BRADENTON BEACH – Hurricane Helene’s storm surge left behind several condemned homes and structures that were damaged beyond repair and were later demolished or still await demolition.
Some of the hurricane-related demolitions resulted in now-vacant beachfront properties becoming newly available on the real estate market. One of those demolished homes was the historic beachfront 3 Pines Cottage that stood at 2214 Gulf Drive N. The cottage was named for the three pine trees that still stand on the property.
On Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene’s storm surge ripped through the cottage’s Gulf-front windows and out the landward side of the cottage, taking much of the wall, and a slice of Island history, with it. The now-vacant lot is currently on the market with a $2.55 million asking price.
The vacant lot is currently owned by Dick Kuhlman, an Ohio native who was staying in the cottage with a friend when Hurricane Helene’s storm surge crashed through the Gulf-side windows and burst through the exterior wall along the landward side of the cottage. After escaping through the hole in the wall created by the storm surge, Dick and his friend rode out the rest of the storm inside his nearby van.
Dick and his late wife, Judy, purchased the cottage from Judy’s grandmother in 1983 and they visited often until Judy’s passing in 2023. In the late 1940s, Judy’s grandparents, Floyd and Florence Myers, towed their 29-foot Airstream trailer to Bradenton Beach, parked it on a vacant beachfront lot and over the years built the 3 Pines Cottage around the travel trailer that became part of the cottage.
All that’s left now are memories, a vacant beachfront lot and a “For Sale” erected by Wagner Realty, the real estate company that previously managed the 3 Pines Cottage vacation rentals. The Wagner Realty office directly across the street was also badly damaged during Hurricane Helene. The hurricane-damaged building was later sold and remains unoccupied.
