Friends of Seagate Inc. was founded in the late 1980s by Kafi Benz as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Sarasota, Florida. The historic preservation group lead local efforts protect historic property in the Sarasota-Bradenton area from commercial development. The group later expanded its scope to include environmental conservation. Its most notable project was the preservation of Seagate, the former home of Cincinnati, Ohio, industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. and his wife, Gwendolyn, and its later owners, Mabel and Freeman Horton. (Horton was a civil engineer who proposed the construction of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay.) In 2002 the organization tried to secure Rus-in- Ur'be, an undeveloped parcel of land in the center of the Indian Beach Sapphire Shores neighborhood, as a local park; however, as of 2014, real estate developers intend to build condominium units at the site.
In the late 1980s Kafi Benz founded the Friends of Seagate, a nonprofit historic preservation organization, [1] to champion the preservation of portions of Seagate, a historic, 64-acre (26-hectare) property in Manatee County, Florida. [2] [3] [4]
The Friends of Seagate is best known for its efforts to preserve the Seagate estate along Sarasota Bay. The bay-front property was acquired by the State of Florida in the early 1990s. The present-day, 16.5-acre (6.7-hectare) Powel Crosley Estate serves as an event rental facility. [5] A 28.4-acre (11.5-hectare) parcel of the property is the present-day site of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. [6] Seagate's distinctive weathervane atop it tower was th inspiration for the organization's logo.[ citation needed ]
Following public acquisition of the Seagate property, the nonprofit organization's objectives expanded to include broader community development, conservation, and preservation issues that involvedg other archaeological, artistic, cultural, built and natural environmental, and historical concerns. [7] Lake Underwood, a patron to Friends of Seagate, provided much of the funding and equipment for the expansion of the organization.[ citation needed ]
Platted as a residential subdivision named Sea Gate in 1925, Cincinnati, Ohio, industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. acquired the property that became known as Seagate in 1929. Crosley had a two-and-a-half-story Mediterranean Revival style house, built on the site on Sarasota Bay for his wife, Gwendolyn, who died there in 1939. Crosley rarely used the home after her death and sold the property in 1947. [2] [8] [9]
Seagate changed ownership several times, and several unsuccessful plans were submitted for its commercial development, until a local campaign for its preservation resulted in the property's public acquisition. Subsequent owners included Mabel and Freeman Horton, who was a civil engineer who proposed the construction of the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay. The Horton family lived at Seagate from 1948 until 1977. [9] [10] The Campeau Corporation of American purchased Seagate in the early 1980s for development into a condominium project, but the condominium market in Florida collapsed shortly after Campeau acquired the property and the company's plans to convert the home and auxiliary buildings into a clubhouse and headquarters of the development were never realized. However, the company was successful it its efforts to have the Crosley estate was formally added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1983. [2] [11] [12]
In 1990 the State of Florida acquired the property, which was divided into two portions. The bay front residence and 16.5 acres (6.7 hectares) were overseen by Manatee County, Florida. The much larger, eastern portion of the property along Tamiami Trail was overseen by New College and University of South Florida until their separation and the resulting development of this portion into a new satellite campus for the university.
In the late 1980s Kafi Benz founded Friends of Seagate Inc., a local, nonprofit preservation organization, and initiated a campaign for Seagate's preservation. Benz and her group also began a fundraising effort for its acquisition. [13] Benz, the Friends and Seagate, and area residents successfully opposed several proposals for the property's commercial development. [14]
Prior to the property's public acquisition in the early 1990s, the property was assessed for its archaeological, architectural, biological, cultural, environmental, and historical aspects. Dudley E. DeGroot, [15] a member of the Friends of Seagate board of directors, led an archaeological survey of the area that Benz conducted and registered. [16] Jerris Foote, a fellow director with Benz of the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, Inc., also participated in the survey..[ citation needed ] The archaeological survey was provided to Frank Perkins IV, [17] the Manatee County property appraiser, for inclusion in the assessment and proposal for Seagate's public acquisition.[ citation needed ]
In 1990 the state of Florida acquired the property, which was divided into two parcels. The Manatee County Commission paid $1.6 million in 1991 for the bay-front residence and 16.5 acres (6.7 hectares) of land, intending to preserve and renovate the property. The present-day Crosley Estate has been restored. It is used as a meeting, conference, and event rental venue. sometimes referred to as the Crosley mansion. The estate is aided by fundraising efforts of the Crosley Estate Foundation. [5] The University of South Florida controlled 28.4 acres (11.5 hectares) of the property, which it acquired for $2 million for future expansion if a satellite campus for the Tampa-based university along Tamiami Trail. [9]
