This article originally appeared on Business expert.
A singular party venue in Tampa Bay, Florida, is on the market for $14.2 million.
Pine Key is an island in the middle of Tampa Bay, created by a state dredging project. It spans roughly 69 acres, though only nine of them are waterfront, and boasts photogenic white beaches and surrounding blue waters.
It’s commonly generally known as “Beer Can Island” because of the beer cans left behind by sailors, but over the past seven years it has been transformed into one of Florida’s hottest party spots.
It was bought by 4 entrepreneurs in 2017 for $63,650.
Russell Loomis, 46, who was one of the quartet of visionaries, he said in an interview with The Times of London: “We have been working on this project for the last six years and we are ready to pass the baton to the next person.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Loomis does business experience in technology applications and running a debt relief company. In 2017, he and his friends built a floating tiki bar out of 258 plastic barrels. Finding a parking spot for a floating watering hole drew them to Pine Key.
“It was an extremely fun time, but it came with many challenges. When we bought it, we didn’t know what we were getting into.”
When they bought the island, which already had a status as an unofficial party spot for locals, it lacked public amenities and services, and its owners seemed quite glad to get rid of it.
But over the years, after transporting supplies of food and alcohol, repairing toilets, picnic tables and a 30-meter-long inflatable slide, the once-defunct island became a hub for sailors looking to loosen up.
“Running an island is different from running a regular business. You have to learn a completely new path,” Loomis said.
“If you run a bar on the mainland, a truck shows up with all the stock, it comes and fills the shelves; for an island, you physically go shopping, load them into vans, from the vans to the boat, and then by boat to anywhere on the island.
“The hardest part is the logistics,” Loomis said.
Nevertheless, Loomis, Cole Weaver, James Wester and John Gadd made investments $5 million project, turned the island into a popular place for partygoers. They even hosted weddings and musical events, selling up to 3,000 concert tickets at a time.
Others didn’t like their friends’ marketing strategy
While many were glad with the friends’ decision to spruce up the island, some were less sure.
“The main group of people thought it was their island and didn’t understand that before we bought it, it was actually private property and they were trespassers – the owner just didn’t enforce it so they felt entitled. We opened it up and created amenities and entertainment,” Loomis said.
In an attempt to placate some locals, Weaver spent 100 days living on the island, building relationships with the boating community and assuring them that they might still come to the island each time they wanted.
Weaver, a real estate agent and architectural engineer, decided to leave most of the island open to anyone who wanted to come ashore, but put aside some of it for paid “members only.”
Local authorities also caused confusion, saying the island must be used as a nature reserve moderately than for events. Manatees live near the island and seek comfort in warm waters in winter. Weaver, nonetheless, believes that the only wildlife on the island are seagulls and rats, which, according to The Times, harassed him during his stay.
New owner
The island will likely be auctioned as an NFT for cryptocurrency, although money offers can even be accepted, Fox reports. The auction began in early March and will end on April 1, 2024.
The highest bidder will likely be the latest owner of the island. However, this unique property comes with its own unique problems. It was sunk last yr under five feet of water during Hurricane Idalia, – reported the Tampa Bay Times.
“We’ve had so much interest and many, many calls from developers who want to build homes to people who want to continue doing what we’re doing,” Weaver told The Times.
“It was a fun time… it was a good time. It’s not every day you get up on your personal island,” he said.