Whitney Plaza team works on deadline to bring vision into reality

A collaborative effort between community members and Manatee County’s project team is driving the Whitney Plaza Community Center project toward the finish line. 

The community center project, also referred to by the county as the LBK North Learning Center, will provide 6,140 square feet for adult-education programming and meeting space for Longboat Key residents. 

Manatee County entered the lease for the space at 6810 Gulf of Mexico Drive back in January after it was approved by the board of county commissioners on Jan. 9. The plaza is owned by Porter Investment Holdings, Inc. 

The town of Longboat Key held a community input session in July 2023 to hear from residents about what they would like to see in the space. Early ideas like classes for crafts and adult education, and community meeting space, have stuck. 

North end residents in particular have been interested in the project. 

Longboat Key North, a coalition of 28 neighborhoods and homeowners associations on the north end, and is chaired by Maureen Merrigan and Paul Hylbert.

According to Merrigan, a former town commissioner, the need for community space on the north end is something that has been talked about by Longboat Key North for three or four years. When she was a commissioner in 2021, she was working with Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge on the idea. 

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

Longboat Key North has been actively providing input to the county’s project team through the group’s subcommittee, the North End Space Team (NEST). 

North end resident Jill Ball was appointed to lead the NEST committee. Her main job is to act as a liaison between the north end community, the county team and the town. 

“Everybody’s been phenomenal to work with,” Ball said.

Within the NEST committee, there are three focus groups: community, recreation and arts. 

The community focus group, led by Bob McRae, focuses on working with the various homeowners associations and neighborhoods to gauge what space is needed for events and meetings for organizations. 

There is also a lot of interest in the main component of the space: adult education. The team is exploring the possibility of implementing environmentally focused programming as well. 

Deborah DiCarlo is leading the recreation side of things, and Ball said DiCarlo has been working closely with other recreation facilities, like The Paradise Center and the Bayfront Park Recreation Center.

The arts component, though, is one that has been the most popular. 

“I would say the biggest voices, or the largest group, I would have to say right now is the arts,” Ball said. “And I think that stems from the prior arts center that was in the Village. That was very well-received and highly attended, and I think that the population of folks that are still here are excited to have an arts focus as a part of this learning center.”

That focus group is being led by residents from different parts of the key: Lynn Coffin, Pat Lundy and Patricia MacDonald. Interested residents in the arts community have been pushing for equipment and space for artists.

All the members of the various focus groups have been talking with neighbors to gather ideas, and bringing them back to the NEST team over time. 

“There’s no shortage of input from the community," Ball said.

Some of the NEST committee members were able to tour the space at Whitney Beach Plaza and meet with the county’s project team, according to Ball. Being able to see the space was helpful for them to visualize the opportunities available. 

Simona Brinkman, the county’s project manager for this project, has been communicating frequently with the NEST committee and actively taking their input into consideration. 

“She took that and ran with it, so that was really great,” Ball said.

What’s left to do?

No construction has kicked off yet, but the project team is working hard to ensure the community’s input is taken into consideration. 

The architects, Ohlson Lavoie Corporation, are finishing up the drawings after hearing that feedback from the NEST committee, according to Brinkman.  

“The committee already had a bunch of ideas,” Brinkman said. “The architect took the layout and the wishlist items and made it happen.”

The architect, OLC, has completed projects in 48 states and 11 countries. The extensive list of their previous projects includes many community centers and recreation spaces.

The project will then go through the design and development process before submitting the plans to the town for permitting. 

Photo by Carter Weinhofer

It’s a lot of work to do, all compressed into a seven-month timeframe. 

The county was given seven months by the landlord before needing to pay rent on the space. Brinkman said the project team is focused on getting the construction completed in that time. 

“I want to complete it for (the residents) and they want to occupy it," Brinkman said. 

One aspect that helps is that the facility already has existing plumbing. Though there’s a lot of remodeling that needs to be done to the bathrooms and other facilities, running pipes through the building would have taken a long time. 

Ball said the county proposed possibly trying some pilot programming later in 2024, and Brinkman is trying to complete the construction within the seven-month timeline. But Brinkman said there’s always the chance that construction runs over a little bit. 

It was previously estimated that the construction would cost around $1.2 million. The county is responsible for paying for construction and rent. 

Monthly payments for the lease would be $11,256.67, or about $135,080 for the first year. The lease is good for four years, with the ability to renew terms. 

Programming for the space will be run by Manatee Technical College, under the guidance of  Paul Gansemer, executive director for the Adult, Career and Technical Education department.

An interlocal agreement between the county and school board outlined that the center would provide “fee-based adult enrichment classes.”