Prominent architect Rick Fawley, 65, dies

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Rick Fawley, co-founder and president of one of the most visible and largest architecture firms in the Sarasota-Manatee market, Lakewood Ranch-based-Fawley|Bryant Architecture, died Wednesday.

Fawley was 65.

Chelsea Gruber, marketing director at the firm, says employees were absorbing the news early today. “Everyone is in a state of shock here,” says Gruber.

No other information was immediately available on the cause of Fawley's death.

Fawley was well-known in the area building and development community. Boards and organizations he served on include Goodwill Manasota, the Manatee Education Foundation, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. and the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. In 2014 Fawley won the Kent C. Schulz Distinguished Alumni Award, the top alumni recognition for Leadership Manatee.

The firm he co-founded with Mike Bryant in 1995 is also an area leader in architecture, design and urban planning. The firm, with about 20 employees, had $4.64 million in revenues in 2014, up 48.7% from $3.12 million in 2013. In addition to Lakewood Ranch, the firm has an office in downtown Bradenton. Recent projects include work on the Bradenton City Center; multiple projects at IMG Academy; the Manatee County judicial center; renovations at McKechnie Field and Pirate City; and River Strand Golf and Country Club.

In a 2014 story on the firm, Fawley says one of the keys to the company's success is its ability to “turn heads” on creative and inspiring projects for clients.

Fawley and Bryant also talked about hiring younger people at the firm, in a nod toward succession planning. “The youthful enthusiasm in the office has elevated the energy level of everyone like a breath of fresh air,” says Fawley, “challenging all of us to the 'what-if' possibilities.”