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Sandpearl Resort to give beach new look

The $140-million project gets City Council approval. A resort, condos and retail space will replace the Clearwater Beach Hotel.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published January 21, 2005

CLEARWATER - The landmark Clearwater Beach Hotel will be demolished for a new luxury resort as part of one of the larger redevelopments in the city's history.

The $140-million remake of the 85-year-old hotel includes a 251-room resort, a 150-foot-tall condominium tower and a 50-foot retail and residential building along Mandalay Avenue.

Altogether, JMC Communities' planned Sandpearl Resort on Clearwater Beach aims to redefine 6 acres of north Clearwater Beach. Last month, the proposal breezed through a preliminary public hearing before the city's planning board.

Thursday, it won the unanimous approval of the City Council.

"What's coming is spectacular," said council member Carlen Petersen. "I've heard people say the old hotel is a great place to go. But from what I've seen, I can assure the public this will be a better place to go."

Plans for the L-shaped resort include two waterfront swimming pools, an 11,000-square-foot spa and health club and a full-service restaurant, developers say.

The hotel's two-story lobby will be lined in limestone and bound by tall glass windows, offering a view of the gulf. Plans also include a 5,500-square-foot ballroom and 4,500 square feet of smaller meeting space.

Developers expect to break ground this summer and expect to open the independently operated hotel in spring 2007.

"We're confident this is going to be a project that we all can be proud of," said Ed Armstrong, a Clearwater attorney representing the developers.

The new nine-story, 95-foot-tall hotel will replace the 137-room Clearwater Beach Hotel, a well-known city landmark.

One resident at the meeting Thursday opposed the hotel's demolition.

"I do not want the Clearwater Beach Hotel torn down," said resident Mary Koinis. "Developers should not dominate the vision for Clearwater. They could remodel the hotel and accomplish the same thing."

Armstrong said developers would make an effort to preserve portions of the hotel's history. But the hotel is not a historic building, he said. The front entryway, for instance, was built within the last 30 years, Armstrong said.

Rooms in the new hotel would rent for about $200 a night, according to a development team that includes the current hotel owners along with JMC's Mike Cheezem and Connecticut developer David Mack.

Mack and Cheezem have built the Belle Harbor and Mandalay Beach Club condominiums on the beach, but this is their first major resort project.

That did not give the city pause Thursday. The city has already approved a 250-room Hyatt resort for S Gulfview Boulevard.

"This represents the second portion of a major thrust on the beach toward redevelopment," said city planning director Cyndi Tarapani. "We're thrilled he's going to build it."

The 105 condo units at the Sandpearl would cost between $400,000 and $1.5-million, with penthouse units selling for even more. Condo owners would have access to the adjacent resort's amenities, including room and maid service. The condo tower will have its own pool and parking.

Another 12 residential flats would be built on top of 10,000 square feet of retail space that fronts Mandalay Avenue.

The condominiums and the resort would be separated by Baymont Street, which would remain a public street. Developers would spend about $860,000 on beach roadway improvements.

"We're thrilled to have this opportunity to undertake this," Cheezem said. "A very important part is maintaining the character of the Clearwater Beach Hotel. It would be foolish to turn our backs on the great history. We're going to do this in a very unique way that will help keep the memories alive."

As part of the project, developers also hope to construct a nearly 60-boat, $1.25-million dock in a basin adjacent to the Clearwater Beach Family Recreation Center. As part of that arrangement, the city will control one-third of the slips. That proposal has yet to win city approval.

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com

As expected, the City Council Thursday rejected a proposed moratorium for condominium construction in one section of Clearwater Beach.

"Government is not often accused of working too quickly. But in this case, we may have," said new Mayor Frank Hibbard, chairing his first meeting. "I think we do have a problem out on north Clearwater Beach, but I think after diagnosing the problem, the prescription is not the right medicine."

City planners thought a nine-month building ban would afford officials time to harmonize inconsistent planning documents for the neighborhood, which ranges from tall beach condos to a single-family residential area.

Council members agreed the planning guidelines need to be streamlined, but a moratorium was overreaching, a majority said. The moratorium failed 4-0. Council member Hoyt Hamilton abstained from the vote because he owns property in the area, known as the Old Florida district.

[Last modified January 21, 2005, 00:29:18]