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River island for sale for $5-million
The owner bought the land in 1979 for $13,600 and dreamed he would build a restaurant.
By MEAGHAN FORBES
Published September 9, 2005
RIVERVIEW - A former real estate agent is selling his island on the Alafia River. The asking price: $5-million.
Owner Joe Ramsey purchased the island in 1979 with a plan to build an international pagoda-style restaurant with honeymoon cottages on the north side and a marina around the shore.
He paid $13,600 for it, according to county records.
Now, Ramsey, 65, said he has decided to give up the 1.65-acre island because he has never been able to achieve his dream.
"I would like someone else to pick up the dream and do something else with it," Ramsey said, noting that an island business would revitalize the south Hillsborough area and give Tampa a new attraction.
How did he determine the selling price?
"It's just a figure I came with because of the uniqueness of the island," he said.
Hillsborough Chief Deputy Property Appraiser Warren Weathers wonders if the county government will allow someone to build on the island, since most of it could potentially be wetlands. He also questioned who will buy the land for $5-million.
"I don't know of any vacant lots selling for 5-million down on Davis Islands ... and they're buildable, dry land," Weathers said. "They sell for a million."
The island, located east of U.S. 41, does not have any electrical or sewer connections, but Ramsey says he has a permit from the 1980s that would allow for above or underground electrical wiring. The waste system would have to be a septic tank.
In the year that the island has been for sale, Ramsey says he has received some interest from a few buyers.
If the island isn't sold by the time his sales contract with a Realtor expires at the end of the month, Ramsey says he will take matters into his own hands.
He'll either post it on the Internet or sell the land in a lottery-style drawing.
Whatever it takes, Ramsey said. He just wants to see something useful done with the land.
"It has a tremendous potential for the area," he said.
Meaghan Forbes can be reached at 661-2439 or mforbes@sptimes.com
[Last modified September 8, 2005, 10:42:04]
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