Bird Key leaders break ground on new yacht club facilities

During early fall, the old building came down, and on Nov. 13, the first shovels of dirt were turned over on the site of the future clubhouse.

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. November 19, 2025

Bird Key Yacht Club General Manager Tammy Hackney and Commodore Tony Britt donned the hard hats for the official groundbreaking of the new clubhouse on Nov. 13 at the site of the former facility.

Sarasota
Neighbors

A moment months in the making arrived Nov. 13 on the grounds where the 65-year-old Bird Key Yacht Club clubhouse once stood. Leaders and residents dug their shovels into the freshly turned dirt of the construction zone to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art, $20 million-plus facility.

Attendees at the ceremony expressed surprise; despite knowing what was to come, at seeing the completely bare grounds where the headquarters formerly stood.

However, they also shared their excitement at seeing the project move forward despite unanticipated upticks in construction costs and whatever else circumstances threw the club's way.

Bird Key Yacht Club General Manager Tammy Hackney directs attendees of the groundbreaking on the new clubhouse to their places on Nov. 13 at the construction site.

Commodore Tony Britt invited not only club members, but also residents in the broader Bird Key area to participate in the momentous occasion.

"It's disconcerting yet exciting, because you realize one chapter is ending and another is beginning," Britt said of seeing the bare grounds.

He continued, "Our membership is tremendously excited about this step."

Next steps include micropile testing to ensure the ground is compact enough to support the future facility.

"Once that happens, we'll begin the actual construction process," he said.

Bird Key Yacht Club members and residents of the broader Bird Key area joined in celebrating the groundbreaking on a new clubhouse on Nov. 13.

Tandem Construction is the company behind the project.

Though progress may not always be perfectly linear, Britt said he believes the positive relationships he has continued to build with the homeowners' association and neighboring yacht clubs will help carry them through.

He noted that some amenities, including the tennis courts, remain open at this time, and club members will be able to enjoy activities at other locations while awaiting the ribbon-cutting for the brand-new clubhouse.

Bird Key Yacht Club member Michael Hunter captures the demolition of the old clubhouse at 301 Bird Key Drive.

In a moment captured by Bird Key Yacht Club Commodore Tony Britt, heavy machinery starts to take down the old clubhouse at the end of October.

The entrance to the old Bird Key Yacht Club clubhouse comes down.

The Bird Key Yacht Club clubhouse entrance tumbles down on demolition day, making way for the new facility.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.