- April 19, 2024
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Since the spring, three Longboat Key projects have sprung into action. Aging in Paradise Resource Center got a new name, the historic cottages moved and The Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Culture and Education has a design.
Below we explain each project in a little more detail with information snowbirds might have missed.
In August, Aging in Paradise Resource Center gave itself a bit of a makeover.
The center’s name was officially changed to “The Paradise Center.” And, along with the new name, the center got a new partner, too. The Paradise Center partnered and merged with the Longboat Key Center for Healthy Living, which is the nonprofit organization credited with bringing the medical center, with support from the Longboat Key Foundation, to the Centre Shops.
“We’re going to be operating under their nonprofit status basically, but we’re going to be separate,” Executive Director Suzy Brenner told the Longboat Observer in August. “We’ll have separate boards and separate finances, and we’ll basically be one of their programs.”
And with a new name and partner, the center is hoping to relocate to a bigger space. Currently The Paradise Center resides on the second floor of the Longboat Island Chapel.
Brenner said she wants to move the center to more accessible location. As season begins, Brenner has already noticed how full the center gets when two or more activities or workshops are happening at once.
To secure a new location, which ideally would be the space where Northern Trust Bank was on Bay Isles Road across from the Longboat Library, the center is a launching a capital campaign.
If Brenner had to guess, she said she thinks The Paradise Center needs $2.5 million for its expansion efforts.
In May, The Longboat Key Center for the Arts closed.
Shortly after, a plan for the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Culture and Education center was proposed.
The Longboat Key Foundation is spearheading the fundraising efforts for the center that could include a black box theater, studio classrooms, computer labs, a lecture hall, a gallery space, a cafe and more.
Ringling College of Art and Design will manage programming at the center, and the town of Longboat Key owns the property. As of August, $12 million more was needed to make the facility a reality and the town had donated $5 million.
Originally, the site was planned for 2.8 acres, but in January, Howard Rooks sold the Amore Restaurant property to the town. The Amore site, which the town purchased for $2.2 million adds, another two acres. The center is estimated to open by 2020.
The site of the former Longboat Key Center for the Arts was sold to a private developer who is filling the 2.3 acres with single-family housing.
When the Longboat Key Center for the Arts closed in May, the two historic cottages were left without a home.
Michael Drake, president of the Longboat Key Historical Society, led efforts to move the two cottages from the arts center property to the new home he staked out for them on Broadway Street.
The two cottages were built in the 1930s as part of the Whitney Resort. Now, they are going to be the home of the Longboat Key Historical Society and a Longboat Key Historical Museum. But first, the society needs to raise $450,000 to buy the property. They are currently leasing the property for $2,500 a month.
“The overall vision is to have a place where people can come and see the history of Longboat Key,” Drake said.
Drake submitted a detailed site plan and notice of zoning compliance to town hall on Oct. 30. Drake had until Nov. 5 to submit a plan back to the development review committee. That committee will review it and pass it on to the Planning and Zoning Board.
Drake is hoping to be put on the Planning and Zoning Board’s agenda in late December.
