Triton Bend breaks ground on two homes

The Triton Bend property is a rarity.

It’s on Longboat Key and is zoned single-family residential. And it hasn’t been developed — until now.
The town issued building permits for the vacant sites at 609 and 611 Triton Bend in the last two weeks, with total implicated costs listed at $375,000 and $350,000, respectively.

The homes will be the first of 13 that are planned for completion in the next two-and-a-half to three years in the long-awaited subdivision. Each home will take approximately eight or nine months to complete.

“There has not been a new development on Longboat in eight or nine years,” said Walter Hackett, of Michael Saunders & Co., who is the developing agent for the property. According to Hackett, it is the last undeveloped single-family residential enclave available on Longboat Key.

According to Barbara Najmy, also of Michael Saunders & Co., who is listing the project with Hackett, the current market has a lack of new building inventory along with a strong demand for new construction.

The property is owned by the Tampa-based Collier Walker Real Estate Holdings, which purchased it as raw, undeveloped land for $1.25 million, in December 2003 and spent more than $80,000 paving and connecting Neptune and Triton Bend (formerly Triton Avenue) to form a half circle through the future subdivision.

The properties went on the market nearly five years ago and were originally being sold as individual vacant lots instead of turnkey homes. The project was put “on the back burner” because of the economy, according to Hackett.

“With the encouraging turnaround in the Sarasota-Manatee areas, we have placed this development on the front burner,” he said.

Home packages have not been listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Pricing has yet to be determined.

Floor plans have four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms and range from 2,400 to more than 3,000 square feet, although custom designs are available.

“It’s a whole lot of room for family and friends to gather,” Hackett said.

The lots aren’t located directly on the water but have two deeded beach accesses.

Builders for the project are Beach to Bay Homes and Todd Johnston, and Cliff M. Scholz is the architect.

“The homes will have a coastal, West Indies feel,” Najmy said.

Construction for a third home that is under contract at 613 Triton Bend will begin in January.

The property is located near the 2900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive and connects with Neptune Avenue. The location is just south of Publix and CVS.

View Triton Bend Development in a larger map