I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to welcome someone to Sarasota.

If you’ve ever driven down North Tamiami Trail, you’ve passed some of the most iconic cultural landmarks. The Ringling Museum. The airport that greets every visitor. And as you continue south toward downtown, you eventually reach the Van Wezel and Sarasota’s cultural corridor. But in between? For a long time, there wasn’t much to connect those dots. There wasn’t much that said: this is a place where creativity lives.

That’s changing. And we’re happy to be part of that change with a project called Artscape.

Artscape is a 75-unit affordable housing community designed specifically for artists, performers, and workers in the creative sector, located at 2309–2329 North Tamiami Trail. It’s a partnership between the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County and One Stop Housing, with the support of $1.2 million from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation. And it’s not just housing. The development will include a gallery and event space operated by the Alliance, a place where residents and the broader community can display and experience art throughout the year. It will also serve as the new home for the Alliance itself.

But let me back up, because I think the more important question isn’t what this initiative is. It’s why now.

We’ve known for years that affordability is a growing crisis for creative workers in this area. The people who paint our murals, who grace our stages, who teach our children to find their voices through music and theater and visual art, many of them are being priced out of the very community they help define. That need hasn’t gone away. It’s only gotten greater.

What’s different this time is that this is locally driven. One Stop Housing brings deep experience and knowledge in affordable housing development, and they sought our expertise within the cultural sector. Just like so many things in the arts, this is something made better through collaboration, a local developer partnering with a local organization, with local philanthropic support, to solve a local problem. That’s why it’s happening now. And then there’s the geography, which I find endlessly interesting.

The North Trail has been trying to find its identity for a long time. Development has stalled; plans have come and gone. But imagine what happens when a project like Artscape anchors that corridor. Imagine driving in from the north and passing the Ringling, John Ringling’s home, his legacy, and then arriving at Artscape, a home for the artists of today. That’s not just a building. That’s a statement about who we are as a community. It’s a beacon that says, welcome to a place that values the people who make our culture possible.

Because here’s what I keep coming back to. Sarasota has long called itself Florida’s Cultural Coast. That’s a beautiful phrase. But a phrase only means something if we back it up with action. Artscape is a meaningful step toward aligning our identity with our values, ensuring that the creative workers who enrich this community have a place to call home in it.

Let’s keep Sarasota a home for creativity, not just a destination for it.

For more information about Artscape, contact the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County at
sarasotaarts.org.

Brian Hersh is the Chief Executive Officer of the Arts and Cultural Alliances for Sarasota County.