Longboat Key Chamber plans move to Centre Shops

The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce is moving to its sixth location since 1993.

The chamber signed a three-year lease Nov. 19 for Unit 102 of the Centre Shops of Longboat Key, located in the 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, and will move from its current location in Mediterranean Plaza, 595 Bay Isles Road, in mid-December.

Chamber President Gail Loefgren hopes the location will be the organization’s permanent home.

“We hope never to move again,” said Loefgren, who was there for three of the past four moves when she first served as the chamber’s president from 1993 through 2008, before returning to her role in September.

Shortly after assuming the role again, Loefgren told the Longboat Observer that finding a new location would be a top priority.

She described the Mediterranean Plaza office building as “a beautiful building” at the time but didn’t believe it was right for a chamber of commerce.

“ … due to the nature of the mission of chambers in general, the office really needs to be located in a highly visible area,” she said.

At the time, Loefgren said the Centre Shops would be a good location for the chamber.

“It’s mid-Key, it’s easy to find and we’ll have visible signage,” Loefgren said Wednesday. “The Centre Shops is a very active shopping center with a lot of great shops, and the Education Center alone has a lot of members. I think it will be a win-win situation for both us and business owners.”

She also expressed gratitude to Jim Getzen for providing the space at Mediterranean Plaza to the chamber since March.

The chamber was located in a smaller space in the Centre Shops in 1993, when Loefgren was first hired, but moved to a larger space in 1995 in Whitney Beach Plaza to accommodate its growing membership of 500.

The chamber moved again in 2004, this time to the old bank building at 6960 Gulf of Mexico Drive, before moving to the Longboat Observer building at 5570 Gulf of Mexico Drive in 2008. The latest move to its current location at Mediterranean Plaza, 595 Bay Isles Road, took place in March.

Stephanie Claussen, owner of Steff’s Stuff in the Centre Shops and a chamber member, was pleased to learn Friday that the chamber would be moving into the shopping center next month.

“I think more people will be able to find the chamber, which is important to businesses, and, hopefully, when they find the chamber, they’ll manage to find us,” she said. “I think they’re just a positive influence on business and we need more of that on the Key.”

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]