Tracy Moon, Property Manager
Tracy Moon, Property Manager
About Sandpiper Co-Op
Location
Sandpiper is situated in a prime location, with stunning views of the Anna Maria Sound and easy access to the beaches.
Property Details
We are a member-owned community (120 shareholders, 46 homeowners) situated on just under 10 acres in the heart of beautiful Anna Maria Island, saddled between the Tampa Bay Estuary to the east at sunrise and the Gulf of Mexico three blocks to the west at sunset.
Amenities
State-of-the-art, 14-slip marina
Large in-ground pool
Shuffleboard court
Community room where we host a variety of activities: Bingo, coffee hour, dinners, dances, and more
Activities: group fitness, yoga, pickleball (just one block away), dance lessons, shuffleboard, DJs and live music, sunrises, sunsets, and more
History
The original founder of the Sandpiper property was Ruric Edwin Cobb on January 5, 1858. Ruric grew up in New Jersey where his father was a Sea Captain and he followed in his father’s trade. During these early years he learned to play the cornet and snare drums. During his free time in the 1880s he would find a populated street corner on which to perform. He would collect offerings to supplement his sailor’s pay. It was during one of his off times that he was hired by a circus band and began traveling with them up and down the East coast. One of the Circus stops in Georgia, he met and married Dora E Clark in 1883. After serving in the National Guard during the Spanish American War as bandmaster, he landed at Anna Maria Key. It is during these years that he recruited and headed up both the Braidentown and Palmetto bands playing wherever he could and doing very well. In 1902 he established 154 acres at the present location of Sandpiper Resort. In 1906 he built the “Clubhouse” on the beach which is the present-day site of the Anna Maria Island Club Condos. There was also a 1300-foot pier built on the bay side of the property. In 1907, Ruric developed a housing plan for his homestead. He called it Ilexhurst after the Ilex oak trees that inhibited the island. This development ran from present day 21st Street North in Bradenton Beach to 32nd Street North in Holmes Beach. When Ruric could not make his mortgage payments during World War I, Mr. W. K. Zewadski foreclosed on the property in 1914. Ruric Cobb passed away in 1926 and is buried in Tampa.
In the Roaring Twenties the area was used as a trailer park/camping area and the Zewadski’s used the area for tree plantings and landscaping. In the early 1930s it was determined the best use of the land was for a trailer park and slowly but surely the property was shaped into a trailer park. The Zewadski family would travel to the Island from Tampa on the weekends stopping on Davis Causeway (now Courtney Causeway) collecting Australian pine seedlings to plant in the park. Roads were formed from seashells. Lot designations were determined by poles and rope markers. Although Gulf Park was in use for many years prior, the park was officially opened in 1939 or 1940.
In 2003 the residents got together to purchase the park and form a Co-Operative. The Park is made up of 166 units, covering just under 10 acres. The traditions that were in place in the early 1900s are still in place today like the beachcomber’s club, shuffle club, BBQ’s, dances, bingo and many gatherings at the bay. This particular piece of paradise called Sandpiper Resort is deep rooted in the richness of traditions and community. If it wasn’t for the founding owners before us who took a leap of faith in 2003 and collectively purchased the park, we wouldn’t be here today! We love our piece of paradise. We are lucky to be Sandpipers!
Thank you for visiting!