Sarasota County commissioners on Wednesday terminated the county’s $18.1 million deal to buy the Boatyard waterfront property at the foot of the southern Siesta Key bridge after a months-long dispute over a federal easement that clouded the property’s title.
The board voted 3-2 to walk away from the purchase rather than accept a proposal from property owner Chris Brown of Big Main Street LLC that would have left the county responsible for potentially significant costs to resolve the title problems.
Although commissioners had heralded the move as an opportunity to expand public waterfront access, some criticized paying for it by using funds earmarked for environmentally sensitive lands and neighborhood parks. Critics also questioned the price tag — more than double the $8.9 million Brown had paid for the site two years earlier…