Bird Key Yacht Club will chip away at old facade

On occasion, Art Armitage has heard the sliding doors at Bird Key Yacht Club compared to those at a supermarket. But, soon, those doors could be replaced by heavy mahogany doors, just one of the upgrades scheduled to be completed by November as part of the yacht club’s “Façade Project.”

The club has been holding town-hall-style meetings with members about the project, which would add a second story to the club’s lobby, reroute its entrance to East Flamingo Drive and renovate the interior and exterior of the club, which would give the club a modern vibe.

“We’re giving it an island-y, Bahamas look,” Commodore Bob Baime said.

“It is a project whose time has clearly come,” said Armitage, who served as the club’s vice commodore and currently sits on its board of governors. “The club dates back to the 1960s and has an old look to it. It’s about time we renovate it and make it look more in step with today’s world.”

The club has hired the Sarasota-based architectural firm of Heise Meredith Associates Inc. to draw up plans. No formal vote on the project will take place, but Baime said the reaction has been especially positive because it will be paid for with funds that are “in hand,” allowing Bird Key Yacht Club to continue to operate as a historically debt-free organization. Construction is scheduled to begin in August and take place during the three weeks that the club is typically closed each summer. The target completion date is November. Baime declined to discuss the cost of the project.

Arvida constructed the clubhouse, which has more than 21,000 square feet of interior space, according to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website, sarasotaproperty.net, in 1960 and signed over the title to club members in 1967. According to Armitage, although the club has gone through renovations, including the installation of a bar approximately seven or eight years ago, the exterior appearance of the club has remained relatively unchanged since it was Arvida-owned.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]