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JUNE 2017 941.349.0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC
JOE’S GOING AWAY PARTY
The Landings bid the Venezia’s a fond farewell
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KID’S CORNER
Meet Lola Hansen, 6 year old, 1st grader at Imagine School at Palmer Ranch
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26-year volunteer at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium discussed red tide at the recent SKA meeting
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FERAL CATS PROGRAM Landings Residents Establish Model TNVR Program for Feral Cats
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The Pelican Plaza has a new look and new storefronts |Landings Shopping Center could follow suit after Pelican Plaza By Roger Drouin Several years ago, Pelican Plaza, across from Westfield Sarasota Square Mall, looked much different. A dilapidated facade was the most noteworthy aspect of the mostly-empty plaza. The center had struggled since its former anchor, Linens ’n Things, closed in 2008 following a bankruptcy filing by its parent company. Then in 2012, Manatee-county based Benderson Co. purchased the 29-yearold strip center for $4 million, and reopened it three years later after major renovations. The Pelican Plaza now sports a neat, fresh look, and on two recent weekday mornings, the royal-palm lined parking lot was nearly full and business was brisk at new retailers including anchor Sprouts Farmers Market, Ulta Beauty, and Petco. The stream of cars was steady. On both late mornings,
patrons filled the shiny and bright new Starbucks situated on the U.S. 41 side of the center. Ron Flynn, a commercial realtor with Key Solutions Real Estate, expects the renovated Pelican Plaza will continue to see high customer volumes as more people learn about the fresh look and new stores and as the last open space is leased inside the plaza. “That plaza is really going to pick up,” Flynn told The Eagle. And just under five miles to the north on Tamiami Trail, the Landings Shopping Center, under Benderson Co. ownership, could follow suit. The similarities include approximate age: the Landings Shopping Center was built in 1988, while Pelican Plaza was constructed in 1983. Continued on page 27
25 Tennis: His Passion, His Life
RED TIDE REPORT
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www.THELANDINGSOFSARASOTA.com
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The incredible courage of a family fleeing communism would be the beginning of the passionate tennis journey of a seven-yearold Romanian boy that would ultimately bring Adrian “Mo” Moghina to the Sarasota area where he would become the new Tennis Director of The Landings Racquet Club. This amazing 41 year journey begins when Adrian was seven living in communist-run Romania. He grew up in Sibiu which is in the
By Trebor Britt
heart of Transylvania, the center of Romania. The hopes of his family lay in his American-born grandfather. Adrian’s grandfather and family had high hopes they would be able to come to America because of his US citizenship. Adrian recalled his grandfather especially looked forward to going back to America because he was not treated well in Romania being constantly harassed by communists. Continued on page 15
Publisher’s Note: As our snowbirds head back to their summer homes, The Eagle will continue to bring you coverage of what’s happening in and around The Landings. Because of the generous support of our advertising neighbors, The Eagle will be able to include news and articles from Siesta Key. Once season begins when full and part-time residents return, we will again resume reporting on more Landings specific content.
Adrian “Mo” Moghina