HOLMES BEACH – An old cottage will soon find a new home at Grassy Point Preserve.
The cottage, currently located at 109 48th St., is planned to be moved to one of the two vacant lots the city owns adjacent to Grassy Point Preserve. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the city’s Public Works Department has budgeted $100,000 to move and temporarily place the structure.
City Planner Chad Minor said there is a lot of site work to be done at the location where the cottage will be moved, work that could take a year or two to fully complete before the cottage can be opened to the public. The first step, he said, is to get the cottage moved to its new location, secured and weatherproofed to prevent it from being demolished and allow for the city to continue working on the site.
Minor said his vision for the property is to make it a cultural center in conjunction with the Anna Maria Island Historical Society with a Florida-friendly garden and parking for Grassy Point. Commissioner Carol Soustek said she’d spoken with the Anna Maria Island Art League, which would like to use the cottage for art classes.
“There are a myriad of uses for that property,” she said.
Minor said the cottage has been in the Dupps family since it was built in 1931 and while the family wants to see it preserved, they’ve outgrown the structure and want to rebuild on their lot. Currently, the city is investigating moving the cottage in October.
Minor said a geotechnical study needs to be done to determine what kind of foundation needs to be built since the house isn’t a designated historical structure and therefore needs to meet FEMA standards. He added that he’s already spoken to Florida Power & Light along with the house movers and said it should be an easy move with the home placed on a temporary foundation until a full foundation can be engineered and built. Two line drops and a few trimmed tree branches should be all that’s needed to clear the way, he said.
Minor’s hoping to bring a more formal presentation on the cottage, the move and the potential future uses for it at an upcoming commission work session with the help of some members of the community.
“People are really excited about it,” he said.
