Longboat's Paradise Center will move on May 29

The Paradise Center, which announced in April it was moving, has made the date official: May 29.

The popular Longboat Key resource will open on the Tuesday after Memorial Day at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road.

The Paradise Center, which rebranded itself last summer from its original name -- Aging in Paradise Resource Center – has for years been based at the Longboat Island Chapel, on the north end of the island.

In August, executive director Suzy Brenner announced the organization’s ultimate goal was to raise funds for a permanent move to a centralized location, ideally the Northern Trust Bank building on Bay Isles Road.

The move to Temple Beth Israel accomplishes the first half of that goal: better visibility and additional space.

“We have been seeking a more central, visible and easily accessible location on Longboat Key, and until we have raised the funds for our own building, we are thrilled that Temple Beth Israel has extended an invitation to house our organization,” she said in a statement in April.

Over the last few years, The Paradise Center has continued to grow offering 297 activities in 2017 with attendance almost at 4,000.

“We live in this paradise, but the need is strong for the seniors in our community to have a place to combat loneliness and isolation,” Brenner said in the statement. “The popularity of our games is evidence of this need.”