APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — A Tampa Bay man is working to recruit people online to become part owners of Pine Key, a nine-acre island two miles off the shore of Apollo Beach. Current owners put it on the market for $14 million earlier this year.

What You Need To Know

  • Nicholas Lipidarov started the "Save Beer Can Island" effort to assemble a group to purchase Pine Key, also known as "Beer Can Island"

  • Owners put the island on the market for $14 million earlier this year

  • As of Friday night, 660 people had pledged at least $1,000 toward the plan

  • A current owner said there are several interested parties, but they aren't under contract yet

“We wanted to see if we could get everybody together to do that and give people the opportunity to do that,” said Nicholas Lipidarov. “Maybe they wouldn’t be able to do that by themselves, but then together, we could all do it.”

Lipidarov set up a website asking people to “Help Save Beer Can Island” a few weeks ago. He’s asking for pledges of at least $1,000 that he said will be held in an escrow account in the trust of Pine Key Island, LLC, until the land is actually bought. He said that if the sale doesn’t happen, all the money would be returned. As of Friday night, 660 pledges had been made. 

“The phone hasn’t stopped ringing all day long — phone, e-mail — and I’m just trying to keep up with everybody, but they are excited,” he said.

The current owners bought the island in 2017, and they said they’ve had their struggles with Hillsborough County, including a legal battle over code violation citations that were ultimately dismissed. Last year, commissioners talked about creating a new land use category for the island that owners worried might shut it down to the public. Lipidarov said he’s not worried about that.

“Of course, we’d always have to work with them to make sure that we’re doing everything as a family-oriented place, and I think they’d like to see that in the county,” he said.

Beer Can Island is open to the public as a family-friendly recreational place. (Photo Courtesy: Cole Weaver)

Lipidarov said the goal is to keep the popular recreation a place the public can enjoy.

“We wanted to open it up to the public, and I think we have a lot of people on board that want to do that, as well. They want to make it accessible for everybody,” said Lipidarov. 

The current owners have posted about Lipidarov’s effort on their own website. Co-owner Cole Weaver and Lipidarov said they had a meeting on Friday. Weaver said owners have several interested parties but aren’t under contract yet. 

Lipidarov said if his effort is successful, he’d like to make the island even more family friendly, expand the beach, and build breakwaters, among other additions. He said the deadline to submit payments will be sometime at the end of May.