Whitney Beach sale likely, but not to grocery developer

The sale of Whitney Beach Plaza could close by the end of October, but it’s unlikely that a nationally known gourmet grocery store will be moving into the 35,000-square-foot shopping center.

According to listing agent Tina Rudek, of Engel & Völkers Longboat Key, a Boston-based development company that specializes in shopping centers put down a nonrefundable deposit on the property last Friday and is exploring multiple concepts for the property, including the possibility of putting in a coffee shop and restaurant. The name of the company and the contract and deposit amount remain confidential.

The property went under contract in June with an Atlanta-based company whose client wanted to bring what Rudek described as a “huge national brand” grocery store to the north-Key shopping center that has since abandoned its plans.

A foreclosure sale is scheduled for Nov. 2, according a notice of sale filed at the Manatee County Courthouse. But Rudek said she is optimistic that the commercial short sale will close before then — possibly in late October.

“Typically when the buyer pits down the deposit, they follow through with the closing,” Rudek said. “But in today’s real-estate market, you can’t count your chickens before they hatch.”

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].