approved the amendment with no discussion other than a confirmation of the condition they applied to the petition upon first reading approval on Nov. 3, 2025.

It stipulates, “There shall be no uses or activities in an open-air setting on the site that involve the processing or recycling of refuse or trash and the crushing, breaking, grinding or pulverizing of rocks, concrete, mortar, asbestos, asphalt or substantially similar materials.”

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The partnership of Newtown Gateway includes Miami-based Woodwater Investments CEO Barron Channer and Newtown residents Keith DuBose, Ernie DuBose and Al Davis. It has entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the city to acquire the property — which as a brownfield site will require considerable investment to mitigate contaminants — for $50,000. 

A brownfield site is a property that likely contains the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Long abandoned but used as a debris staging area during the 2024 hurricane season, the property is a formerly non-licensed landfill.

The Sarasota Planning Board held a public hearing on Nov. 3, 2025, when it unanimously approved the future land use change.