Perico development lands a second life

A failed condo project in northwest Manatee County has a chance at a new life now that it has new owners.

The 350-acre property on Perico Island was being developed by the Jacksonville-based St. Joe Co. as a mix of condo towers, retail space, restaurants and boat slips. But the economic slide stifled interest in the project, called Seven Shores, and St. Joe shut down a pre-construction sales office there in 2007.

Now St. Joe has sold the property, which connects to the Manatee River, Anna Maria Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. Minto Communities LLC, a subsidiary of the Minto Group, a Canadian developer and homebuilder, bought it for an undisclosed price.