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Roseate Pointe plans could be abandoned

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published February 9, 2007

A proposed development along the Little Manatee River will have to wait a little longer for a crucial decision - if a developer doesn't sell the property first.

After two delays by the Planning Commission on a request to allow more homes on the site, the ownership group Roseate Pointe has listed its 13.8-acre property on an Internet commercial real estate site. The asking price: $7.5-million.

The developer has requested an increase in the allowable density from six to nine units an acre. That would mean altering the county's comprehensive plan to permit the developer to build 124 multifamily units on nearly 14 acres on the west side of SW 14th Street and W College Avenue at the mouth of the Little Manatee. The current plan would allow 83 units.

Clearwater consultant Todd Pressman, who represents Roseate Pointe, declined to comment on whether the company was planning to sell the property.

"Is it for sale? Everything is for sale," Pressman said. "We are exploring our options."

A listing for the property on LoopNet, a commercial real estate Web site, was updated Jan. 18. And according to the Planning Commission, the developer has given verbal notice of its intent to withdraw its request.

"Their representative verbally told us the project was withdrawn," said David Hey, a planner with the Planning Commission. The commission will withdraw the request when it receives written notification, Hey said.

Neighbors have objected to the request, citing Ruskin's community plan approved in 2006, which forbids multifamily units. The county's land development code "encourages" houses but still allows developers to request multifamily projects in the part of Ruskin that includes Roseate Pointe, Hey said.

Still, residents who help design community plans should take heart that their efforts will carry legal weight, said Kitty Cunningham, executive director of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce. The county met with residents Wednesday to help Riverview design a community plan.

"Today, citizens are a lot more concerned and are paying a lot closer attention," Cunningham said. "If citizens say, 'This is what we want you to do,' there is a much greater chance that is what will happen."

The Planning Commission declined to rule on Roseate Pointe because the developer had not paid a required fee. The request is scheduled to appear before the Planning Commission again June 11.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 08:31:55]