"Coach homes" in the first phase of Harbour Isle, being developed by Minto Communities on Perico Island off Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 2-19-2013.
It was the right place. It wasn’t always the right time.
The place is Perico Island, the last stop on the road from Bradenton to the beaches of Anna Maria Island. For decades, it was fertile ground for the Manatee Fruit Co., which was noted for growing gladiolus.
Then came a Florida real estate boom like only one other, and in came the St. Joe Co., which from the 1930s to the 1990s was better known for growing pulp for paper than building houses. But after it got into residential development in the 1997, converting some of its panhandle pine forest into developments such as WaterColor, it eventually bought a big chunk of Perico Island from Manatee Fruit.
But St. Joe’s timing was off, and it needed a St. Christopher’s medal to get out of Perico’s thick mangrove forest when the 2000s boom went bust.
The ticket to safety was provided by Minto Communities, a Toronto developer which is now developing the 6,000-foot-long property as 680-unit gated community known as Harbour Isle. (FOR A PHOTO GALLERY, CLICK HERE.)
Model homes at Harbour Isle, being developed by Minto Communities on Perico Island off Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 2-19-2013.
By the time Minto bought the St. Joe project, then called SevenShores, in October 2009, St. Joe had already done a lot of the heavy lifting. It had dug a 30-acre lake almost a mile long, built a basic road and put in utility pipes. And it got the sought-after permits and approvals for not only residences, but also a 119-slip marina.
“It was a protracted approval process” for St. Joe, said Minto Florida's president, Mike Belmont. “Harbour Isle at one time had a much higher density" approved.
But with the market crash, St. Joe made “a corporate decision to exit the housing market and just be a land developer,” said Belmont.
"We had made a decision that we weren’t looking for distressed properties — we were looking for great properties with sellers that were distressed," said Belmont. "We felt it was a very unique property with a tremendous location a mile from the Gulf of Mexico, and on Anna Maria Sound. So it offered a great many opportunities for unique and innovative housing.
The Harbour Grand Retreat model home at Harbour Isle, being developed by Minto Communities on Perico Island off Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 2-19-2013.
“We were able to do our first phase of development without a great deal of infrastructure work. It wasn’t as large an endeavor of development as it might have been if they hadn’t done a lot of the work up front. That made it appealing.”
Minto has tried to keep it appealing with condominium “island coach homes” that are built three to a building. But instead of putting the garages out front, they are side-loaded into each building. A motor court provides access to the three garages in each of two side-by-side buildings.
“The front elevations really give you a Southern coastal resort feel,” Belmont said.
Inside, the buildings have one lower-floor unit and two upper-floor units that range is size from 1,621 to 2,960 square feet. Prices start in the $370,000s and range up to about $500,000. Condo fees are $376 a month.
“The larger units have an observatory or a retreat in a tower,” he said.
The residences are certified green by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED for Homes) standard. And sustainable measures are carried on in the landscape, said Belmont.
“A significant amount of effort has gone into creating a pristine and natural setting for the community,” Belmont said. “There is no sod on the lake banks — it is fakahatchee grass. It took several months to get it installed, and now it is really has a phenomenal look. It is very appropriate for this location.”
Minto has sold “about 80 units through last week,” said Belmont. Sales and development has begun on Phase II of Mangrove Walk, with 12 buildings and 36 more residential units. “We will be developing more throughout the year,” he added. “We think we will be selling about 80 or more units per year.”
The first phase of Mangrove Walk has 32 buildings and 96 residences, with six model homes.
The models have 10-foot tray ceilings, 18-inch ceramic floor tiles, GE Energy Star appliances, private elevators in the second-floor units, granite counter tops in the kitchen, baths and laundry rooms, low-e double-pane impact-resistant windows and upgraded wood kitchen cabinets.
The buildings are made with concrete blocks that are covered in fiber-cement HardiePlank siding from James Hardie Building Products. The roofs have metal accents and decorative shakes.
More than 80 units are under construction and about three dozen families live in Harbour Isle. “We have increased prices 10 to 12 percent since we opened,” said Belmont. “It is a good sign to see prices going up in the market.”
If demand calls for it, Belmont said, “We do have the ability to build towers of up to 12 stories on the northern tip of the property. That would accelerate the annual count.”
The Harbour Grand Retreat model home at Harbour Isle, being developed by Minto Communities on Perico Island off Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. Staff photo / Harold Bubil; 2-19-2013.
Although Perico Island is surrounded by salt water, views from the completed residences are either of the lake or the mangroves. The island is large, and much of it will be left as nature developed it.
Among the amenities already built are a community pool, a kayak launch and a fire pit. The main main amenity will be the beach club on Anna Maria Sound. “We’re starting construction later this year,” said Belmont. “It will provide the residents a gathering area right on the water. A great place to watch the sunset and socialize.”
The marina, close to Manatee Avenue West, also should start to take shape in 2013, too. Belmont said pricing or other details regarding the marina have not been finalized.
“When we started the development, we knew we were going to be here a long time and wanted to make it a special place,” Belmont said. “We invested the money a little ahead of time, when maybe the market wasn’t ready for it, because when there was recovery, we could differentiate ourselves.
“Now you can get a sense for what the finished community will look like, and you get a sense that the attention to detail really paid off.”
Minto is a 56-year-old home builder based in Canada that built 20,000 homes in Florida and 50,000 elsewhere. The company also has two million square feet of commercial space.
The company is building in Fort Lauderdale and has joined the Ronto Group's preferred builders at TwinEagles in Naples, and is building at Country Club East in Lakewood Ranch.
In November, Minto added to its Perico Island property by buying 72 acres from Hayden Lane I Ltd., a Bradenton company managed by Whiting Preston, for $3.57 million, or nearly $49,600 per acre. Preston's family has owned the land for generations, records show.Manatee Fruit Co., The 120-year-old Manatee Fruit has grown flowers and vegetables in west Bradenton for more than a century.
