- January 15, 2026
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What began as a project to replace aging and failing pipes and remodel bathrooms at Sarasota City Hall morphed into a 17-month odyssey with the closure of the only public restrooms in the building. That left attendees of City Commission meetings sometimes scrambling to access two available stalls in the attached City Hall Annex and a temporary portable restroom facility parked outside of the building from July 2024 to January 2026.
The duration of the project became the butt of jokes around City Hall, but there was good reason that what was intended as a simple project morphed into a complete remodel at a cost of $659,811.
As workers unearthed the 60-year-old water and sewer lines they found brittle, fragile iron vessels buried beneath the floor, the extent of the deterioration requiring a slow, measured approach to the rehabilitation, according to Communications General Manager Jan Thornburg.
Proper mitigation required erection of temporary walls extending into the City Hall lobby to accommodate digging more broadly and deeply into the ground beneath the building than was anticipated. The result of the project are two new, gleaming restrooms that will greet visitors.
With no fanfare, ribbon cutting or speeches deliverd by city officials, the new facilities opened on Jan. 5.
But be forewarned: the gender-specific rooms were swapped with the men’s room now to the left and women’s room to the right, so be sure to carefully examine the designations before entering.
