BRADENTON BEACH – The Pines Trailer Park and Bradenton Beach Marina sales and the approved hotel/restaurant/retail project on Bridge Street and Gulf Drive made the biggest headlines in the city in 2023.
Bradenton Beach Marina sold
In early January, developer Shawn Kaleta and the Metropolitan Property Ventures LLC purchased the Bradenton Beach Marina from the Bazzy family for $14 million. Kaleta now serves as president of the Bazzy Marine Corp.
County works on sewer, drainage problems
In January, Manatee County initiated its ongoing $8 million sewer improvement project along Gulf Drive South and the adjoining side streets from Sixth Street South to 13th Street South. As the sewer line replacement and installation work takes place on the residential side streets one street at a time, those streets temporarily closed to vehicular traffic for a month or more. Impacted residents, property owners and visitors must park in designated parking areas in the Cortez Beach parking lot until their street reopens. The county project is slated for completion in late 2024. By mid-August, Manatee County had essentially completed the second and final phase of the $7 million Coquina Beach drainage improvement project that included the installation of pervious pavement that allows rainwater to seep into the new drainage systems below. The completed project that began in 2019 provides more than 1,000 paved parking spaces and required the removal of more than 180 Australian pines.
Signs, signs, signs installed
In February, Scenic WAVES Committee members and others expressed their concerns about the Florida Department of Transportation installing more than 60 new “No Parking on Right of Way” signs along Gulf Drive South, near Coquina Beach. Police Chief John Cosby requested the signs but had no input on the number of signs FDOT installed.
Azure Shores ordinance passed
In November, the city commission approved an ordinance that eliminated zoning map and future land use map inconsistencies that existed with 23 residentially zoned (R-3) properties in the Azure Shores subdivision between Bridge Street, the Cortez Bridge, Highland Avenue and Gulf Drive North.
Beach House Restaurant celebrates 30 years
Celebrating a longevity rarely found in the restaurant business, Chiles Hospitality observed the 30-year anniversary of the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant.
Hurricane Idalia precautions taken
In advance of Tropical Storm Idalia, City commissioners voted Aug. 28 to declare a local state of emergency until Tuesday, Sept. 5, as clean-up efforts continued following storm surge. Beaches were closed and a mandatory evacuation order was in place for Level A residents, including all mobile home parks. Manatee County issued a voluntary Level B evacuation. “What we’re expecting now is a storm surge 4-7 feet,” Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said prior to the storm’s landfall.
Pines Trailer Park purchased
In late August, Shawn Kaleta and the Pines Park Investors LLC purchased the Pines Trailer Park for $16.25 million after the resident/owners were unsuccessful in their efforts to purchase the park. In late September, Pines Park Investors LLC sent letters to park residents and mobile homeowners informing them of the rent increases that will take effect Jan. 1. The monthly rents are increasing from $620-$625 per month to $1,200, $1,350 per month or $1,475 per month depending on proximity to the waterfront.
Alcohol sales, consumption on city pier approved
Commissioners approved with conditions a special use permit for the sale and consumption of alcohol at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar (AMOB) on the Bradenton Beach Pier. The permit, with the City of Bradenton Beach as applicant, was approved on Sept. 18 allowing the consumption of alcohol purchased from AMOB, either from the main restaurant or takeout kiosk, at designated areas of the pier. AMOB leases both spaces from the city.
Tingley Library elevation considered
The creation of public parking by elevating or moving the Tingley Library was discussed at both the City Commission and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meetings in September. The city-owned library was built in the early 1990s using $240,000 of the $678,801 that Beulah Hannah Hooks Tingley bequeathed to the city in 1986 to create a public reading room. At the Sept. 6 CRA meeting, members acknowledged the need for public parking, but one member questioned whether CRA funds should be used for the design/build project. Mayor John Chappie directed city attorney Ricinda Perry to draft an RFP.
Coquina Beach Market reopens under county management
Nearly a year after the Manatee County tourism agency took over management of the Coquina Beach Market from the previous market director, a new manager and opening date for the market was announced. In a July 25 meeting of the Manatee County Board of Commissioners, it was approved that Dottie Deerwester from Ready Set Go Tour and Travel serve as the new market manager. The market reopened on Oct. 4 at South Coquina Beach and operates year-round.
Zoning irregularities discovered
At an Oct. 5 city commission meeting, a city building official determined that several properties in the city do not conform to the building code. “What we discovered, Runaway Bay – all the condominiums – Tortuga, Silver Surf, Bridgewalk, Old Bridge Village, all of these appear to be triggered in some way by this provision on first blush,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said. Many properties in the city exceed the number of allowable units, making them legally non-conforming, according to Perry. City officials say the classification only affects property owners if a natural disaster forces rebuilding, whereupon current codes would apply, potentially eliminating some units.
Chappie, Vosburgh and Spooner begin new terms
Mayor John Chappie and Commissioner Janet Vosburgh were sworn in for new two-year terms on Nov.17 by City Clerk Terri Sanclemente at Bradenton Beach City Hall. Chappie, Vosburgh and Commissioner Jacob Spooner ran unopposed. Spooner was sworn in the following day.
CRA votes to discontinue tram funding
At a Dec. 6 meeting, the CRA board voted unanimously to discontinue funding of the Old Town Tram, a free park-and-ride service which it began subsidizing in November 2020 at a cost of $52,000 per year. The tram was launched as a pilot program to help address the lack of parking on Bridge Street. Annual funding for the service was cut from the city’s 2023-24 budget, but CRA board members agreed at a Sept. 6 meeting to a $10,000 expenditure to keep it going until the end of 2023.
Hotel/Restaurant/Retail project approved on Bridge Street
At the end of a second public hearing on Dec. 7, city commissioners voted unanimously to approve a hotel/restaurant/retail project at the corner of Bridge Street and Gulf Drive South. The 106-room hotel will also have a 60-seat restaurant, 5,396 square feet of retail space and 154 on-site parking spaces. Co-applicants for the hotel are Shawn Kaleta and Jake Spooner, a Bradenton Beach city commissioner who recused himself from all hearings related to the hotel. At the first public hearing on Nov. 16, following a Nov. 13 recommendation for approval by the City Planning and Zoning Board, commissioners expressed concern about lack of parking, hotel design and density. In addressing those concerns, applicants’ representatives made design changes to the original plan, adding balconies, public walkways and a hydraulic lift parking system. Within days of approval, demolition began on one building on the site of the hotel – the former Joe’s Eats ‘N Sweets ice cream shop.
Passings
On April 10, Bradenton Beach Public Works Department employee and Holmes Beach resident Marylou Kelley passed away at 62.
On June 17, Pines Trailer Park resident and former Michigan resident Dick Smith passed away at 83. Smith was a popular regular patron at the Sport Lounge and the Drift In.
Drift In parking lot attendant, local artist and former Cortez commercial fisherman Marty Tupin passed away on Aug. 1 at 62 after battling ongoing health issues.
Longtime Bradenton Beach property owner and visitor Judy Kuhlman passed away on Sept. 23 at 81. Kuhlman and her husband, Dick, owned the historic 3 Pines Cottage beachfront vacation rental at 2214 Gulf Drive N. that still contains the 1948 Airstream trailer her grandparents placed on the beachfront property in the late 1940s.
Former Chiles Group Chief Financial Officer Martha Wright passed away on Oct. 20. Wright was also the treasurer and a longtime volunteer for Gulf Shore Animal League.
– Sun Correspondent Joe Hendricks contributed to this story
