MANATEE COUNTY — A developer received the Manatee County Commission’s enthusiastic approval Thursday to build a unique, solar-powered neighborhood of “coastal cottages” on the Cortez peninsula.
To blend in with the surrounding historic fishing village, Hunters Point Resort & Marina on 18.7 acres north of Cortez Road and east of 126th Street West will feature “cracker Florida” inspired architecture.
Pearl Homes developer Marshall Gobuty called his development plan “revolutionary” and “unconventional.” He said he expects it to be the start of a trend. “We are going to change the way things are done … This is the beginning of a homebuilding revolution.”
“I think it will be a home run,” Commissioner Robin DiSabatino said after Gobuty and his consultants completed their presentation.
The project calls for 86 cottage-style residences and 45,620 square feet of nonresidential uses that would include a complex of two-story “lodges” with 62 hotel rooms, a clubhouse, retail space and a bistro.
Boaters could use an existing 17-slip marina and a 31-slip dock to be built along an existing canal giving them access to Anna Maria Sound. Another slip is to be reserved for an electric water taxi that will take passengers to Anna Maria Island.
Caleb Grimes, Gobuty’s attorney, assured residents already on the canal that they can continue to use it even though his client now owns it.
“We do not intend to change any of the historical uses of the canal, prohibit anyone that has a lot on the canal from being able to put a properly permitted dock in front of their lot, or in any way limit the navigation on the canal,” Grimes said. He said he filed “a declaration of record” that confirms those assurances and is legally binding.
Pearl Homes will partner with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program and the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida on the design of the homes.
Solar panels and storage batteries are to make the homes energy independent.
The developer describes the architecture as “a modern interpretation of Florida’s traditional ‘cracker cottage’ style of the early 20th century.”
Even the name of the community has a historic appeal. In the 1800s, Cortez village called itself Hunters Point. The villagers changed the name to Cortez after they learned Florida already had a post office for a community named Hunters Point.
Each steel-framed, two-bedroom home will have a total of 1,450 square feet of usable space, 484 of which will be interior and the remainder on exterior decks and the rooftop.
The architecture of the lodges would also be of an old Florida style.
Gobuty is also partnering with Tesla and Panasonic on the project. Tesla will provide the solar panels, an electric car charging station and a battery storage system that collects excess energy and sends it to Florida Power & Light’s grid. Panasonic will install a high-speed fiber optic network, street lighting and security monitors.
The property currently includes 17 boat slips, an abandoned gas station and is partially used for boat and recreational vehicle storage. A portion of it, 12.4 acres, was approved in 2006 for a 36-home subdivision that was not built.
Gobuty said he has yet to determine the homes' potential price range.
Gobuty is currently developing Mirabella, a subdivision on the site of the abandoned Village Green golf course in west Bradenton. Mirabella received a LEED Platinum rating for energy efficiency from the U.S. Green Building Coalition.