Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The beach will get a new parking lot. Bill Jonson worries that the city will have to buy out the developer down the line.
By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 23, 2002
CLEARWATER -- Parking on the beach is about to get a little easier.
Under a deal approved Thursday night by city commissioners, attorney Bill Kimpton will build a 155-space lot on S Gulfview Boulevard as a stopgap measure until financing comes through for a planned $90-million resort project.
"The bulldozers are on order," Kimpton said Thursday night. "I can hear the engines revving."
Kimpton, who eventually wants to build a 250-room Marriott resort on the property, predicted the lot will be open by the end of the year.
Commissioners voted 4-1 to allow Kimpton to move forward with the lot, with Commissioner Bill Jonson opposing.
Jonson balked at a provision to earmark up to $6-million of city money to buy out Kimpton if he can't secure hotel financing by 2006.
"It's all about the money for me," said Jonson.
Other commissioners were skeptical the city will ever have to pay up, arguing land on the beach is highly marketable.
"We are never going to own this property," said Commissioner Frank Hibbard.
A handful of residents spoke against the deal, which also calls for the city to vacate a portion of Third Street and lease the lot for $2,500, per space, annually.
"To tie up that land for four years I don't think is a good idea," said Sheila Cole, executive director of the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce. "Why are we going forward with spending all of this city money on doing this? It just doesn't make any sense."
Much of the allure for commissioners has been bringing added parking to the area in anticipation of Beach Walk, the planned redesign of Gulf Boulevard from Pier 60, near the roundabout, south to the Adams Mark Hotel.
Beach Walk is planned as a meandering sidewalk and road system enhanced with landscaping and designated areas for pedestrians and bike riders.
But 270 parking spaces will disappear with Beach Walk construction, with only 50 to 70 to return when the project is complete.
Additional parking is vital to moving forward with Beach Walk, said Mayor Brian Aungst. "It's time that we make something happen on the beach," he said. "This is a good step in the right direction to maybe show everyone that we're serious about making something happen out there."
Kimpton wanted to build a 250-room Marriott resort on the property in the 200 and 300 blocks of S Gulfview Boulevard. But a struggling international hotel market following Sept. 11 prompted him to propose the interim step of knocking down the existing Beach Place and Glass House motels on the site to build parking.
In other business, commissioners:
Approved a set of property restrictions aimed at preserving the appearance of Island Estates by a vote of 3-2. Mayor Brian Aungst and Vice Mayor Whitney Gray opposed the measures.
Approved an $818,550 contract with Central Florida Used Auto Parts Inc. for a 4.2-acre property at Overbrook Avenue and Betty Lane. About 1.25 acres of the parcel is planned for a new fire station to serve the northwest section of the city, where response times have traditionally lagged.
Approved spending $184,721.96 on traffic calming designs for North Greenwood by Tampa engineering consultant Wade Trim.
Awarded a $618,566.75 contract to MTM Contractor Inc. for traffic calming and stormwater improvements in Grandview Terrace.
Awarded a $401,408.29 contract to Kloote Contracting Inc. of Palm Harbor for runway and taxiway improvements at Clearwater Airpark.
-- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at 445-4160 or farrell@sptimes.com.