Sarasota County this week formally sued
Sanborn Studios, the Lakewood Ranch film
and TV production company once heralded
by business leaders and county and state offi-
cials as a major boost to the region's economy.
According to the county, the company hasn't
lived up to its pledge to create more than 100
high-paying jobs, and the county would like
to get back a major chunk of its $650,000 total
investment in Sanborn.
The county approved the financial incentive
agreement with Sanborn in 2010, when the
company promised to create 117 jobs with an
"average wage" of $72,000 by Sept. 2, 2013.
Sanborn, in turn, agreed to reimburse the
county $2,992 for each job not created by
that deadline.
That Sept. 2, 2013, cutoff came and went,
and, according to the county, Sanborn never
delivered proof it had made available the
positions as promised. As of June 4, accord-
ing to a memo by County Attorney Steve
DeMarsh, "Sanborn Studios has not provided
A still image from a Sanborn Studios project. Photo courtesy sanbornstudiosllc.com
SANBORN STUDIOS SUED
SARASOTA COUNTY FORMALLY SUES COMPANY IT SAYS HASN'T LIVED
UP TO JOB CREATION PROMISES
By Cooper Levey-Baker
Associate Editor
