The Players Centre for Performing Arts has announced that the sale of its property on 9th street and North Tamiami Trail in Downtown Sarasota is completed. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous at this time. The Players has also entered into a two-year lease back agreement. This allows The Players to lease the property as of Oct. 1, 2018 for a full two years, until Oct. 1, 2020. “The Board of Trustees and I are pleased that we can now get on with planning our new state of the art facility in the Waterside development,” says Players Board of Trustees Chairperson Donna Defant.

The timeline for The Players new performing arts complex in Lakewood Ranch’s Waterside Place has shifted since the sale of the property from an initial buyer fell through this summer. Now the theater will invest in the completion of its architectural design for the next six to eight months and break ground in 2019. With community support, the new Players Centre for Performing Arts will be up and running in 2021.

“In the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night’s Dream there is a wonderful quote about love. ‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ I would like to replace ‘true love’ with ‘real estate transactions,’” says Artistic Director Jeffery Kin. “We have been through a bit of a ride with the sale of our property, but it’s only to be expected. Now, we are happy to say that we not only were able to close on the sale of our property, but that the new owner asked us to stay an extra year! So, speaking for the creative side of The Players, we are thrilled! We now have the money to invest in the design of our new building and we have a home until September of 2020.  Exciting times for all of us at The Players Centre!”

Real estate agent Ian Black of Ian Black Real Estate has handled the sale of the property with Jag Grewal, CCIM, partner at Ian Black Real Estate handling the sale for the buyer.