Longboat Key Historical Society seeks new home for cottages

The Longboat Key Historical Society is looking to relocate two historic cottages that sit in the Longbeach Village Neighborhood.

Society President Michael Drake is working with the town to relocate the smaller of the two cottages from its site at 521 Broadway St.

Drake said he must find new locations for the historic cottages because the landowner of the property is looking to sell it for $797,000. Initially, Drake said the landowner was seeking around $400,000 for the property.

“That was a clear sign that there’s no way we would ever be able to raise that kind of money,” Drake said.

Public records from the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office show the site is owned by Stella Properties LLC, and it has a just-market value of $250,000. It last sold in September 2014 for $350,000.

“The [Historical] Society, when I got involved with it, our main objective was to own the property [and] own the structures so that the Society would have a place to call home, for which they’ve never been able to do since 1980 when they were established,” Drake said.

Drake said the Historical Society has paid $2,500 in rent each month since August 2018 for the two cottages to sit where they do now on Broadway. The rent total has accumulated to about $70,000.

The Historical Society is still awaiting a price quote from Parrish-based Johnson & Son, Inc. on the cost to move the two cottages. However, Drake said it cost about $65,000 to move them from where they used to sit at the old Art Center property in 2017.

“I know we’ll raise the money to do it. There’s not a question in my mind about that,” Drake said. “We did it before. We’ll do it again.”

The smaller cottage was built around 1937 and was one of the original structures of Whitney’s Beach Resort, according to Town Manager Tom Harmer.

Harmer told town commissioners on Oct. 19 that he’s had discussions with Drake about the possibility of bringing the 400-square-foot cottage to the Town Center Green site that sits between the Public Tennis Center and the Shoppes of Bay Isles.

“We do believe the cottage could be added to the site in a way that would not restrict future development,” Harmer said. “It’d be an opportunity to bring the Historical Society into the Town Center and provide another attraction for the site consistent with the cultural theme that has been discussed at the commission level.”

The town commission would need to formally approve such a move in a public meeting, which could happen as soon as November. Commissioners spoke favorably about the possibility of moving the historic cottage to the Town Center Green site during their Oct. 19 workshop.

“I think the small building would fit very nicely,” Mayor Ken Schneier said. “I know the obligations of the Historical Society on this for maintenance are not great, but it might be a good idea to take a look at what resources they do have just to make sure that they’re able to support what they need to do for us.”

District 2 Commissioner George Spoll echoed Schneier’s sentiment.

“I have had many discussions with Tom Harmer about the overall look of the Town Center, and my own personal feeling [is] that a campus approach would be very nice,” Spoll said.

In August, phase one of the Town Center Green plan finished up. The site at 555 Bay Isles Parkway now features a grassy field, a raised floodplain, shell pathways and sidewalks. Longboat Key leaders are expected to continue to discuss how to fund a future Town Center and what specifically to build.

Whatever the town commission decides, there is a strong possibility the Historical Society’s smaller cottage will accompany it.

Harmer said Joan M. Durante Park was also a possible location for the smaller historic cottage, but town staff will devise plans for it to be placed at the Town Center Green site. The Historical Society would be responsible for the cottage’s maintenance, but the town would continue to own the land.

As for the larger L-shaped cottage, Drake said the Historical Society is accepting bids until Nov. 10. The town is not looking to add the larger cottage to one of its properties.

Drake said the smaller cottage is much easier to move than the larger one.

“We literally had to cut that larger cottage in half to move it from the [former] Art Center to where it is right now,” Drake said. “If it stays on the island, depending on where it goes, it may or may not have to be cut in half again.”

Drake said the cottages require minimum rehab, setting a new foundation and hooking up  utilities. The cottages do not have plumbing. Because the cottages are deemed historic buildings, they do not need to abide by FEMA height requirements.

With plans to move the smaller cottage to the Town Center site, Drake believes the Historical Society would develop more of a presence on the southern end of the island. He’s lived in Longboat Key for 36 years.

“Ever since I’ve lived here, there’s always been this sort of struggle between the north enders and the south enders for whatever reason,” Drake said. “I never understood it. I still don’t understand it, but that’s another one of our objectives is to bring this island in a cohesive living place.”

Drake believes developing a physical home for the Historical Society would help tell Longboat Key’s history to residents and guests.

“The [Historical] Society has been sort of pushed around this island, homelessly, since 1980,” Drake said. “It’s about high time that this affluent community backs it, gets behind it and then eventually will come and see the entire history of the ground that they have been walking on for however long they’ve been here.”