Work on a controversial beachfront home in Anna Maria continues to progress.
Anna Maria-based Gagne Construction’s work on Fedora Campbell’s new single-family home at 105 Elm Ave. — a previously undeveloped lot — has passed multiple city inspections.
The home was the subject of a “Preserve AMI” opposition campaign in 2021 led by Robert and Wendy Jordan, the previous owners of property at 107 Elm Ave., which is immediately landward of Campbell’s property.
Beyond blocking the Jordans’ view, complaints about Campbell’s then-proposed home centered on the home being built seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line — although the CCCL does not prohibit building, it does regulate structures with higher scrutiny for the beach and dunes — and that it would be built on a lot that lacked access to a public roadway.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave its approval for Campbell’s development.
Not long after, city commissioners voted in July 2022 to approve a right-of-way use permit to construct a public access drive connecting Elm Avenue to the lot.
The Jordans sold their property at 107 Elm Ave. to Ohio-based Depalma Corporation Inc. for $4.15 million in December 2022, and Depalma operates the property as a short-term vacation rental.
Work began at Campbell’s property shortly after the city approved a permit for the construction of a new single-family home and driveway in November 2023.
Municipal staff has since conducted several inspections at the property, passing all but one March 12 for stucco work.