Current:Home > FinanceThey bought Florida party destination 'Beer Can Island' for $63k, now it's selling for $14M: See photos -Golden Summit Finance
They bought Florida party destination 'Beer Can Island' for $63k, now it's selling for $14M: See photos
View
Date:2025-04-16 23:23:03
After six months of tracking down the owner of a small Tampa Bay island, Russell Loomis bought the marooned 9 acres for $63,500 in December 2017. Little did he know, it was an infamous party destination.
"I had no idea how popular this place was with the boating community," Loomis told USA TODAY in an interview. "Come early February, early March...every weekend or every nice weather day the island was completely surrounded by hundreds of boats and hundreds of people up on the island."
The spot goes by many names Pine Key and Paradise Island, but most popularly by Beer Can Island.
Loomis pooled money with some friends including Cole Weaver with the hopes of operating a floating tiki bar off its shores. But over the last six years, they've turned it into much more.
But now, they're closing in on a deal to pass the island and its visitors to the next owners.
"We're all entrepreneurs and we've done what we could do with the island," Weaver said, rattling off the weddings, concerts and food and beverage services they brought to the island. "It's just time for us to pass the torch to somebody who can come in and make the island bigger."
'Literal cottagecore':Maine Wedding Cake House for sale at $2.65 million. See photos
Beer Can Island has been a boat spot for seven generations
Weaver said when they first bought the island, he camped out there for 100 days straight helping out with the bar, socializing with the onslaught of visitors and growing a big "Cast Away" beard in the meantime.
"I just (would) meet interesting people all day, hang out, party with them all day and then sunset comes around and they disappear and I'm on an island all by myself walking around like, did that really happen?" Weaver said.
He remembers most fondly the variety of people the island attracted, including professional athletes, politicians and people whose families had been going there for up to seven generations.
Owners in talks with potential buyers
Loomis said they set up a membership system to allow people to purchase liquor from their bar. The memberships range from $9 a month to $499 for three years, and Loomis said they ended up with approximately 4,500 members. They closed Beer Can Island to the public in February of this year and listed it for $14.2 million.
Officials have raised concerns about emergency accessibility on the island, local outlets reported, and a young man drowned while visiting the island in 2023.
"Unfortunately, those things can happen anywhere," Loomis said, adding that the island is safer with the staff who were trained in providing aid than if it was left uninhabited with the flow of visitors. He also said the island has devolved into "lawlessness" since they stopped operating.
Loomis said they are exploring two different potential deals: one from a private buyer and another from someone who hopes to buy it on behalf of the community with $1,000 pledges from members going into an Escrow account.
"It's been a really fun project," Loomis said, but he also expressed he is ready to move onto his next endeavor.
Weaver said that some people are worried it will fall into the wrong hands and may not be available to the public in the future, but he hopes it be expanded and improved on.
"There's a lot of good potential still with the future of this place," Weaver said.
veryGood! (41)
Related
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Sheriff says 2 of 9 people wounded in Michigan shooting at splash pad remain in critical condition
- Kylie Jenner and Son Aire Let Their Singing Voices Shine in Adorable Video
- Historic SS United States is ordered out of its berth in Philadelphia. Can it find new shores?
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Celtics back home with chance to close out Mavericks and clinch record 18th NBA championship
- Vintage airplane crashes in central Georgia, sending 3 to hospital
- Business owners increasingly worry about payment fraud, survey finds
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Former GOP Rep. George Nethercutt, who defeated House Speaker Tom Foley in 1994, dies at 79
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Firefighters gain ground against Southern California wildfire but face dry, windy weather
- A woman may be freed after 43 years for a grisly murder. Was a police officer the real killer?
- Rory McIlroy breaks silence after US Open collapse: 'Probably the toughest' day of career
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Brooke Shields trades heels for Crocs at 2024 Tony Awards
- Columbus Blue Jackets fire coach Pascal Vincent after one season
- Zac Efron Admits His Younger Siblings Are Getting Him Ready for Fatherhood
Recommendation
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
Why Brooke Shields Wore Crocs to the 2024 Tony Awards
Supreme Court to hear Nvidia bid to scuttle shareholder lawsuit
2 bodies, believed to be a father and his teen daughter, recovered from Texas river
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
The beginners guide to celebrating Juneteenth
The Washington Post’s leaders are taking heat for journalism in Britain that wouldn’t fly in the US
Pilgrims begin the final rites of Hajj as Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha