BRADENTON BEACH – Gulf View condominium residents and rental owners Yvette and Harry Abrahamson say they appreciate the beach renourishment efforts, but they had been concerned about a staging area that was finally relocated on Friday.
The Abrahamsons own two condos at 104 Gulf Drive S.; they live in one unit and use the other as a vacation rental. According to Yvette, a staging area containing several unused pipes had been sitting on the beach in front of their condos since Oct. 5.
Until Friday, the pipes, staging area and temporary plastic fencing impeded beach access for Gulf View residents and rental guests. The Abrahamsons said this resulted in recent rental guests requesting and receiving partial refunds.
The couple recently emailed representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Manatee County in hopes of getting the staging area relocated to a less impactful area. They also emailed their concerns to Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie.
The $17 million beach renourishment project is being conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers with an anticipated completion date of Oct. 31. Construction began on July 8 at 78th Street in Holmes Beach and continues to move toward Longboat Pass in Bradenton Beach. Along the way, the threat of hurricanes stalled the project more than once, causing impacts to property owners, including the Abrahamsons.
In mid-October, the couple asked the Corps to move the pipes that blocked beach access for their renters.
When contacted by The Sun on Oct. 19, Corps spokesman David Ruderman said the pipes remained longer in one place than planned because the work was slowed by the three erosion control groins near the Abrahamsons’ condos.
“Once they get past the groins they will move more rapidly and shrink the staging area for the pipe sections more quickly,” Ruderman wrote.
Ruderman noted the project contractor, Marinex Construction Inc., was trying to accommodate impacted residents and had installed a sand ramp over the pipes near the Beach House restaurant to accommodate a wedding ceremony.
“Despite the delays and other obstacles, the beach construction is still tracking to be complete by the first week of November, possibly a bit earlier,” Ruderman said.
On Oct. 19, Harry Abrahamson asked Ruderman to install a sand walkover bridge across the pipeline in front of the Gulf View condos.
“I feel our LLC business should be afforded the same kindness of consideration as the Beach House business,” Abrahamson noted in his email.
The requested sand walkover was installed last week.
Mayor’s assistance sought
On Thursday, Oct. 22, the Abrahamsons attended a special city commission meeting and asked the mayor and commission for assistance.
They were joined at Thursday’s meeting by Joel Werginz and his wife, Denise Taylor. Werginz and Taylor own a condo in the Sandcastle condominium complex to the south. Werginz said their condo is primarily used as a vacation rental but they sometimes stay there when it’s not rented, which was the case last week.
Yvette Abrahamson addressed the commission first.
“I would like to say how great the beach renourishment looks and I appreciate the hard work involved by all. That said, I do have a complaint. Our building has had the beach blocked for 21 days. We were informed before the project started that it would take about three days in each location. We also understood that Hurricane Delta caused the work to be paused for four days in front of our condos,” she said.
“The issue is that when they completed the work in this area, they decided to make it a staging area. Pipes have been sitting there blocking access to the walkover for two weeks now. The Beach House was able to get their requested walkover for weddings, but our building has lost revenue for three weeks’ worth of guests. Our next arrival is Friday and I can’t believe we’ll be headed into a fourth partial refund,” she said.
“I’ll look into it. I promise. It’s a county project. I will see what I can find out and get back with you,” Chappie responded.
“We’ve called everyone and all we’re asking for is one section in front of Gulf View to be moved to the south,” Harry Abrahamson told the mayor and commission.
Werginz said the Sandcastle condos were not as impacted as the Gulf View condos, but guests and residents still had to walk around the pipes to access the beach.
“Earlier this week, they put those berms over the long pipe, which we understand is needed, but why can’t these guys move these pipes 100 yards further south where there would be no financial impact?” Werginz asked.
Werginz noted the staging area was negatively impacting vacation rental owners whose taxes help fund beach renourishment. He also expressed concern about rental guests having a bad vacation experience.
Situation resolved
On Friday afternoon, the Abrahamsons told The Sun the staging area and temporary fencing had been removed and all that remained was the main pipe still in use.
“We thank everybody, including Mayor Chappie, who helped get the staging area relocated. If we hadn’t gone to the commission, I don’t think this would have happened,” Yvette said. Werginz sent a similar text expressing appreciation for the relocation efforts.
When contacted Sunday, Chappie explained that in response to the condo owners’ concerns, he asked Lt. John Cosby from the Bradenton Beach Police Department to speak directly to the renourishment crew.
“I didn’t have to go any further than that,” Chappie said. “They realized there was a problem when we approached them directly and they didn’t have a problem moving the staging area. I’m pleased with the cooperative effort. It’s always nice to start at the local level first. That’s why we’re here.”
Chappie said he also reached out to the condo owners to let them know the staging area would be relocated.
