With its long-heralded reputation as the cultural capital of the Gulf Coast, Sarasota continues to attract well-heeled arts lovers looking to purchase a second or retirement home in a place with plenty of entertainment and cultural options. The irony lies in the fact that it is nearly impossible for all but the most established and successful artists of today to make enough from their art to be able to afford living here.

In an effort to address that dichotomy, One Stop Housing has joined forces with the Arts Alliance of Sarasota County to develop Artscape, an affordable housing community specifically designed for artists, performers and employees within the creative sector. Proposed for a 1.75-acre site already owned by One Stop at 2309-2329 North Tamiami Trail on the south edge of the Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores neighborhood, the innovative project will provide 75 below-market rental apartments in four stories, along with a new three-story home and event area for the Alliance, which currently shares space with multiple other organizations in the Arts & Humanity Center at 12th Street and Tamiami Trail.

“From the time I took over this role, I always said arts issues are community issues and a significant issue in Sarasota is affordable housing,” said Brian Hersh, who became the Alliance’s CEO in June 2023. “There needed to be a space for artists in our community and we needed to be a part of the conversation. I talked about this message with everyone I came into contact with. And when you plant those seeds, eventually they come to fruition.”

The project is modeled after one Mark Vengroff, CEO and managing partner of One Stop, developed in Manatee County in collaboration with eight local employers looking for affordable housing for staff members. Vengroff, who’d previously received gap funding from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation for a project in DeSoto County designated for teachers, approached Matthew Sauer, Barancik’s Collaboration and Impact Officer, asking if the foundation would be interested in supporting something similar in Sarasota on the North Trail property.

Instead of teachers, Barancik chose to focus on the artist community, providing a $1.2 million grant to get the project off the ground. Sauer introduced Vengroff to Hersh, who in turn provided connections to local arts leaders.

Arts organizations that help contribute to the $10 million in philanthropic dollars necessary to complete the approximately $14 million project will receive priorities on residential units for their employees or other specific populations. (Barancik has already designated its priorities to go to the general artist public, as may other donors.)

“I’ve never done anything with the artist community, so this is really exciting because Sarasota is so well known for its arts and I know a lot of our artists are really struggling due to the unaffordability of housing,” Vengroff said. “So if we could partner with these groups, what a way for us to give back to what has made Sarasota so magical.”

The block and steel building will be situated on the west side of Tamiami Trail, just north of the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsey and midway between downtown Sarasota and The Ringling Museum/FSU Center for Performing Arts complex, where the Asolo Repertory Theatre and The Sarasota Ballet perform. (Current residents of the small vintage apartments now on the lot will be relocated to other One Stop housing elsewhere.)  Its location across from the Ringling College of Arts and Design and next to public transportation will provide easy accessibility and the large south-facing wall, where a four-story mural is planned, will announce to residents and visitors alike the creative city they are entering/exiting.

The development will be constructed and managed by One Stop, which does everything from site preparation to property management, while the Alliance will operate its offices and oversee the 2,500 square foot gallery and event space. The one-bedroom and studio apartments (some of which have a small den) will rent on one-year leases to those with incomes about 60 percent of AMI (average median income, from about $60,000 for a single person to $77,500 for a three-person household). Rents will range from approximately $1,100-1500 per month including utilities; the Alliance will rent its 2,700 square-foot office space for just $1 per year.

Vengroff said his organization’s ability to handle everything in house allows for construction at 40 percent of market rate and also for keeping rents low and stable over time. In addition he is working on creating a “savings vehicle” from rental incomes — something like a 401K — that will allow residents to weather an emergency or build some financial security for future purchases, such as a home. In order to sidestep income restrictions, the project will not utilize any federal or state grants.

“That’s significant because it means we understand what it means to be a freelancer as an artist,” Hersh said. “We want to have more flexibility to make sure our artists feel safe and welcome.”

Hersh emphasizes, however, that this is permanent housing for long-term residents, dissimilar to the apartments some local arts organizations offer to visiting artists participating in a particular show or program.

“These are dedicated for people who are living and working here full time,” he said. “They are not for people on fixed incomes who moved here and enjoy doing watercolors. They are for people who are dedicating their lives to an arts career and to making their living in the arts sector.”

As of yet, no specific criteria has been set for eligibility, but Hersh knows demand will be great and fully expects that “by the time it opens, there will probably be a waiting list.”

For a project where success will rely on community collaboration, Artscape took a proactive approach to introducing the development to its future neighbors. Vengroff met with leadership of the Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores Association to address the neighborhood’s concerns about potential parking impacts.

There will be resident parking behind the building, which fronts Tamiami Trail, but with city density bonuses for affordable housing, only .89 parking spaces per unit will be required (as opposed to 1.5 for non-bonus development). This means there will likely be overflow to nearby neighborhood streets (especially during events), many of which have no sidewalks or curbs in front of homes.

After Vengroff reached out, One Stop, the Alliance and the association agreed to a memorandum of understanding that IBSSA’s Vice President Kevin Spence characterized as a “win win.” Among the terms: Tenants who live in the building will become members of the association through their rental fees, bolstering the association’s budget and the association will have access to the event space for their meetings twice a year. In return, the association will provide space in its newsletter to promote both Artscape and the Whimsey Museum (which can provide overflowing parking when necessary) and welcomes Artscape tenants to participate in all IBSSA community events and gatherings.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the transparency and good will that Mark Vengroff and Brian Hersh brought to the table,” said Spence. “We look forward to the completion of this well envisioned project and to meeting our new neighbors.”

One Stop recently filed for preapproval with Sarasota’s Development Review Committee and is currently working through site plan approval, which will take “from nine to 12 months depending on how quick the city moves,” Vengroff said. Once construction begins, the project will take 18-24 months to complete, but the philanthropic money needs to be “in hand,” to start construction, he said, something he is confident will be the case.

“The amount of money to raise is not that big compared to the benefit,” Vengroff said.

Despite the history of a previous project to develop affordable artist housing on the North Trail having fallen short of that goal, Hersh feels certain this project will have a different outcome. Over a decade ago, Artspace, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit real estate developer that operates and manages more than 50 affordable artist live/work spaces around the country, visited Sarasota and gave the green light to a project here. However, the necessary public and philanthropic support and funding never materialized and the idea died a quiet death.

“I can’t say what prevented that,” Hersh said, “but what I can say now is there is a partner and a builder, the land is there and we have initial community support. I think one of the keys and advantages is that this is a locally driven project. There’s already been a commitment that will help give us the lift off this needs to happen.”

And if, and when, it does, it will help correct an imbalance within the arts community that has existed for far too long.

“We want to make sure Sarasota isn’t just an arts destination for people,” Hersh concluded, “but a home for people who are making a living in the sector that is a vital part of our identity.”