ANNA MARIA — The Pine Avenue restoration project no longer needs artist renderings to illustrate what’s to come for Anna Maria’s business district.
The nearly completed pink and green, cottage-like structures now serve as a preview to the retail, office and residential developments in store for Manatee County’s tourist spot.
The two-story buildings at 315 and 317 Pine Ave. have commercial tenants ready to move in and will be the first of several mixed-use structures to be developed along the narrow island road.
Anna Maria Island Accommodations purchased the 2,500 square-feet of commercial space at 317 Pine Ave., and is expected to move in by mid- to late May.
At 315 Pine Ave., Lor Ell’s Hair Designs and Island Podiatry have been secured as the remaining commercial tenants.
Susan Brinson, co-owner of Anna Maria Island Accommodations, said her vacation rental business will occupy 1,250 square-feet of the commercial space.
Brinson plans to lease the other half of the space to a small retail business, which has not been secured yet.
Brinson said the structure and location was a good fit for Anna Maria Island Accommodations’ main location, while maintaining the Holmes Beach location as a secondary office.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing project,” Brinson said. “With all the potential for shops, I think it will draw more people to the north end of the island.”
Business partners Ed Chiles and Micheal Coleman, the creators of the project, have three more similar structures in the works for Pine Avenue.
They want the mixed-use structures to preserve Pine Avenue as the island’s boutique business district.
“We’re very excited that our vision of this community center for Anna Maria is under way,” Chiles said.
“We want this to be here to enhance the quality of life.”
Coleman wouldn’t disclose the total cost of the Pine Avenue project.
However, the 2,500 square-foot commercial units in the first structure were listed at $450,000 at pineavenueinfo.com, and 2,000 square-foot residential units were listed from $595,000-$695,000.
David Teitelbaum, a Realtor with Island Real Estate, said he doesn’t anticipate the nation’s economic meltdown to bring down buyer interest.
“Here at this very time we have money being put into the opportunities in this project,” Teitelbaum said.
And businesses established on the north end of the island are confident in the project despite economic conditions.
Sandy Mattick, owner of Pine Avenue General Store, said the mixed-use structures have potential to benefit her business, as well as residents.
“We’d like to see a variety of things here so the locals don’t have to go anywhere else to shop,” Mattick said.
Coleman projects the next two mixed-use structures at 308 Pine Ave. to undergo construction within 60-90 days.
Remaining structures will be built at 401 and 503 Pine Ave.
The goal is to have the project finished and sold by 2011.
“This is an optimistic vision the area,” Coleman said.
“The idea is to live and work in paradise.”
Grace Gagliano, business reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 2620.
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