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Sand Key building close to demise
By CHRISTINA HEADRICK, Times Staff Writer CLEARWATER -- After four years of warnings, city commissioners said Monday that they are willing to spend $142,600 to knock down a large, vacant and decaying restaurant on Sand Key that is the property of the Belleview Biltmore Resort. The demolition would be unusual both for its expense and the size of the former Cabana Club Restaurant. But it would close a thick file of warning letters alternating with plans to redevelop the property that have never amounted to anything, city officials say. The demolition's formal approval will be scheduled for May 2, and crews could begin knocking down the property 10 days later, unless Belleview Biltmore officials meet various city demands to clean up the property. "If they want to get off their duffs and come over here and get this thing taken care of, that's fine," Mayor Brian Aungst said Monday. "If not, let's take it down." Commissioner Bill Jonson chided the hoteliers for the condition of the property on Sand Key. The old restaurant is literally falling apart. "It's just incredible to me that a fine corporate citizen, that is so much involved in the Clearwater community, would not be stepping up to the plate in solving this," Jonson said. "I think it would clearly be a black mark on their reputation in the community." No one at the Belleview Biltmore Resort returned a telephone call to comment. Clearwater building inspector Bill Wright first notified Belleview Biltmore officials in July 1998 that their property at 1590 Gulf Blvd. was unsafe and would be demolished by the city if actions were not taken to fix the problems. The safety problems include dangerous, exposed electrical wiring hanging from the building, siding that is falling off; broken windows; rusting steel columns; and a fire escape with holes in it. Concrete slabs holding up a stairway are deteriorating. In a hurricane, large chunks of the building would probably take flight, Wright said. On top of that, neighbors on Sand Key complain about rats and raccoons living there, as well as vagrants and others using it as a public restroom. It's time to do something, said Frank Simonelli, who lives in the 90-unit Cabana Club condominium next door. "They always put one step forward, and then they back away," he said. Residents at the condominium are especially concerned that the defunct restaurant hurts their property values and gives them a bad name, Simonelli added. Wright said the city has tried to work with Belleview Biltmore officials, never fining them for code violations while they attempted to find a new tenant to run the restaurant. Yet, Aungst suggested that Belleview Biltmore officials haven't been motivated to take care of the restaurant's problems since the city nixed a 13-story condominium project they proposed two years ago. Neighbors complained then that the requested project was much too large for the site. "They're still angry at us. Well, get over it," Aungst said. "Now it's time for us to fire the final shot across the bow and say we're taking it down." In February, city officials met with hotel managers again to talk about the property. The hotel officials promised that they would make the building safe and secure, Wright said. They have since submitted plans for about $192,000 of work to the structure, which is appraised at about $830,000, said Jeff Kronschnabl, who oversees city code enforcement efforts. But now, a month after an agreed-upon deadline passed, the hotel company still hasn't posted a performance bond, Kronschnabl said. Posting the bond is a promise to pay the city up to $192,000 if the property owners fail to complete necessary renovations within six months. As a result, Kronschnabl asked commissioners at their Monday workshop if they would like to move forward with demolition. Commissioners were supportive, although Commissioner Whitney Gray said she didn't want the city to be "used" to pay for demolition. Kronschnabl said that the city can impose a lien on the property, a legal claim that the property's owner owes Clearwater for the work. But because there is a mortgage on the property, the city's interests are secondary to a bank's interests, City Attorney Pam Akin said. Akin said it would be unlikely the city could recover its demolition costs. Wright said the demolition is so expensive because crews will have to be careful not to damage the Cabana Club condominium when they take down the old restaurant. Also, the work requires removing old pilings from the ground.
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