BRADENTON – Manatee County residents expressed their preferences for the future of Cortez Marina at the first of five public workshops at the Bridge Church on July 24.
The workshop, held in an open house format, had four stations – an aerial map of the parcel, a location map and survey, priority ranking for desired amenities and an opportunity for attendees to post a short statement.
Manatee County purchased the former Seafood Shack property, which consists of seven upland parcels of approximately 5.9 acres and two submerged land leases of 2.9 acres, on Dec. 31, 2024 for $13 million with the intention of using it for boat ramps and a public marina.
According to a July 11 Manatee County press release inviting residents to attend the workshops, “Manatee County Government is starting with a blank slate to design a vibrant public boat launch and waterfront destination at the Cortez Boat Ramp and public input is being sought. Every dock plank, parking space and amenity will reflect the community’s vision, so project managers are opening the doors wide for citizens to contribute their creativity, concerns and aspirations.”
“The feedback is incredibly important to the commissioners,” Manatee County Communications Division Manager Casey Zempel said. “Any one of these sessions is an opportunity for people to let us know what kind of waterfront they want to see.”
Suggested amenities for the property included a bait and tackle shop, mooring field, waterfront destination, working waterfront/fish market, passive waterfront, recreation rental, waterfront food truck plaza and waterfront dining. Using stickers, attendees ranked their choices.
“We’re going to combine all the data and let the ideas surface and put together a presentation that we can put before the board and hopefully get approved using all this feedback – great feedback – from the community.”
Consulting firm Kimley-Horne will compile the data from the five workshops and make a final presentation to county commissioners.
“We started with the Cortez area and that really started with our boots on the ground effort. Our neighborhood connections team went out and canvassed the neighborhood door-to-door to make sure the surrounding community knew about these open house sessions so we can have the relevant feedback of those who live in close proximity to the future boat ramp,” Zempel said.
Zempel said county residents could also leave feedback at the Cortez Boat Ramp website.
Additional public workshops are scheduled:
- Wednesday, Aug. 6, 5-7 p.m., Manatee Central Library, 1301 First Ave. W., Bradenton;
- Monday, Aug. 11, 5-7 p.m., Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach;
- Wednesday, Aug. 13, 5-7 p.m., Rocky Bluff Library, 6750 U.S. 301, Ellenton;
- Monday, Aug. 18, 5-7 p.m., Lakewood Ranch Library, 16410 Rangeland Parkway, Bradenton.
