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SHARON L. BONDInstead of tearing down the Bilmar, its most recent owner will sell the 154 rooms after a complete renovation.
TREASURE ISLAND - Change is happening at the Bilmar Beach Resort, a fixture here for more than 40 years. It involves condominiums, but it is not a case of replacing the hotel with high-priced, for-sale units.
The Bilmar is becoming a hotel-condominium complex. Its 154 units will be sold, some in the range of $200,000, completely furnished. Because of the hotel element, however, rooms still must be available to tourists for part of the year.
Consolidated Management Inc. bought the hotel in 2000. Conversion is the only way the company can keep the hotel and completely refurbish it using high-end materials, said Joy Anzalone, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer for CMI.
"So many (developers) are tearing down old properties," Anzalone said. "One of the reasons we bought the Bilmar was because we love the tradition of the Bilmar."
It was family-owned for a long time. Anzalone praised the management and said CMI wanted to take the resort to another level.
The Bilmar Beach Motel opened in December 1961 with 65 rooms.
"Each rental unit is air conditioned and has a telephone and television set," said a news story from the St. Petersburg Times on Dec. 17, 1961. Through the years several additions were made. The complex now consists of three buildings: a three-story, a four-story and an eight-story.
Anzalone said that since CMI bought the resort, it had spruced up the rooms and built a penthouse level, banquet facility and Sloppy Joe's, the restaurant. The resort, like many others on the beaches, suffered a loss of business after Sept. 11, 2001.
"We spent a considerable amount of money upgrading the property, knowing things would turn around."
Rooms rent for $99 to $135 a night in the off-season. During the season, rates rise to $125 to $189 per night.
The next level for the Bilmar is a down-to-the-studs renovation, for which more money is needed, Anzalone said.
Owners cannot live permanently at a hotel-condominium in Treasure Island. They must rent out their places at least six times a year and are limited to a 60-day consecutive stay, according to Treasure Island City Manager Ralph Stone. Owners of these units cannot claim the homestead exemption on them, he said.
"We want it to act like a hotel," Stone said. With 154 rooms, the Bilmar has too many units to be a permanent residential complex, according to city density regulations. Also, the city wants tourists in and out of there.
"The hospitality industry in Treasure Island does a lot to support small businesses here," he said.
For the most part, the city likes hotel-condominiums, Stone said. "It creates a different business model for hotels and motels to be retained rather than being converted to (permanent) residences," he said.
If buyers want to rent their condos out all the time, they can, Anzalone said. The Bilmar will offer a rental management service, but buyers will not have to use it. The rental system also is a city requirement.
What a buyer gets is about the normal size hotel room, one big enough to hold two double beds. The beds will be along one wall. On the opposite wall will be a kitchen with granite countertop, a stove top, small refrigerator and microwave oven. Bathrooms are being redone, using granite for the shower back splash rather than tile.
Probably the most important feature is the water view available with 90 percent of the units. The Bilmar has 550 feet of beachfront, Anzalone said.
At least two other longtime hotels, another on Treasure Island and one in Madeira Beach, have been turned into luxury condominiums or hotel-condominiums, which in their cases meant demolition of the existing hotels.