Pine Key, better known as Beer Can Island, is for sale
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Ever wanted to own an island? Now's your chance.
What's happening: Pine Key, better known as Beer Can Island, is for sale, the Tampa Bay Times reported. It includes the nine-acre island about two miles off Apollo Beach plus 60 acres of submerged land.
- The listing price is $14.2 million, according to the Times and a news release issued Thursday by the Tampa-based Judge PR.
- If the island doesn't sell for cash in the next few weeks, the owners will take it to a cryptocurrency-only auction next month., co-owner Cole Weaver told Axios.
Catch up quick: The island had no amenities until the last few years; campers and boaters flocked there to party at their own risk.
- Then, a group of friends looking for a place to dock their tiki boat bought it and turned it into a party venue, adding bathrooms, trashcans, food, security and a campground, per the Times.
- The changes set off a zoning fight with Hillsborough County officials who want to see the island treated as a nature preserve, which would quash its use as a party venue. That debate is ongoing, the Times reported.
Bureaucracy aside, the chance to take over ownership "is exceedingly rare," majority owner Cole Weaver said in the new release.
- "We're grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from the community and our members over the years," he said, "but all good things must come to an end at some point, and for us, that time is now."
Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect that the island's owners plan to auction it off for cryptocurrency if it doesn't sell in the next few weeks.