Historic Colson Hotel saved from demolition after purchase by coalition

Led by Anand Pallegar, the owner of DreamLarge, a coalition including the city of Sarasota, paid $700,000 to protect the building for restoration.

SARASOTA, Fla. — After a year-long clash between a Tampa Bay developer and community groups championing preservation, local leaders in Sarasota have reached a deal to save the historic Colson hotel from being demolished to make way for condominiums.

A coalition led by the owner of DreamLarge in collaboration with the city of Sarasota, and local groups like, the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation reached an agreement Tuesday.

Under the name Community Development Corporation, the coalition was formed specifically to purchase the segregation-era hotel located at 1425 8th Street and coalesce efforts to give it a new lease on life.

"Not surprising that it happened, but I knew it was going to be challenging but when you keep your head in the fight and it was for something, that's right, this is the outcome," Walter Gilbert, a community leader in Sarasota, said,

Gilbert who is a fourth-generation native of Sarasota, is the vice president of diversity and inclusion at Selby Gardens and is also one of the directors on the board of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition. He said this outcome was made possible by well-meaning citizens working to preserve what is left of Sarasota's Black history and its pioneers.

"For my ancestors and other people that were here when this was Overtown, the first black community here in Sarasota, that it would not just be wiped off the map. It means that those people who struggled and lived in this area have a landmark," he said.

The coalition paid $700,000 to get the property off the hands of private developer, J.D. Max, whose demolition permit was denied by the city. They plan to get it into the hands of philanthropists to restore the building and later transfer it over to an entrepreneur or organization to keep its legacy alive.

"At this stage, we are really looking to bring the community together, clean it up, champion it in that sense, and then ultimately we will probably end up doing some sort of RFP to find uses for and viability plans for what can actually end up existing here," Anand Pallegar, owner of DreamLarge, said.

Several ideas that have been proposed include a hotel, returning it to its past glory just as it was nearly 100 years ago when it was built by developer Owen Burns and named after Rev. Lewis Colson. Colson was the first black settler who drove the stake that helped plant the city of Sarasota. The hotel was a safe space for Black people, especially artists and musicians, traveling in the dangerous and segregated South at the time. 

"We've heard ideas around a jazz club and education center, a community center amongst many other things. At the end of the day we want what's in the best interest of the community here in the Rosemary District, ultimately led by an African-American entrepreneur," Pallegar said.

The Colson hotel was among a group of threatened historic buildings identified last year as 'Six-to-Save'. That initiative, which was spearheaded by the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation, encourages county residents to recommend historic buildings in the community worth saving, protecting or restoring.

"We've had successes and we've had failures within that program, but it raised community awareness of the importance of these buildings. This is the last one that's of real importance and it truly is very significant for the African American community and remains very important," Dave Baber with the Sarasota Alliance for Historic Preservation said.

Pallegar has already begun organizing a group to clean the building and begin staging it for restoration partnerships.

"It took a lot of hard work and negotiation, but we are very thankful that he was able to pull it off," Gilbert said.

Leaders of the coalition say now that the Colson Hotel is in the hands of the community, it's going to take a collective effort to see that that preservation efforts succeed. 

To learn more about the Colson Hotel's history, restoration plans, and how you can help or make a donation you can visit Save The Colson.