HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island businessman Jake Spooner now plans to demolish the old Wells Fargo bank building at the corner of Gulf Drive and Marina Drive and build a new building in its place.
He hopes the construction of his building will begin as early as March, if all goes well.
In December 2024, the Holmes Beach City Commission approved the site plan for Spooner’s mixed-use project that will feature his ground-level Island Bazaar retail store, an outdoor miniature golf course and a small, stand-alone arcade. Some of the ground-level space will be leased to the Fudge Factory candy and ice cream shop and the second floor will be leased to Ben Sato for a 125-seat, family-friendly restaurant and bar called Mingo’s.
Spooner originally hoped to salvage some of the old bank building’s primary structure, but his engineer recently informed him that constructing a new building is a better option.
When speaking to The Sun, Spooner said, “They originally designed the building to meet FEMA’s 50% rule, but about six months ago we realized we’re not going to meet the 50% rule. Then it was a matter of what part of the existing building do we keep? There was discussion back and forth about retaining the two-story section. The two-story section was built with steel columns, but the second-floor ceilings aren’t the ideal height.
“Then we needed cost figures for the different options, so we had to wait for that. It was then determined that we have to tear down the whole structure. We’ll have a brand-new, flood-proofed building instead of having a portion of a building that’s 60-70 years old,” Spooner explained.
“They’re redesigning the project to include the new building and hopefully the design work will be done in a week or two, if all goes well. We’re going to ask the city for a demolition permit so we can remove the old building and we might have that as early as this week.
“When the city issues us the demo permit, we can start removing the old building. In the meantime, the architect and the engineers will be working on new drawings to submit to the city so we can get a building permit when we’re done with the demolition,” Spooner said.
“If all goes well, we’re hoping construction can start as early as March and then we’re looking at a 10-to-12-month construction project. Nothing’s being changed on the site plan. It was just a matter of salvaging the existing structure, or not.”
Spooner emphasized that the city of Holmes Beach has not contributed to the delays in any way.
“The city and the city staff have been pleasant, nothing but helpful and a pleasure to work with,” he said.
When contacted by The Sun, Holmes Beach Director of Development Services Chad Minor said, “We were made aware of the engineer’s recommendation not to utilize the existing structure.”
Minor said a demolition permit will be needed for the removal of the existing structure.
Minor said if the new plans remain consistent and compliant with the original site plan, then no additional city commission approval would be needed. Minor said he and city staff will review the new plans, when submitted, for consistency and compliance and determine if any additional city commission approval is needed.
