{"id":125821,"date":"2026-01-21T03:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T03:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125821\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T03:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T03:27:08","slug":"tampa-based-developer-proposes-island-destination-to-complement-manatee-county-cruise-port-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/125821\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa-based developer proposes island destination to complement Manatee County cruise port plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TAMPA, Fla. – A second development proposal is emerging alongside plans for a potential cruise port in Manatee County<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

K.C. Coastal, a Tampa<\/a>-based developer, is proposing a new destination called\u00a0“K.C. Coastal Island”\u00a0on Eds Key, a 12.8-acre island the company has owned since 2021. The island sits near Rattlesnake Key, a 710-acre environmentally sensitive area recently acquired by SSA Marine through a subsidiary, with commitments to conservation.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Proposed cruise port near Sunshine Skyway sparks environmental concerns in Manatee County<\/a><\/p>\n

The proposed island would complement a larger cruise port<\/a> project planned on the nearby 328-acre Knott-Cowen tract, adjacent to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.<\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

According to K.C. Coastal, the island concept includes executive villas, crew and pilot housing, a beach club and tici bar and a water taxi terminal. The developer said the goal is to create a small-scale landing and support destination for cruise operations tied to the proposed port in Manatee County.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

K.C. Coastal President Braian Craciun said the company is mindful of the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n

PREVIOUS: Seattle-based company shares proposal for new cruise terminal in Manatee County<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“There\u2019s wildlife there, it\u2019s a beautiful spot,” Craciun said. “We don\u2019t want to create a big impact\u2026 I think it would be a perfect little landing spot for that project.”<\/p>\n

The other side:<\/p>\n

Opposition remains strong. Residents who oppose the cruise port have formed a group called “Save Rattlesnake Key,” arguing that any development in the area could harm sensitive ecosystems.<\/p>\n

The group has launched a Change.org petition<\/a>, which has collected more than 6,100 signatures\u00a0so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What we don’t know:<\/p>\n

It’s unclear whether the county would approve rezoning for either project, what environmental impacts formal studies might reveal and if or when either proposal would move forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Like the proposed cruise port, the island development would require rezoning approval from the Manatee County Commission. As of now, neither project appears on the commission\u2019s agenda, and both remain conceptual.<\/p>\n

The Source: This article is based on reporting from FOX 13, including statements from K.C. Coastal and information previously shared by developers proposing a cruise port near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Additional context comes from public statements by community opposition groups and petition data made publicly available online.<\/p>\n

Tampa<\/a>Manatee County<\/a>Travel News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – A second development proposal is emerging alongside plans for a potential cruise port in Manatee…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,4134,115,135,137,136,9313,628],"class_list":["post-125821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-fl","tag-hillsborough","tag-manatee","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-travel-news","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}