Where is “Murf” Klauber now?

Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber still works on sketches for a future resort at the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

“The island needs high-tech office space in a high-rise, high-tech meeting rooms and new floor plans for units that have more space,” Klauber said. “I can see it.”

Klauber, 88, still lives and breathes the Colony with his daughter and longtime Colony partner Katie Klauber Moulton.

“I miss the fun of running the place with Katie more than anything,” Klauber said. “When I created that, the most important thing was having fun every day. We succeeded in that.”

Klauber still keeps in touch with famous visitors like Bud Collins and the Smothers Brothers.

He never imagined that a lawsuit he filed in 2007 to assess unit owners for upkeep and damages associated with the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 would  lead to the resort’s closure.

During season, he and his wife, Susie, stay at The Players Club, not far from the resort he made famous in the 1970s as a tennis destination.

“It’s really a shame,” Klauber said. “When I walk by that place, it can ruin my day.”

Klauber and his wife spend half of the summer in Toronto and the other half of the summer in downtown Sarasota at Katie’s condominium.

“I miss the fun of running the place with Katie more than anything. When I created that, the most important thing was having fun every day. We succeeded in that.”

— Dr. Murray "Murf" Klauber

Klauber hasn’t attended Colony bankruptcy hearings in Tampa for three years, and he keeps apprised of the legal disputes from Moulton.

“I’m still hopeful I can see dirt turning there for a new project in my lifetime,” Klauber said.

Klauber said he also believes either Ocean Properties or Unicorp “could do a good job with the property.”

Asked if he would like to be involved in a future project, Klauber doesn’t hesitate.

“No one knows the property like Katie and I do,” Klauber said. “I would be available to help to whoever asks.”

Klauber is also working on a new Sarasota restaurant concept.

“I still function like I did 50 years ago,” Klauber said. “The ideas keep flowing.”