Former chamber building sells for $549,000

A former bank building at 6960 Gulf of Mexico Drive that once housed the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce sold April 24, for $549,000.

Built for the former First Bank in 1976, the 4,756-square-foot glass office building sits on two-thirds of an acre just south of the former Longbeach Chevron gas station and across the street from the Broadway beach access. 

Eugen Aldea, a broker-associate with Michael Saunders & Co.’s Palmer Ranch office, represented the seller, PFG LLC. The buyers, Anthony and Roxanne Marterie of San Rafael, Calif., trustees of the Marterie Family Trust, were represented by real estate agent Rose Alstrom, of Horizon Realty International. 

The property was previously purchased by PFG Asset Management LLC from First Bank for $533,900 in August 2010 and was transferred via quit claim deed to PFG LLC in March 2011. 

The Marteries also own two pieces of Key residential property at 590-591 De Narvaez Drive and a home at 705 Jungle Queen Way. The couple, who previously owned a home on Lido Beach and property in downtown Sarasota, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Anthony Marterie is listed as the president of Marterie & Associates Inc., a subsidiary of Sausalito, Calif.-based North Coast Industries, which is listed as a clothing/dress manufacturing company. 

“The Marteries have not disclosed what they have planned for the property,” Alstrom said. 

The property had been stuck in legal limbo since July 2012, when PFG principal Aubrey Lee Price disappeared after a federal warrant was issued for his arrest over accusations that he used two funds to orchestrate a $70 million investment fraud. 

Price disappeared that summer after telling acquaintances and investors he lost a large amount of money and planned to kill himself. He had ties to 10 Manatee County properties, including the bank building.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Price Oct. 28, 2014, after a police officer pulled him over during a routine traffic stop in Brunswick, Ga., and he provided the officer with a fake identification card. 

Price, who left his family and moved to Valdosta, Ga., was sentenced to 30 years in prison for faking his own death and creating a Ponzi scheme that led to the demise of a federally insured bank. 

“The property was on the market for 935 days,” Aldea said. “I’m pleased I was able to finally sell it.”

A zoning overlay district that town staff was creating for the north end is being revised to give property owners in the area incentives for different types of new development for that area. 

Senior Planner Steve Schield said the Marteries have inquired about what’s allowed on the property but haven’t announced any plans for it.

Schield said the property is zoned for office use, which means only real estate offices, banks and other professional offices are allowable uses.

Schield said the Marteries could request rezoning the property for commercial use to allow for more variety. Zoning changes of the property to residential or tourism use, though, would require a referendum of the Key’s voters. 

Longboat Key District 5 Commissioner Pat Zunz says she hopes the Marteries keep an open mind about the property.

Asked what she envisions for the north end area, Zunz said:

 “I would like to see the bank building, empty lots and gas station all become a small three-story hotel if I had my wish. It would be a good fit, and year-round visitors would encourage the use of the existing Whitney Beach Plaza and retail shops there. Unlike condos, it wouldn’t be seasonal and would make the north end retail sustainable. I’m not sure if anyone is ready to make that kind of investment, but I hope property owners keep an open mind on what the north end could become.”

“I would like to see the bank building, empty lots and gas station all become a small three-story hotel if I had my wish. — Longboat Key District 5 Commissioner Pat Zunz