By Cindy Lane
sun staff writer

BRADENTON – The first of 13 multi-story buildings will begin rising on Perico Island this fall at SevenShores.

The St. Joe Company project is named for the bodies of water that touch the property – the Gulf of Mexico, Manatee River, Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Sound, Perico Bayou, mangrove marshes and a 27-acre lake that the developer will create, spokesman Joe Romanowski said.

"It’s going to be a community that’s going to enhance Bradenton and Manatee County," he said.

Only half of the island’s 352 acres will be improved, he said, adding that the buildings will not encroach on wetlands or mangroves. The remainder of the acreage – formerly a Manatee Fruit Co. flower farm – will be preserved, he said.

Also included in the development plans are the Perico Harbor Marina, which will lose its 240 dry slips and add up to 126 wet slips and possibly a ship’s store, and the former Leverock’s, which will be demolished to make way for a new restaurant, Romanowski said. Both facilities will be open to the public; the residential development will be gated.

SevenShores will have two 12-story buildings, three 10-story buildings, four seven -story buildings and four six story buildings. Public opposition prompted changes in the plan that reduced the density by about 200 homes to 686 units. Up to 1,372 residents are expected to live there during the winter months.

"It’s going to be a community that’s going to contribute many dollars to the school district," he said, adding that few of the residents will have children.

Seven units have sold in the past two weeks since the sales office opened, all for more than $1 million, he said. Prices start in the high $700,000s.

Cindy Lane can be reached at clane@amisun.com.