On October 6th, 2022, the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners approved changes to a Development Order for a parcel of land at Moccasin Wallow Road and I-75 in Artisan Lakes. The changes decrease commercial uses from 285,000 sq. ft. to 165,500 sq. ft.; add a 350 room, 65 ft. tall hotel; and add a 150,000 sq. ft., 45 ft. tall mini-warehouse. These changes increase the overall maximum total sq. ft. of mixed uses from 488,200 to 518,700 sq. ft.
Lexi Kalish, an owner in Edgestone at Artisan Lakes, submitted a letter and documentation showing that a 350 room hotel is quite large compared to other hotels in the area. Seminole Hardrock Hotel in Tampa is 239 rooms and the Westin at Tampa Waterside is 309 rooms. So 350 rooms is a HUGE hotel.
On the map that Lexi Kalish provided, it shows Edgestone .38 miles away from the hotel parcel. That’s about 2,000 feet away as the crow flies. Nearby residents in Eave’s Bend at Artisan Lakes have it much worse. Four homes in particular are 200 feet or less away from this project…
9907 Colorado Place, Palmetto, FL 34221
9906 Colorado Place, Palmetto, FL 34221
5889 Bungalow Grove Court, Palmetto, FL 34221
5890 Bungalow Grove Court, Palmetto, FL 34221
No one in the written public comments were supportive of this proposal. You can watch the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Land Use meeting online below for the full presentation and discussion. The video is linked to the beginning of the discussions at 2:50:36. Ultimately the measure passed 6 to 1, with Commissioner George Kruse in opposition.