Ever wanted a chance to own an island? Well, now you can. A small Florida key called “Beer Can Island” is up for sale with one prospective buyer looking for partners to go in at $1,000 each.
The nine-acre island, also known as Pine Key, is located near the MacDill Air Force Base and Apollo Beach in Florida. The island was created in the 1940s as a result of dredging and got its nickname “Beer Can Island” for the parties thrown on it and the amount of beverages the island was littered with.
Russell Loomis and three friends purchased the island in 2017. He said they cleared around “300 or 400 bags worth of” trash from the property. To attract more visitors, the owners installed more attractions like a giant slide portable bathrooms and tiki bars.
While this worked for a bit, the owners decided to close the island in 2024 due to the long work hours required to maintain the island and the costs of repairing the damage done by Hurricane Idalia.
“If I had an extra $10 million to dump into it, I would beautify the place even more, but I just don’t have the resources for it. So that’s one thing,” Loomis said. “And then secondly, I live an hour and a half away, and getting over there is a chore. And it’s even worse coming home at the end of the night, you know? I’ll head out there at 6 a.m. and usually don’t get out of there till 9 o’clock at night.”
The island was listed for sale for more than $14 million, which had many people shaking their heads. One prospective buyer, Nick Lipidarov, announced the “Save Beer Can Island” project, which would allow other members of the public to buy a stake in the land for just $1,000 each.
Lipidarov said the money pledged by participants is being kept in an escrow account and will be returned if his group fails to buy the island. Any money left over after buying the island would be spent on taxes, legal fees, the cost of a website and other maintenance costs related to the island.
“I don’t think too many people are gonna go out and purchase an island, so there’s an opportunity for all of us to own an island together, which is a pretty neat opportunity,” Lipidarov said.
Lipidarov also confirmed that everyone who pays $1,000 to the project will have the opportunity to vote on issues, including whether the island will be open to the public and what other features should be installed.