CORTEZ – Business owners on the Seafood Shack property received eviction letters effective Sept. 30, but a Manatee County spokesperson said new agreements with those businesses are possible after the county buys the property.
“It is the intention of Manatee County to make every effort to establish new contracts that include county contract requirements with legacy and/or new vendors once the county is the owner of the property,” Manatee County Information Outreach Manager Bill Logan wrote in a Sept. 20 email to The Sun.
Manatee County commissioners unanimously approved the $13 million purchase at a Sept. 5 land use meeting with the anticipated use of the property as a public boating access facility consisting of a boat ramp, dry storage facility and marina.
The scheduled closing date for the sale is Oct. 7.
Logan said the business owners’ properties are leased on a month-to-month basis.
“The current landlord (owner Vandyk Properties) would not agree to a sale date extension to allow the buyers (Manatee County) an opportunity to evaluate the current leases prior to closing, so the current tenants must vacate their locations per the current landlord’s requirements,” Logan wrote.
Logan wrote that there will likely be no changes to the configuration of the property for 12-24 months after the sale closes to allow the county time to complete an overview of the property and craft plans for future enhancements.
“No work will commence before neighbors, nearby HOAs, and other stakeholders are informed of the impact(s) anticipated and allowed an ample opportunity to engage in that planning process,” Logan wrote.
The property, which consists of seven upland parcels of approximately 5.9 acres and two submerged land leases of 2.9 acres, was appraised at $12.55 million. That appraisal assumed that two expired submerged land leases would be renewed.
“I assume the board will act as a landlord and essentially create a revenue source by leasing slips and continue to lease space to those businesses that are already there,” Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said at the Sept. 5 meeting. “We’re not looking to put anybody out of work.”
The eviction notices came from Vandyk Properties and advised business owners to vacate the properties by Sept. 30.
“The eviction notice is a legal letter,” said James Morganroth, who has owned Pirate Adventures of Cortez at the Seafood Shack Marina since 2018. “I’m hearing from other businesses here the county is in talks with the owner so that may not happen. That’s the hope for sure.”
Morganroth said he is excited about the prospect of the county installing a new marina and boat slips.
“This property has a lot of potential,” he said.
Annie’s Bait and Tackle, which has existed since the 1950s, is part of the Seafood Shack parcel. Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, told The Sun on Sept. 20 that he is reserving comment until Tuesday, Sept. 24. Commissioner George Kruse was scheduled to hold an open meeting for area residents on Sept. 23, after press time for The Sun.
