News Briefs

+ Casey Key sees record home sale for 2011
A Gulf-front home at 1011 Casey Key Road sold July 15 for $7,575,000. The sale was the highest this year on Casey Key and the second-highest residential sale this year in Sarasota County.

According to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website, the home has 10,291 square feet of living area, six bedrooms, six baths, four half-baths and a pool. According to a press release, the home sits on 1.65 acres and is 200 feet from the shoreline. The home’s previous owners, Ermon and Linda Pickard, bought the property for $3.8 million in 2001 and built the home in 2004.

Linda Roe Dickinson, of Michael Saunders & Co., was the listing agent. John Blutenthal, of Southbay Realty, represented the buyers.

+ Family Dollar store proposed near brownfield
A developer is purchasing the former Owen Motors property at 2128 N. Washington Blvd. and plans to build a Family Dollar store there.

James Bridges, owner of Jebco Ventures Inc., will close on the land next month.

He’s proposing an 8,320-square-foot Family Dollar store on the southeast portion of the 1-acre property and said he would begin construction as soon as the permitting process was complete.

Bridges said the northern portion would be reserved for future retail development.

+ Five Points Park privatization on hold
The push for a private organization to fund and operate Selby Five Points Park has stalled because of the steps the city has taken to clean up the small downtown park.

Former Vice Mayor Ken Shelin had floated a plan modeled after the one for New York’s Bryant Park, in which the park was privatized.

But now that Selby Five Points Park has received landscaping upgrades, Shelin is finding downtown residents are not willing to pay extra to create the necessary organization to pursue his vision.

So, although that plan is on hold, Shelin is working on a project to bring the arts to the park.

He would like to see once-per-month opera, ballet or theater groups.

“If the arts groups cooperate, it wouldn’t cost any money,” he said.

Meetings & Agendas

• City Commission Workshop on Parking Meters — 8 a.m. Thursday, July 21, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota
• Planning Commission — 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota
• County Commission — 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 26, County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota