A closer look at Banyan Gasparilla Sound

It’s difficult to get your bearings when you first see the old Fishery property without the shops, the fish house, the restaurant and the charter fishing buildings that used to be there. The only things left to remind you at this point are the concrete platform the restaurant once stood upon, the old docks and the last two Albritton houses still standing on the southernmost tip. The view is breathtaking, with the alcove and docks for Gasparilla Marina on your left and the old railroad trestle over to the right. The old memories are still there, but new memories are to be made.

It’s difficult to get your bearings when you first see the old Fishery property without the shops, the fish house, the restaurant and the charter fishing buildings that used to be there. The only things left to remind you at this point are the concrete platform the restaurant once stood upon, the old docks and the last two Albritton houses still standing on the southernmost tip. The view is breathtaking, with the alcove and docks for Gasparilla Marina on your left and the old railroad trestle over to the right. The old memories are still there, but new memories are to be made.

This is the location where Banyan Gasparilla Sound will be standing sometime in late 2023 or early 2024, if all goes according to plan. It might be a far cry from the iconic 1940s fishing compound that once stood there, but looking closely at the current plan for the property that island residents Cookie Potter and Jay Feinberg have been working so hard on, with help from a team that includes Integra Investments, Gulf to Bay Sotheby’s, SB Architects, TLee Spas, Iddi and Exteriors by Koby Kirwin, people who have any doubts about the low profile of the new extension of Boca Grande’s amenities can feel more secure. 

Gulf-to-Bay Broker Associate Mel Csank held up a graphic against the backdrop of the property to explain how the property would be laid out. She is enthusiastic about BGS and has much of the specific detail for the site ingrained in her memory bank. As she pointed to where each of the amenities would be, including a beach and tiki bar at the southern point, one could see how vested she is. Any questions one has are immediately answered with barely a flicker of hesitation.

“All of the trees you see with the ribbons around them are trees that the landscape designer will attempt to work into the plan,” she said, looking around the little cove fondly. Blooming pink and yellow frangipanni trees are prolific, as well as gumbo limbo trees. A mangrove program is going to be implemented soon, to ensure that most of the waterfront perimeter is kept as natural as possible, not to mention the added stability and shelter from erosion that the native plant brings to the soil. Because of its obvious proximity to the water, buildings on the property will be raised up 12 feet, with parking underneath. 

Looking out onto the water where the little cove is under the bridge by the marina is where the “A” building will be located. It is one of six private residential buildings on the property. Near there is where the Blue Waters Bistro will be built, with facilities above it where bridge gatherings will be held. 

Csank pointed toward the area in the south-central part of the property where the tall, skinny palms hold court in the median area of the road and described the Gardenia building, which is one of the flower-named condominiums in the plan. Others include the “Jasmine” building, which will also hold retail space, the “Orchid” building, the “Bougainvillea” building, the “Jacaranda” building and the “Hibiscus” building (which will also contain the spa), the “Hyacinth” building which will also feature the resort lobby.

“I’m excited to see it as construction begins,” Csank said. “We want to start breaking ground by the end of this year and expect a year to build. Everything will be done at the same time. So, ideally, we are looking at the last quarter in 2023 or the first quarter in 2024 before completion, and then everything should be ready for our residents and guests.”