Aug. 01–LONGBOAT KEY — Southwest Florida is about to get a boost in travel luxury it hasn't seen since the Ritz-Carlton opened here in 2001.
St. Regis is slated to operate the long-abandoned 18-acre beachfront site of The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort on Longboat Key, its Orlando-based owner said Tuesday.
The high-end luxury brand of Marriott International Inc.'s Starwood Hotels and Resorts operates 61 hotels worldwide and just one other in Florida. In addition to that property in Miami, St. Regis' portfolio includes such exotic destinations as Cairo, Bali and Bora Bora.
A name like St. Regis adds validity to the area in the deeply competitive travel world. The industry notices when a property like a Ritz-Carlton opens, said Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County. She remembers being at conferences and in meetings in the months leading up to the Ritz-Carlton's opening, and there's a buzz that comes with it.
Opening a property like that in a destination is the equivalent of driving up in a Bentley. It's a status symbol, and it immediately leaves an impression about the area.
"With a brand like that for Longboat Key, it would cement the stellar reputation that they already have," Haley said.
It's a Cinderella story of sorts for a piece of premier beachfront property at 1620 Gulf of Mexico Dr. that deteriorated while caught in a six-year legal battle. Originally constructed in 1973, the Colony's complex of wood-frame, two-story townhouses and one mid-rise building held a reputation as one of the top tennis resorts in the country. It closed in 2010 amid a legal fight that pitted owners of its condominiums against managers of the property.
Owners of the 237 units could live in their condos for one month each year. The remainder of the time, the units were pooled together for short-term lodging. The revenues from those hotel bookings paid real estate taxes, association dues and fees for the recreational amenities. But over the years, the community fell behind on its long-term maintenance. The Colony was deemed unsafe in 2012 following an inspection ordered by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Everything from the floors to the electrical systems and plumbing did not meet code.
The resort's developer, who also owned the restaurant and gift shop there, filed for bankruptcy. So did the condo association.
Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments Inc. purchased the property a year ago for $22 million. The site drew attention from a number of high-end hotel operators, said Chuck Whittall, Unicorp's president, but Marriott International Inc., which also owns the Ritz-Carlton, made St. Regis a strong fit for the project.
"They're a unique brand and they haven't flooded the country and the market," Whittall said.
The property will feature a spa, resort pool, adult pool, lazy river and salt water lagoon as well as a tiki bar, beach restaurant, three-meal restaurant and an evening-only, chef-driven restaurant.
Whittall initially pitched a development of 180 hotel rooms, 180 residential units and 67 timeshare units but residents expressed concerns about traffic, and voters in March overwhelmingly dismissed the density increase proposed for the property.
The project has since been scaled back to a five-story, 165-room St. Regis hotel and 103 residential condominiums. Those plans are due to go before the Longboat Key Commission in November.
If everything goes according to plan, Unicorp will break ground on the project in the middle of 2018. Whittall said he anticipates 30 to 36 months of construction, and he intends to open the resort in 2020 or 2021.
"We've scaled the project down," Whittall said. "We're building to the height that's determined by code. I think we're bringing something into the town that the community wants."
