Despite neighbors' doubts, officials see the project as the best alternative for the site.
By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published January 18, 2004
SOUTH PASADENA - Nine luxury townhomes will rise on the site of Malo's Island Grill despite continued opposition from residents of nearby Bay Island condominiums.
City commissioners unanimously approved the project Tuesday. Construction is expected to begin this summer at the earliest and should take about a year. The nine townhomes will be three stories high, including ground-level garages, with 2,500-3,000 square feet of living space. Selling prices are expected between $450,000 and $500,000.
The buildings will be 35 feet high, 11 feet lower than is allowed under either commercial and residential zoning.
Malo's will remain open in the meantime. Owner Dionis Malo said Friday that he doesn't expect to close his restaurant until possibly as late as August. Then he plans to move the restaurant to another location on St. Pete Beach.
According to architect Randolph Wedding, the townhomes will be situated at the western end of the Malo property and will not block most views from Bay Island's Ambassador building, the leading complaint from opponents of the project.
The views from many condominiums in that building are already blocked by a wall and heavily canopied trees between the building and the Malo site.
Wedding told the audience that they "don't understand that this is a better use for you.'
"I'm not against anyone making money, but Bay Island is unique," said Ellen Bramlett, who moved to the complex in 1973 and opposed the townhome project.
Not all area residents were opposed. Anne Reidy, who lives in the nearby Harbourside complex, said the project would be "a very nice thing to look at and a very good option for the residents."
Mayor Fred Held, who lives at Bay Island, urged his neighbors to keep an open mind. "You're going to be looking at a view of luxury townhomes. It will be beautiful. You're going to like what you see."
Other commissioners stressed that if the property remained commercial, the city would not have a say in how it might be developed.
"Honestly, logic tells me what is proposed here is a heck of a lot more compatible with the neighborhood (than other permitted commercial uses)," said attorney William Davenport, who represented the developers.
Malo said he had received quite a few offers since putting the property up for sale last summer. "I felt I was doing something decent for the community," he said, explaining why he decided to sell the property to townhome developers instead of to commercial developers.
The city's building official, Wilbur Cox, recommended the townhome project, saying it would produce less noise, traffic, garbage and would have more green space than a commercial project.
Although there are still a few other legal hurdles (site plan and environmental approvals and real estate closing) to be crossed before the $4.5-million project can qualify for a building permit, the project now appears assured, according to developers.
