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Neighbors raise concerns over retirement home plan

By SHARON L. BOND
Published March 16, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A redevelopment of the retirement community Westminster Shores is expected to start this year, take until 2021 to complete and cost $82-million.

It has some nearby neighbors in single-family houses upset. Redevelopment plans call for more massive, taller buildings that could blight waterfront views and change the character in the Bahama Shores and Bayou Bonita neighborhoods, residents said. Those areas are near Fourth Street S and 54th Avenue.

"It's only two floors now," said Ann Taylor, who with her husband, John, lives across Little Bayou from Westminster Shores.

The retirement home has water on two sides, including the one that the Taylors see. Its owners, Westminster Services of Orlando, believe those waterfronts act as buffers for the neighbors on those two sides, according to documents filed with the city of St. Petersburg.

Taylor is concerned about the look of the new buildings, whether they will be very modern in design. Many of the homes nearby are the Spanish and Mediterranean styles.

Lack of information about Westminster's plans also bothers her. Some residents have talked to Westminster, but not all. The company did not return telephone calls from Neighborhood Times .

"They didn't consider anyone," Taylor said. "They are trying to force feed it on the rest of us."

The Taylors have a tax business, and the one-story house they've lived in for six years is meant to be their retirement home. Its views of Little Bayou are vast.

The couple's view to the water would not be blocked by the Westminster redevelopment, but the five-story buildings expected to replace the existing ones would be far more noticeable.

"A number of residents that I have talked to have questions and are concerned it will affect the overall character of the neighborhood," said Will Michaels, who has lived in Bahama Shores since early 1980. "They want to get more information about it.

The 20-acre site at 125 56th Ave. S was featured in the movie Cocoon. Some of the 48 buildings in Westminster Shores are small and were built in the 1940s and 1950s. The redevelopment will involve tearing down the facilities in stages and erecting eight larger buildings. Variances are needed from the city of St. Petersburg for the mass and height of some of the new buildings.

In the paperwork filed with the city, Westminster Services said the variances it needs will not have an impact on adjacent property owners.

"No water views will be blocked," the application to the Board of Adjustment said. Westminster Services owns all of the single-family homes abutting its retirement community and said those homes will act as a buffer between the redevelopment and other properties. These buffers are for the sides of Westminster not on the water.

Westminster is not increasing the density with its redevelopment. Now there are a total of 413 units and beds for residents. The new buildings will have a combination of 317 independent living and assisted living units and a 60-bed nursing home.

Michele and Philip Farley are the new owners of the Rutland mansion, which sits next door to the Taylors' house. They are restoring the 1913 home, which also looks across Little Bayou to Westminster.

"The majority of the neighborhood is upset. It's totally inappropriate" because of the size of the proposed buildings, said Michele Farley. She said large buildings will cut into the tranquillity of the neighborhood.

"Part of what everybody loves about this neighborhood is that it is like old Florida," she said. "I love living here. It's pretty much close to paradise."

The Farleys have as neighbors on other side the townhome development of Banyan Bay, a luxury development that is sold out and nearly complete. The 54 homeowners there also will look across Little Bayou to Westminster Shores.

[Last modified March 16, 2005, 01:32:17]