Public workshop to focus on town center concept

The first public workshop for the town center concept and zoning overlay project will take place at 2 p.m. Dec. 18, at Longboat Key Town Hall.

The project is focused on conceptual planning for the reimagining of the area near the intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Bay Isles Parkway that includes several town-owned properties, including Longboat Key Town Hall, the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center and Longboat Library, along with the newly rebuilt Shoppes of Bay Isles, where Publix is located.

Over the next six to eight months, community members and stakeholders and a steering committee will direct designers and planners to complete conceptual master plans for three development scenarios. A final master plan will be refined with input from the Longboat Key Town Commission.

A 2013 report by an Urban Land Institute panel jumpstarted discussions about a town center. The report suggested completing a town center concept around Bay Isles and locating a community/cultural center there.

In August, the town hired the firm Tindale-Oliver & Associates to design plans for a town center.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].