Developer plans marina, resort in historic village

CORTEZ — A developer has announced plans to build a resort and marina in Cortez, a fishing village in Manatee County.

The project, Hunters Point Resort & Marina, includes plans for 148 cottage-style residences, 49 boat slips, a public marina and a community center. Of the 148 cottages, 62 are designed as hotel rooms for short-term rentals, according to a statement.

Developer Marshall Gobuty, whose most recent project is Mirabella, a 160-unit adult community in Bradenton, says the project is designed to combine modern features with the historical 'Cracker' style of Cortez.

“Hunters Point is taking a long revered style of Florida architecture and updating it for 21st-century living,” Gobuty says in the statement. “After researching the history of Cortez we've adopted the look, style, feeling and approach to the early 20th century Florida 'Cracker' cottage style home and modernized it for today, while going farther with the same environmentally friendly, energy efficient design approach we took with Mirabella.”

Cortez is one of the Gulf Coast's oldest fishing villages, with 97 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.