Aqua by the Bay wins another legal battle. When will construction on homes begin?

The controversial Aqua by the Bay development cleared one more hurdle earlier this month when an appeals court dismissed another case against it.

After years of litigation, the mixed-use housing project is a large-scale plan along the Sarasota Bay that will provide 2,384 multi-family and 510 single-family homes, as well as 78,000 square feet of commercial space, according to its general development plan.

But opponents felt that the project had been approved by the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners unfairly, and environmentalists have been concerned about the environmental impact construction and development may bring. Former county commissioner Joe McClash filed an appeal against the developer and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

McClash said FDEP did not properly calculate mitigation bank credits that the project was given. In an April 5 opinion, the First District Court of Appeals did not agree, tossing out the case because McClash did not show “that the challenged order adversely affected his interest so as to confer standing to appeal.”

The decision marks another victory for the project. In January, a Manatee judge dismissed another lawsuit claiming that the public had not been afforded due process in the case.

Drivers along El Conquistador Parkway may have noticed four construction vehicles sitting on the 529 acres of land south of 53rd Avenue West.

Reached for comment Tuesday, a Medallion Homespokeswoman said the builder has no immediate plans to move forward immediately and would not comment on the construction timeline.

Developer Carlos Beruff is head of Medallion Home.

The Aqua by the Bay community spent more than 10 years working its way through the county’s approval process and was formerly known as Long Bar Pointe, which included plans for condos, hotels, a marina and a conference center.

This story was originally published May 1, 2019 at 11:59 AM.