Art, whimsey museum owner redeveloping Southland Inn site

Mary Lee has started the demolition of a large portion of the 29-unit Southland Inn near downtown Sarasota. She demolished much of the motel, located at 2229 N. Tamiami Trail, except for the central building, which parallels U.S. 41.

Lee, who recently opened the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy in the former Kancha Buddhist Center next door, plans to convert the remaining 9,000-square-foot building for museum offices and studio space.

“I'm planning to do this over a couple of years,” she says. “I'm always on the lookout for more space. I don't know the schedule for [renovating the exterior] yet, but we will probably paint it.”

Because of a number of robberies in the area, the property is under video surveillance.

Lee purchased the motel building earlier this year for $950,000 equal to $32,759 per unit. She purchased the 5,390-square-foot museum building for $1.55 million in July 2008 and a 0.68-acre parcel on North Tamiami Trail next to Whitaker Bayou in mid-2009 for $1.5 million.