Longboat, Manatee County officials discuss options for north-end center

A community center on the north end of Longboat Key is still possible but will require Manatee County and Longboat Key officials to formulate a new plan. 

Longboat Key District 5 Commissioner Sarah Karon and Town Manager Howard Tipton recently met with two Manatee County commissioners in the past week to discuss the north-end community center plans amid the news of the county breaking the lease on its existing space. 

The county entered a four-year lease for a space in Whitney Plaza, which began in January 2024 and required monthly payments of $11,256.67. 

Representatives from the county told the Observer and Whitney Plaza owner Hal Porter the county would be terminating its existing lease for the 6,100 square-foot space effective in August. 

Karon, whose district includes the island's north end, wanted to meet with the Manatee County commissioners to emphasize the project’s importance to the island’s residents. 

“We wanted to say this project remains really important to us, for the town and also specifically for the north end who have been waiting for this for a long time,” Karon said. “And we were so close with the last one.”

That prompted a meeting with Manatee County Commission Chairman George Kruse and Manatee County District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique. Siddique’s district includes the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key. 

Overall, Karon said the conversations were positive. 

“The feedback we got from both the commissioners was that they are very supportive of a community gathering space and what it does for neighborliness,” Karon said.

However, Karon said the county still prefers to own a space on Longboat Key rather than paying for a long-term lease. 

Tipton and Karon discussed with Kruse and Siddique some options on the island that may be a purchasing possibility in the future, but wanted to explore possible options in the interim. 

The ideal scenario, Karon said, would be for the county to take up a short-term lease in a north-end space until it can find a permanent space. 

“We’re looking at some places right now that are appealing,” Karon said.

The plan is for Karon and Tipton to follow up with the county commissioners about some potential options as soon as next week and see where the plan goes from there. 

Manatee County is also in its budgeting process, which Karon said is good timing. 

Based on the recent conversations, Karon is optimistic something will materialize soon. 

“They were both super positive about the project. That’s every reason to believe that we’ll have a solution to this very soon,” Karon said.

When north-end residents heard about the county’s decision to leave the Whitney Plaza space, there was disappointment among members of Longboat Key North, a coalition of homeowners and condominium associations on the north end. 

That included Longboat Key North Co-Chair Maureen Merrigan, who said the idea of a community center sponsored by Manatee County had been in conversations for years after the north-end community emphasized the need for community meeting space for various organizations. 

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

The town then held community input sessions in July 2023 to gather ideas from the north-end community about what they wanted to see included in the space. 

The idea later became the proposed learning center, which would have been operated by Manatee County with programming by the Manatee Technical College. The county planned a build out of about $1.2 million to transform the Whitney Plaza space to include meeting space, a kitchen and art studio space.

Manatee County signed a lease in January 2024 to rent the largest space in Whitney Plaza, located at 6810 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Given the terms of the lease, the county anticipated to spend $135,080 for the first year in the space.

Porter, who owns the Whitney Plaza space, received notice in February the county wanted to terminate the lease in August.