The design process for the University of South Florida's satellite campus (the present-day University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee) was extensive. Kafi Benz participated in a design charrette that lasted several days, providing tours of the property and suggesting many details to the design team. The location of the campus's three-story building is derived from a plan that Benz proposed, which included use of open space on the parcel of land in order to preserve the uplands slash pine forest that dominated the eastern portion of the property. Although Benz's initial design plan was built, the university sacrificed the pine forest to reduce costs. Instead of constructing a planned parking facility, the university created surface parking. Except for a small stand in which gopher tortoise habitat existed, most of the mature pine trees were lost to a clear-cut of the land that would become the campus parking lot. A new entrance driveway also divided a small stand of pine trees. The driveway was elevated to accommodate tunnels designed for animals to use to avoid crossing the roadway. The former wetlands on the property was excavated to create a storm-water retention area landscaped to resemble a lake. Oak seedlings were planted in the landscaped islands created among the rows of asphalt. The university projected that it would outgrow the facility within twenty years.[ citation needed ]
An eagle nest found on the Seagate property was registered through Florida's department of environmental protection. It was designated as nest "Number Nine" for Manatee County after the state completed its assessment. Photographer Arthur E. "Mike" DeLoach, a board member of Friends of Seagate, assisted with the documentation.[ citation needed ]
In addition, the property was the subject of other environmental studies that indicated the habitat supported two populations of gopher tortoise; the concomitant animals associated with that habitat, such as indigo snakes; and the registered eagle nesting site. Other birds associated with the site include hawks, osprey, owls, woodpeckers, and waders, such as the roseate spoonbill. A great rookery of herons and egrets also took advantage of the isolated property. Horseshoe crabs used the secluded beach as a breeding location.[ citation needed ]
A small portion of the natural habitat remains to the north of the Crosley home, beyond the yacht basin. A narrow beachfront extends into the bay from a steep bank that was enlarged by fill that was dumped from dredges for access to the basin beginning in 1929. Beyond the fill are a few exotic trees introduced for flood control and landscape value, but native vegetation remains among a few invasive species. Longleaf pine as well as second growth slash pine of great age remain in undisturbed areas. Plans for potential use of the remaining portion of the property must be presented to the county government officials for review.[ citation needed ]
In November 2002 the Friends of Seagate partnered as the nonprofit environmental entity with the Sarasota municipal government as the eligible local governmental entity for a grant of $1,505,625 through the Florida Communities Trust's "Florida Forever Program," a state conservation and recreation lands acquisition grant program. The partners intended to hold the Rus In Ur'be property in the center of the Indian Beach Sapphire Shores neighborhood of Sarasota for use as a local park. The grant request was approved as part of the Series FF2 funding cycle, [18] but the partners were unable to acquire it before the land was sold for private development. [19]
The parcel of more than 11 acres (4.5 hectares) contained a wooded and undeveloped land, wetlands, a tennis court, and a Sarasota School of Architecture structure that served as a private clubhouse or recreational lounge for a bay-front home on Bay Shore Road opposite the property. (The Bay Shore Road home was sold separately from the Rus In Ur'be and held by a real estate developer.) The timber-framed clubhouse of pecky cypress included a roof with glazed blue Japanese ceramic tiles and expansive glass partitions along the western elevation, facing the tennis courts.
The clubhouse structure and the tennis courts were demolished. The property was subsequently cleared and surveyed, then platted for development with single-family homes. A private road was paved through the parcel, but no structures were built prior to the downturn of the real estate market as the speculation boom of the 1990s and 2000s collapsed.[ citation needed ] Other development projects have been proposed for the vacant parcel of land, but local residents opposed them. Some of the neighborhood residents still wanted the remaining undeveloped property to be a community park; however, a real estate developer purchased two parcels of vacant land in 2014, intending to build single-family homes and condominium units on the sites. [20]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) See also: Caranna, Kenyn (November 30, 1990). "Eagle Find Has Growth Foes Flying High". Bradenton Herald. Bradenton, Florida: B1.
Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest city is Bradenton. The county was created in 1855 and named for the Florida manatee, Florida's official marine mammal. Features of Manatee County include access to the southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and the Manatee River.
Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, FL metropolitan statistical area.
Bradenton is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Downtown Bradenton is along the Manatee River and includes the Bradenton Riverwalk. Downtown Bradenton is also home to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature.
Whitfield, also known as Whitfield Estates, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,989, up from 2,882 at the 2010 census. It is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. It receives its mail from the Sarasota post office located in Sarasota County.
Sarasota is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Greater Tampa Bay Area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sarasota is a principal city of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842, up from 51,917 at the 2010 census.
