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Developer to reveal plans for Biltmore

DeBartolo Development is scheduled to present its proposal to the Town Commission on Sept. 7.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published August 31, 2005

BELLEAIR - After 10 months of public silence, DeBartolo Development is poised to reveal its vision for the Belleview Biltmore for the first time next week.

While DeBartolo has said little, many have feared the company plans to raze the resort, especially since the company's previous partners had announced plans last year to do just that.

So far, the few clues that have emerged about DeBartolo's intentions hint at the possibility of hundreds of townhomes and a town center on the bluff or the golf course.

Meanwhile, the community has rallied in support of the resort, and the controversy has led former Town Attorney Joel Tew to resign and has undermined support for Town Manager Steve Cottrell.

Now the company is scheduled to debut its concept for the property at the Town Commission meeting on Sept. 7.

It's about time, Commissioner Gary Katica said.

"That's what I expected (DeBartolo) to do before all this stuff happened," Katica said. "They're doing what they should have done in the beginning."

DeBartolo executives are scheduled to make their presentation on the same day Town Attorney Nancy Stroud plans to present a draft of a new historic preservation ordinance, which could prevent demolition of structures like the Biltmore.

Scott "Skipper" Peek, a DeBartolo development officer, initially asked for a closed-door meeting with town commissioners, according to an e-mail that Cottrell wrote to commissioners on Aug. 23.

"I told him that such a meeting with all commissioners must be an open, public meeting," Cottrell wrote.

It's illegal for two or more commissioners to have a private meeting with a developer, according to Florida law, but Mayor George Mariani Jr. gave Peek the benefit of the doubt.

"They probably don't know what the Sunshine Law requires," Mariani said.

G. Michael Harris, a member of the town's Historic Preservation Board, said DeBartolo - which boasts projects in Jacksonville, Stuart, New Tampa, Port Richey and Daytona Beach - should know about the Sunshine Law.

"For a company to be talking to a city government and want a private meeting after everything we've been through, I don't know what the IQ of a bag of sand is, but they are definitely running a close second," Harris said. "I wouldn't let them build my kids' tree fort."

Cottrell advised Peek that DeBartolo representatives could meet with individual commissioners.

That idea didn't fly with Commissioner Stephen Fowler.

"I want any kind of meeting to be in a public forum," he said.

Mariani said he thinks meeting one-on-one would be okay because individual meetings do not violate the Sunshine Law. It's the responsibility of officials to discuss matters affecting the town, he said. In recent months, Mariani said he met with DeBartolo president Ed Kobel and other representatives last year to hear their concepts for the Biltmore properties.

Neither Peek nor Kobel returned calls regarding their plans for the hotel. There's mixed evidence about whether DeBartolo wants to spare elements of the Biltmore.

Biltmore owner Urdang & Associates filed a permit to demolish the resort in April. That same month the public learned that the former town attorney, Tew, privately met with Kobel in January. A memo written by Tew said DeBartolo planned to tear down the landmark to build 600 condos. And in June, a representative of DeBartolo joined Urdang at a private conference where town staff members outlined demolition requirements.

But at least one report hints that DeBartolo may intend to save aspects of the hotel. In July, architect Don Evans told guests at a building conference in Orlando that he was working for DeBartolo, who planned to incorporate elements of the hotel into a town center, with a new town hall, library and park.

DeBartolo is known primarily for developing retail centers, but the company is branching into mixed-use projects. Company literature touts the idea of adding residential units, hotels and offices to retail developments. DeBartolo also formed an enterprise called DeBartolo Land, which will buy land for both residential space and shopping centers.

Meanwhile, real estate consultant Rory Hiller said his team is pushing forward with its own efforts to buy and preserve the landmark. His group plans to unveil conceptual renderings shortly, he said.

"I'm not going behind anybody's back," Hiller said. "I'm right out front with everything."

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 31, 2005, 01:21:25]