Tampa landowners respond to Skyway cruise port backlash
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A map showing the Knott-Cowen tract on the southern end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge where the proposed cruise port would be built. Photo: Manatee County
The developers of a proposed cruise port near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge say they share a goal with those railing against it: preserving Rattlesnake Key.
Why it matters: The cruise port proposal has renewed public concern about the 700-acre-plus island of mangrove forests and wetlands popular with anglers and boaters.
- The tract has been on the state's land acquisition wish list for three decades, but proposals to take ownership have fallen through.
State of play: Rattlesnake Key had long been owned by Tampa Bay Real Estate Investment Co., which sold it to cruise operator SSA Marine last year and is working with that company to develop the proposed port on a separate but nearby piece of land.
- As part of that transaction, SSA Marine agreed to preserve the island, according to the cruise company and Honey Rand, a spokesperson for the real estate firm.
- "The community said they wanted Rattlesnake Key preserved, and that is going to happen thanks to SSA," Rand told Axios, speaking publicly for the first time since the proposal was announced Jan. 16.
- Through a holding company, the Tampa firm still owns a 328-acre property known as the Knott-Cowen tract, where the proposed port would be built.
Yes, but: Critics say the preservation of Rattlesnake Key isn't enough to offset the potential damage to surrounding waterways and the tourism, fishing and boating industries.
- "I don't think that protecting an area … that should already have our protection is grounds for destroying everything around it," said Justin Tramble, executive director of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, an environmental advocacy nonprofit that opposes the plan.
Zoom in: Tramble was referring to previous efforts to bring the island under state ownership through the Florida Forever land conservation program.
- In 2022, state lawmakers and Manatee County officials designated about $25 million to buy the property.
- Tampa Bay Real Estate Investment had also offered to include the Knott-Cowen tract and a few surrounding islands owned by the firm in the deal, Rand said.
- But a state appraisal of the land undercut the sale, and the deal fell apart.
What they're saying: "We could have possibly avoided all this distraction and disruption if that acquisition had gone through," Bradenton Republican Rep. Will Robinson told Florida Politics last week.
Flashback: The recent failed purchase wasn't the state's first chance to acquire the land.
- In 2012, the investment firm sought a land swap with the state: 1,000 acres of privately owned wetlands, including Rattlesnake Key and Knott-Cowen, in exchange for a small state-owned parcel closer to Interstate 275 that the owners were eyeing for development.
- State officials weren't interested, Rand said, and the owners abandoned the plans.
The latest: With the cruise port project now on the horizon, the landowners have begun preliminary talks with the county to rezone the port site.
- County spokesperson Bill Logan stressed that the project "could not be any earlier" in the regulatory process.
What's next: SSA Marine said in a statement that leaders "look forward to working closely with local officials, residents and environmental leaders in the months ahead to discuss how best to preserve" Rattlesnake Key.
- As for the public backlash, Tramble of Tampa Bay Waterkeeper said he doesn't see it fading any time soon — nor does he want it to.
- "Floridians and especially folks here in the Tampa Bay region understand the importance of protecting what we've got here," he said.