Arts Center to submit application tomorrow

The Longboat Key Center for the Arts, a Division of Ringling College of Art and Design, plans to submit an application for an amendment and extension of its existing site plan with the town tomorrow and plans to go before the Planning & Zoning Board April 17, according to Ringling officials who spoke at last night’s Longbeach Village Association meeting.

The proposed, four-phase plan would culminate in the completion of a new, two-story building scheduled for completion in 2016 that could be used for flexible retreat space. The new building’s design drew criticism at last night’s meeting from Village residents, many of whom felt that its modern design didn’t fit in with the historic character of the neighborhood.

The existing site plan was approved in 2003, four years before the Arts Center and Ringling College merged, and later amended in 2009.

For more information, pick up an April 12 copy of the Longboat Observer.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].