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is a public use international airport located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota, and Manatee County, all in the U.S. state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Downtown Sarasota and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bradenton.
Powel Crosley Jr. was an American inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur. He was also a pioneer in radio broadcasting, and owner of the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team. In addition, Crosley's companies manufactured Crosley automobiles and radios, and operated WLW radio station. Crosley, once dubbed "The Henry Ford of Radio," was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2010 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2013.
State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota (SCF) is a public college with campuses in the Manatee and Sarasota counties of Florida. Part of the Florida College System, it is designated a "state college" because it offers a greater number of bachelor's degrees than community colleges. SCF is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Founded in 1957 as Manatee Junior College, it was known as Manatee Community College from 1985 to 2009.
Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy.
The Sarasota metropolitan area is a metropolitan area located in Southwest Florida. The metropolitan area is defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) consisting of Manatee County and Sarasota County. The principal cities listed by the OMB for the MSA are North Port, Bradenton, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 833,716. The Census Bureau estimates that its population was 891,411 in 2022.
Dudley Sargent DeGroot was an American athlete and coach, primarily of American football. He served as the head coach for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1944 and 1945, tallying a mark of 14–5–1; his winning percentage of .737 is the best in franchise history for coaches with at least one full season. DeGroot was also the head football coach at Santa Barbara State College—now the University of California, Santa Barbara—from 1926 to 1927, San Jose State University (1932–1939), the University of Rochester (1940–1943), West Virginia University (1948–1949), and the University of New Mexico (1950–1952), compiling a career college football head coaching record of 117–67–9. In addition, he served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1947.
The University of South Florida Sarasota–Manatee is a branch campus of the University of South Florida in Sarasota, Florida. USF Sarasota-Manatee was established in 1975 as a regional campus of the University of South Florida and gained separate accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and master's degrees in June 2011. It was consolidated with the other two USF campuses as of July 1, 2020. Day, evening, weekend and online classes serve more than 14,000 students annually.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Manatee County, Florida.
Owen Burns was an American entrepreneur, banker, builder, and land developer who at one time owned the majority of the land comprising Sarasota, Florida. He developed or built many of its historic structures, developments, roads, seawalls, and bridges. He became a leader in the community, contributing to its growth and development. He was born in Fredericktown in Cecil County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Kafi Benz is an American author and artist who began participation in social entrepreneurship through environmental preservation and regional planning in 1959 as a member of the Jersey Jetport Site Association, which opposed plans by the New York Port Authority to found a new airport in the Great Swamp, the central feature of a massive 55 square mile watershed in New Jersey bounded to the south and east by the Watchung Mountains, 25 miles west of Manhattan.
M. Leo Elliott was an architect known for his work in Tampa, Temple Terrace and Sarasota, Florida. His designs include the public buildings and first eight houses in the City of Temple Terrace, Florida (1921), Ybor City's Centro Asturiano de Tampa, Old Tampa City Hall, Osprey School, two buildings that were part of Florida College and the original Temple Terrace Estates, Masonic Temple No. 25 (1928), the original 1926 Sarasota High School and Historic Spanish Point. Several of the properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
DeSoto Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall serving Bradenton, Florida, United States. It was built in 1973 and permanently closed on April 30, 2021. One lone anchor store, Hudson's Furniture, remains open.
The earliest known identification of the area known today as Sarasota, Florida, was identified on a sheepskin Spanish map from 1763 with the word "Zarazote" written over the location of present-day Sarasota and Bradenton. A 1776 British map by Bernard Romans lists a "Boca Sarasota" in the local area.
Seagate, is located along Sarasota Bay in Manatee County, Florida, and was the former winter estate of Powel Crosley Jr., a noted Cincinnati, Ohio, industrialist and entrepreneur. Crosley had the 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2), Mediterranean Revival-style home built in 1929 for his wife, Gwendolyn, on 45-acre (18-hectare) of land along Sarasota Bay that was platted in 1925 for a failed subdivision. New York architect George Albree Freeman Jr. designed the home; Ivo A. de Minicis, a Tampa, Florida, architect, drafted the plans; and Paul W. Bergmann, a Sarasota contractor, reportedly built the two-and-a-half-story, cast-stone-and-stucco home in 135 days.[citation needed] Gwendolyn Crosley died at Seagate in 1939. After allowing the Army Air Corps to use the home for airmen who were training at a nearby airbase during World War II, Crosley sold the property in 1947.
Piney Point phosphate plant is an industrial site in Manatee County, Florida and the location of a former fertilizer plant. The land is currently owned by HRK Holdings, which leases portions of the land to industrial tenants under the name Eastport.
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