Town considers Gulf-front property tonight

The Longboat Key Town Commission will decide at its regular meeting tonight at Town Hall whether or not it should purchase a Gulf-front property with a seawall that's affecting the shoreline's ability to hold sand in that area. 

Commissioners met Friday to discuss a property at 6541 Gulfside Road that will be heading to a foreclosure auction on Wednesday and agreed to continue the discussion and make a decision at its 7 p.m. meeting.

The home, which is owned by Roseann Morrison, has an estimated mortgage foreclosure claim from JPMorgan Chase Bank valued at $2,407,256.25. The property will be sold at auction 11 a.m. Feb. 5 on the Manatee County public auction website.

The .5-acre piece of property contains a 2,214 square-foot home that last sold for $1 million in September 2001. The total assessed value of the property in 2013 was listed at $909,301, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website.

The property is just south of the former Yonkers property, which was recently transformed into a Gulf-front estate called Ohana at 6633 Gulf of Mexico Drive that’s on the market for $22 million.

The Ohana property also contains a seawall, which has inhibited sand from staying put on the shoreline for years. The town missed an opportunity to purchase that property years ago to knock down that seawall.

Town Manager Dave Bullock recommends the commission consider placing a bid for the property at $1.17 million, which is the average of two appraisals for the property.

Commissioner Phill Younger, though, said the lot isn't worth the price and wrote a letter that explains why he believes knocking down the seawall won't help the shoreline's ability to hold sand. 

For more information, check www.yourobserver.com for updates and pick up a copy of this week's Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].