Ranch considers Summerfield info center

Lakewood Ranch residents want to retain the Summerfield Information Center, but they want to know how the purchase is going to affect their bottom lines in the form of rising community development district bills before they make a decision.

At an information center meeting Monday at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, a group made up of a community development district member from each CDD weighed the pros and cons of keeping the center once Schroeder-Manatee Ranch vacates it in January 2016.

Located near the southwest corner of State Road 70 and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard at 6310 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., the green-roofed information center with a wrap-around porch has served as an information center for Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch for nearly two decades. The center also houses Lakewood Ranch Community Activities Corp., an organization that organizes events for Lakewood Ranch residents.

The Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website shows the 2.31-acre property appraised at $463,800 in 2014.

The one-level office building, which was built in 1995, has 3,964 square feet under roof, but only 2,740 square feet of usable business space.

The group said they will decide whether the center is a viable option once Town Hall staff sends an email, asking community members if any retired architects would be willing to survey the building to see if it’s a viable option for meeting space for Lakewood Ranch clubs.

“Maybe an architect can tell us what it costs per square foot to make renovations for three meeting rooms that can be large enough for clubs to use,” said CDD 1 Treasurer Robert Swiatek. “Then we can pursue a possible price proposal to SMR.”

For more information, pick up a copy of this week’s East County Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].