Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/235968
Sarasota News Leader January 3, 2014 of the L-shaped building itself. Todd Mathes — the director of development for Benderson Development, the company steering the project — tells The Sarasota News Leader the company intends to "reuse a bunch of that existing building," while making "a big investment" in upgrading the structure's aesthetics. It is the last Sarasota County structure designed by nationally known architect William Rupp that has not been "altered beyond recognition." Thanks to a unanimous Sarasota County Commission vote on June 5, the Sarasota School of Architecturestyle building will be transformed from the Page 60 county's central mail center and print shop to the home of the Citylab-Sarasota University of Florida Master of Architecture Program. Located at 261 S. Orange Ave. in downtown Sarasota — a short distance from the County Administration Center on Ringling Boulevard — the structure made its debut in 1960 as a furniture showroom, Guy Peterson, an award-winning Sarasota architect, explains to the County Commission. Peterson's wife, Cynthia, who is heading up the effort to raise the estimated $150,000 in restoration and rehabilitation expenses, notes its uniqueness among Rupp's local designs in having maintained its original look. An aerial view shows the existing Pelican Plaza on South Tamiami Trail. Image courtesy of Sarasota County