Landlord refuses to do anything about sinkholes at shopping center. County promises a fix

Manatee County is running out of patience with the owner of the Cortez Plaza East shopping center, who has refused to do anything about sinkholes threatening his tenants and potentially creating flooding problems for nearby residents.

The county's public works department is preparing a plan of action to present to present to the county commission in the near future.. Whatever the county is forced to do will be billed to the owner. If that goes unpaid, a lien on the property is possible.

Considering the property is listed for sale on loopnet.com for an undisclosed amount, the lack of action is perplexing.

As the situation grows worse, Karen Grimes, a resident of a nearby condo, said, "I never had a flooding problem until this sinkhole. The parking lot debris fills the hole and slows the runoff water, so it backs into our condos. With the upcoming rainy weather, I'm beginning to stress about what could happen."

Manatee County is less prone to natural sinkholes than neighbors to the north such as Hillsborough and Pasco counties. But this one isn't natural. The sinkholes in the plaza are due to the underground stormwater pipes that keep collapsing.

County officials say the property owner, Bradenton Associates LLC, which could not be reached for comment, has had ongoing sinkhole issues. Others have been repaired, but the owner has chosen to do nothing about the latest ones, which is why he was fined $500 on March 1 after being adjudicated guilty of a code enforcement violation by a special magistrate.

Code Enforcement Chief Jeff Bowman also said that the owner has been incurring daily fines since March 1.

The more noticeable sinkhole is located in the southeast corner of the plaza near a laundromat and Plato's Closet, across from the Dollar Tree. Shoppers say it's been there too long to remember when it started, but it has certainly grown. The owner's solution was to throw a couple of fence gates over the top and surround it with flimsy fencing.

The asphalt around the existing hole continues to crack as the hole expands and the ground around it, including the asphalt, is soft underfoot.

Stephanie Ramirez uses the nearby laundromat about once a week.

"It's been like this ever since I started coming here, but they keep having to move the fences around it back," she said. "It's getting to the point where we won't even be able to park here and it's definitely getting worse. I just can't believe no one is doing anything about this."

In March, the hole had grown to about 25 feet long and about 10 feet wide. It was about 3 feet deep with some areas appearing to be deeper and it's definitely growing, but it's not the only sinkhole. More out of sight on the east side of Dollar Tree and close to a nearby drainage canal, is a larger sinkhole.

It's about 25 feet wide as well, but much deeper at about a dozen or so feet. Surrounded by blue mesh construction fencing, it's a little more out of the public eye. It's proximity to the drainage canal could be why additional flooding is occurring along areas of the canal.

Manatee County spokesman Nick Azzara said what plans the county takes won't be announced until commissioners have had a chance to review the situation. Azzara would only say, "Public works is working on a plan to have the repairs made."

This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Landlord refuses to do anything about sinkholes at shopping center. County promises a fix."