Port raises the docks

Business at Port Manatee is off to a solid start in 2016, from an expansion in cargo handled to an expansion of the facility.

On the latter, a warehouse on port grounds, condemned in 2009 from structural damage in an accident caused by the tenant, has been repaired and is ready for occupancy. The repairs cost less than $100,000, say port officials, and the 60,000-square-foot dry storage space could be 50% leased by March. “We turned a significant port liability into a significant port asset,” Port Executive Director Carlos Buqueras tells Coffee Talk.

Port Manatee, in north Manatee County, also recently announced a new agreement to handle nearly 100 million gallons of gasoline a year from Atlanta-based RaceTrac Petroleum. The fuel, according to a statement, is headed to nine counties, including Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough and Pinellas.