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Letter to the editor

Biltmore's status is unchanged after meeting

However, a leading preservationist said there may be news later this week of a deal to save the historic hotel.

By LORRI HELFAND and AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published May 4, 2005

BELLEAIR - Members of the Belleair Town Commission came to Tuesday's special meeting with grand ideas to save the town's oldest landmark. Some 400 residents crammed inside Town Hall hoping for a second stay for the 19th century Belleview Biltmore Resort and Spa.

But after a heated meeting, filled with insults and finger-pointing, little was accomplished.

Commissioner Gary Katica called for an emergency order to extend the 30-day review period for the demolition application on the hotel by an additional 60 days. The 3-2 vote failed because emergency orders require a two-thirds majority.

Ed Kobel, president of DeBartolo Development, which has the property under contract, said his company was exploring a number of possibilities.

"We've got some of the best designers in the nation exploring what the possibilities are so we have no specific or definite plans. Whatever we would do would be inclusive of the community," he said. "We probably have as significant a passion as anyone given the history of the property."

At one point during the 41/2-hour meeting, preservationist and former town commission candidate Rae Claire Johnson believed she was near a deal with the developers that could save the hotel.

Johnson spoke with Kobel outside chambers for several minutes. The two then walked to a bus that had been the preservationists' home base for the night.

Upon exiting the bus, Kobel spoke with a representative of the hotel's current owners, Urdang & Associates, chief investment officer Vincent Sanfilippo. Sanfilippo later called others from his group to join the talks.

Later, Johnson told a reporter that an "announcement" would not come Tuesday. She hoped to have news by Thursday's meeting with the Historic Preservation Board, she said.

During the meeting, Kobel sat quietly in the fourth row next to a pair of women fighting to save the hotel. He typed on a handheld computer while preservationists assailed Urdang & Associates, and at times, town officials.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to remove Town Attorney Joel Tew as counsel on matters relating to the Belleview Biltmore, Urdang and DeBartolo Development. That motion passed.

Officials were concerned about a conflict of interest because Tew had done legal work for DeBartolo in the past. He also met with Kobel on Jan. 6, days after a first contract to purchase the property expired and weeks before a new contract was confirmed by a DeBartolo executive.

Commissioners also suggested the town needed more time to gauge the project's environmental impact, guarantee the safety of residents and ensure the stability of the bridge leading to the hotel, Belleair Country Club and condominiums.

Urdang & Associates representatives made their case for demolition.

Urdang attorney Roger Schwenke, of Tampa, said the hotel had become functionally obsolete, unable to turn a profit despite $11-million in resort improvements.

[Last modified May 4, 2005, 01:05:12]