Cortez Village

Cortez Village (Manatee County) - Designated: 1999

Nestled along the shores of Sarasota Bay in Manatee County, Cortez is the last remaining fishing village on Florida's Suncoast. Still active commercially, Cortez faces a number of pressures as a result of increasing regulation of the commercial fishing industry, encroaching residential development, and incompatible redevelopment interests by outside investors. Unlike many coastal communities that desire tourism-based economies, the village of Cortez remains a family-oriented fishing village where boats can be found on dry docks, where signs still stand in yards opposing the 1994 net ban, and where crab traps can be seen stored under pole barns and carports ready for their next voyage.

Program Contacts

• Ryan P. Murphy, Site Manager
  • Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez
  • 4415 119th Street West
  • Cortez, Florida 34215
  • (941) 708-6121
  • ryan.murphy@manateeclerk.com

Community Websites

• Manatee County
• The FISH Preserve
• Cortez Village Historical Society

Community Profile

• Excerpt from Community Case Studies Publication

Maps

• Waterfronts Florida Designated Area Map

Studies and Documents

• Waterfronts Florida Vision Plan
• Cortez Village Historical and Archaeological Overlay District: Design Guidelines, Vision Plan and Land Development Code, 2004
• Architectural Documentation: Doris Green Residence, Cortez Village, 2007