Northern Trust to close branch

Northern Trust’s Longboat Key branch will close Dec. 7, according to a letter dated Aug. 31 that was sent to customers, and consolidate the office with the existing Sarasota branch at 1515 Ringling Blvd.

“Our decision to consolidate the two offices was made after very careful deliberation,” the letter states. “Northern Trust remains deeply committed to serving and supporting the Longboat Key community.”

The letter states that current Longboat Key branch staffers John Schaedel, Sigrid Brookes, Rosemarie Overgaard and Arminda Mata will transition to the Sarasota office Dec. 10 and that they, along with Marjorie Peter, Northern Trust wealth strategies group vice president, “will now be part of a larger team of professionals who can more broadly serve your financial needs going forward.”

Northern Trust Media Relations Director Amy Bickers sent the following statement to the Longboat Observer by email:

“ … Northern Trust is consolidating its Longboat Key office at 540 Bay Isles Road into our regional headquarters, located in Sarasota at 1515 Ringling Blvd. The Longboat Key office will close Dec. 7, 2012, and all affected clients have been notified.

“There will be no job losses associated with the closure, as the entire Longboat Key team will transition to our Sarasota office.”

According to Bickers, Diane Muir, senior vice president/managing director of the Longboat branch, will also go to the downtown office.

Longboat Key Vice Mayor David Brenner said that his condominium, the Islander Club of Longboat Key, recently received the letter from Northern Trust.

Brenner said the loss of a business such as Northern Trust on the Key is unfortunate, but called the land where the branch now sits a “future opportunity,” as town officials continue to discuss a town center concept for Bay Isles Road. 

Longboat Key Equities Ltd. owns the Longboat Key branch.

The building last sold for $1.27 million in October 1997 and is appraised at $1,634,900, according to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website, sc-pa.com. It was built in 1989 and has a total building area of 11,346 square feet, including 8,369 square feet of air-conditioned space.