Mote marine education center is still coming to Anna Maria City Pier. Here’s the latest
By March of 2023, the planned Mote Marine Outreach Center on the Anna Maria City Pier could be a reality.
It has taken longer than expected, and the city council in April approved an extension for the project. But the architect is expected to start work this month.
“As you know, the construction industry is running at full throttle these days,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said in a recent email to the Bradenton Herald. “That, along with the impact of labor and material shortages, has caused us to extend the anticipated opening date of the Mote Marine Outreach Center on the Anna Maria City Pier.”
“As it stands now, we expect the architect to commence work on Aug. 18, with plans submitted to the city for approval by Oct. 13. Once the permits are issued and the certificate of occupancy has been approved, we anticipate that the facility will be open in the March 2023 time frame,” Murphy said.
Anna Maria City Pier, 100 N. Bay Blvd., was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017, rebuilt at a cost of $6.8 million, and reopened in June 2020.
A 1,800-square-foot shell at the end of the pier has been reserved for Mote to develop a learning center to educate and entertain locals and visitors alike.
The space could have been used for a retail or restaurant space, but Anna Maria officials chose to opt for knowledge over hamburgers, as Murphy previously put it.
The proposed layout shows aquarium habitats for juvenile sport fish, grass flats, schooling fish and stone crab, and a touch exhibit.
Also proposed are sounds of the sea, an information desk and retail space.
Potential education programs include story times, guided tours and science talks.
“The community of Anna Maria has a great connection to the marine environment, especially apparent in the 100-plus year history of the City Pier. The restored Anna Maria Island City Pier presents an additional location where Mote can connect folks with our marine research, how they can interact and conserve the waters around Anna Maria, and tell the long history of the community’s relationship with the marine environment,” Mote President & CEO Michael P. Crosby previously said in a prepared statement.
The Manatee County Commission approved a request in 2021 for $500,000 in tourist bed tax funds for design and installation of the learning center.
The annual cost to operate the center is projected at $444,134, with $337,967 coming in-kind from Mote Marine. The rest of the budget would come from retail sales, education programs, and donations.
The city of Anna Maria would pick up the cost of utilities, estimated at $9,500 a year.
