Longboat Key group aims to move historic cottage

A group of residents on the north end of Longboat Key is working with town officials to preserve a piece of history.

LBK North, formerly known as the North End Coalition of Property Owners, is making progress in finding a new home for a cottage, originally built in the 1930s as part of the historic Whitney Resort. The approximately 42-by-42-foot cottage, built by Gordon Whitney, was moved to the Longboat Key Center for the Arts property to be used as a studio after the resort closed in the early 1950s.

The cottage is in the path of redevelopment at the site of the town’s Center for the Arts. In February, Ringling College of Art and Design announced its plans to sell the arts center property to a private developer, who intends to construct single-family homes. The Center for the Arts is expected to close at the end of May, though a timeline for the development of the property isn’t clear.

The Whitney Cottage was built to house families and guests at the Whitney Resort, and it is the largest of two cottages moved to the arts center property.

LBK North hopes to move the cottage to “a suitable location on the north end, and restore it for public use.”

“The variety of possibilities for the cottage suggests a multi-purpose facility,” reads a March 31 statement from the group. “It could provide a much-needed meeting place for local groups. It could serve as an activity center for the community, a welcome center for the town and a venue for the historical society.”

The Arts Center itself is moving south, to the Town Center, which will be built near Town Hall, on city-owned property that includes vacant land and a parcel currently home to the Amore restaurant. That process is expected to take at least two years.

LBK North has suggested the site of a long-vacant gas station at the corner of Broadway Street and Gulf of Mexico Drive as a potential location for the cottage, and member Denton Crews said discussions have begun with the property’s owner. The location is less than a half-mile from where the cottage now sits.

Crews said planning for the project is in the beginning stages, and it is yet to be determined what entity would purchase the property. LBK North is exploring options to raise funds, Crews said, and the group is hoping to begin discussions with the town about the possibility of the town acquiring the land.

Vice Mayor Ed Zunz, who represents District 5 on the north end, is working with LBK North to solidify plans for the project.

“We’re looking at finding some public purpose that the building might serve on the site that would be consistent with the neighborhood and not increase density,” Zunz said.

The idea is consistent with a vision Zunz hopes to help make a reality for the area, which includes making the intersection of Broadway Street and GMD “an attractive roundabout” to bolster a sense of entrance to the Key on the north end.

Crews said Ringling College supports the idea of relocating the cottage, going so far as to recommend Johnson Housemoving to assess relocating the cottage.

Brett Johnson of the Parrish-based company has corresponded with Crews about relocating the cottage. Assessments are underway, Johnson said, and the mover said he thinks relocation would be possible, though a piece of the L-shaped building may need to be detached before moving and reattached once it arrives as its new site.

“I believe it will move just fine,” Johnson said.

Aside from fundraising, the plan thus far does not face any “serious obstacles,” Crews said, adding that LBK North is still “some distance away from a plan we feel certain about.”

The idea will be a topic of discussion at LBK North’s meeting Wednesday at Longbeach Condominiums. Crews said he hopes residents will show support for the plan.

“The community will be very important to this process,” Crews said.