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bserver LONGBOAT
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
WORLD ‘Songs of Wars I Have TRAVELERS DIVERSIONS
THAT’S AMORE
Rooks seeks recipe for success with new restaurant. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
FREE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014
Seen’ rewrites the standard orchestra experience. INSIDE
in the pipeline
The winners of our ‘It’s Read Everywhere’ contest are ... PAGE 1B
by Robin Hartill | Managing Editor
New office will fuel north end
After seven years of vacancy, the former Longbeach Chevron station is under contract. Keller Williams Realty will redevelop the building into its first Longboat Key office. A new plan will pump life into the former Longbeach Chevron station — but the building will not be used as a gas station. After more than seven years of vacancy, the building at 6990 Gulf of Mexico Drive is under contract for an undisclosed price. Keller Williams Realty plans to close on the building at 6990 Gulf of Mexico Drive and redevelop the
Courtesy photos
Diane, Eliza and Terry Gans
+ Gans family grows Longboat Key Commissioner Terry Gans and his wife, Diane, recently welcomed a new granddaughter into the world. Eliza Jane Gans was born Oct. 16, in San Francisco, to Danny and Colleen Gans. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20 inches.
existing building into a real estate office that could have 20 or more agents, according to John Thompson, senior vice president of Keller Williams Realty. Thompson, who said renderings are not yet available, described the future design as “modernistic.” “It’s a statement building,” Thompson said. “It’s at the entrance to the north end, where
there’s a lot of room for growth.” The company will rehabilitate the existing 2,025-square-foot building and plans to open the office — its first on Longboat Key — in March. According to Senior Town Planner Steve Schield, a real estate office is an allowable use for the
SEE NORTH END / PAGE 2A
+ Chris Lynch elects U.S. citizenship Every election is an important one in this country, but the Nov. 4 election marked an important day for one Longboat resident — the day Chris Lynch voted for the first time in a national election. Lynch After living in the country for 40 years, Lynch, co-owner of Lynches’ Pub & Grub on St. Armands, became a U.S. citizen in January. Lynch was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. in 1974 and moved to Hawaii. She stayed until 1982 when she moved to Florida with her sister, Ethna. The sisters opened Lynches’ Pub & Grub in 1986 on Longboat Key and in 2003 moved the restaurant its current St. Armands Circle location.
+ Mote founder gets the BLUE award Mote Marine Laboratory founder Eugenie Clark, aka the “Shark Lady,” was honored Nov. 6, at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit awards in St. Petersburg. Clark was honored for her lifetime of achievement in studying sharks and other fish, pioneering work in scuba diving for research, enhancing public awareness and advancing opportunities for women in science.
SERVICE SALUTE Kristen Herhold
Vietnam War-era veterans begin their march in the first Longboat Key Veterans Day parade, Tuesday, Nov. 11. More than 125 veterans who served in conflicts from World War II to the current Gulf War walked in the parade on Bay Isles Road. See more photos on page 12A.
PERMISSION SLIP
by Robin Hartill | Managing Editor
Ocean Properties seeks Key Club referendum The Delray Beach-based company wants to redevelop, but don’t expect a replay of the last Key Club application process. Ocean Properties Ltd. hopes to redevelop the Longboat Key Club Islandside property — and is asking the town to hold a referendum in a special election as soon as possible. Sarasota attorney John Pat-
terson — whose firm, Shutts & Bowen LLP, represents New Hampshire-based Ocean Properties affiliate NAECO LLC — wrote in a Nov. 9 letter to the Longboat Key Town Commission that his client “wishes to re-
develop a portion of its property in Islandside including residential and tourism (a hotel, a meeting center, and related facilities, including restaurants).” Ocean Properties is not seeking an increase in the property’s
allowable density, according to Patterson’s letter. The Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties has not filed an application, according to Longboat Key Planning Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray. Patterson referred questions
SEE KEY CLUB / PAGE 10A
INDEX Building Permits...11B Calendar...............15A
Classifieds......... 15B Cops Corner..........9A
Crossword.......... 14B Neighborhood...... 1B
Real Estate........ 10B Weather............. 14B
Vol. 37, No. 15 | Three sections YourObserver.com