The foundation and its volunteer board of directors are continuing to search for other sites
The financiers of a performing arts center that wanted to secure a spot in the Northwood Center are pulling out of the deal due to a land dispute and disagreements over the location with the city. This may interest you : Eric Adams Acknowledges Property Owning Brooklyn Real Estate That He Sells.
In a letter obtained Tuesday by the Tallahassee Democrat, philanthropists Michael and Judy Sheridan said their organization would “discontinue discussions to build a performing arts center on the city’s property at the Northwood Center.”
“The Sheridan Center concluded that for land donation, the city had a smaller parcel of land that would not meet the center’s space needs,” the Sheridans wrote in the five-paragraph announcement. “The city’s vision included control of the northern and southern parts of the site to develop urban uses. This included structures on the boundary of Tharpe Street with uses yet to be determined. The city also demanded that the property be attached to the city returned if there were any changes to the use of the center after development. Given the financial commitments made by the Foundation and its donors to develop the center, the Foundation did not agree with these views.”
In an interview with the Democrat Mike Sheridan said: “We’re disappointed it all didn’t work out, but now we need to move on and find a site. It’s been a while since we’ve covered this topic with the city and we need to keep looking .”
When the unsolicited proposal surfaced in December, the Sheridan Foundation asked the city to donate part of the 30-acre Northwood Center as a possible site for the Sheridan Center performing arts complex. The proposal was to build a 26,000 square foot performance center.
Mayor John Dailey, an early supporter of the project who called it “a great opportunity,” said he hadn’t heard of the announcement yet.
In April, as city commissioners discussed how to proceed with the negotiations, Judy Sheridan announced a comprehensive proposal asking her foundation for autonomy over the entire 4.7-acre lot to grow the arts center and add two more locations in the coming years. to build .
During those discussions, she said the center would need the city to build a parking garage and reconsider other potential uses at the site.
Communication between city staff and the foundation further eased the gap. The foundation sought seating and an art park on the frontage of Tharpe Street and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevard. The city expressed concern that those areas would stagnate, be underutilized, and become a hangout on city property as Northwood development took shape.
The letter states that the foundation and its voluntary board of directors continue to look for other sites and welcome suggestions. Judy Sheridan said she found another potential site but couldn’t discuss it because nothing has been formalized.
