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Sharing Tree on the Move

Tom Flanigan

Tallahassee’s Midtown area is on the move. But that is also forcing some of its residents to move as well.

A few weeks back, the word came that the block of Tallahassee’s 3rd Avenue between North Monroe Street and Thomasville Road had been sold. Carly Sinnadurai heads the Sharing Tree, one of the block’s occupants. She said the news came as a bit of a shock.

“Things were really happening for us in Midtown, so it really came out of a clear blue sky that our building sold right from underneath us and we had no forewarning that this was going to happen,” Sinnadurai remarked.

The property sale is also impacting Lucy and Leo’s Cupcakery in the big red brick house next door. Last month they told the Tallahassee Democrat they plan to shut down at year’s end and hope to find a new owner for their business. Sinnadurai said the Sharing Tree faced a similar uncertain future.

“It was really kind of a sink-or-swim moment for our organization. Were we going to keep fighting the good fight, or were we going to relinquish some of our services? And of course I’m a fighter! I believe in our organization and creativity and this community and that we exist for a reason.”

What happened next, Sinnadurai said, was a marshaling of all the Sharing Tree’s supporters and community connections to find a solution. And now, she said that solution has been found in the form of a new home.

“We have secured a location. The lease negotiations have been exhausting but we’re really close, we’re almost there. So we’re going to have a ‘secret’s out’ party on October 15th. So just e-mail us: recycleforart@yahoo.com and we’ll send you a link.”

Which Sinnadurai explained will reveal the address of the organization’s new location as well as an invitation to help with the relocation.

“We have 5,000 square feet and lots of stuff to move, so we need all hands on deck. I really do believe this is a community organization made better because it’s built by the community, so everyone is welcome.”

And, ever the optimist, Sinnadurai saw this move – the third since the Sharing Tree first opened at Lively Vo-Tech in 2011 – as a good thing.

“This is going to be the biggest and best version of the Sharing Tree yet. So there’s a reason that this happened and it was for us to expand and evolve and really realize out full potential as an organization.”

WFSU will let listeners know the new Sharing Tree location after the October 15th revelation.

Follow @flanigan_tom

Tom Flanigan has been with WFSU News since 2006, focusing on covering local personalities, issues, and organizations. He began his broadcast career more than 30 years before that and covered news for several radio stations in Florida, Texas, and his home state of Maryland.

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