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Vote will determine fate of Dolphin Village center

A plan to raze it for condos and retail worries merchants and residents alike.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published February 11, 2007

ST. PETE BEACH -- The City Commission will vote Tuesday on whether a Tampa development firm can go forward with its plans to demolish the Dolphin Village Shopping Center and replace it with a modern retail playground. If approved, it will include waterfront dining and a seven-story condominium complex.

The proposal is being hailed by city leaders as a means of attracting new visitors to the area and beautifying the hotel district near Gulf Boulevard, where the center is located. But some residents and business owners are worried that construction on the 11-acre property could put retailers in the complex out of business for months and leave the southern part of the island without a supermarket.

"The shopping center does need a facelift," said Cheryl West, owner of Rooster's Fine Gifts, an upscale gift and home decor store in Dolphin Village. "But leveling it all at the same time and displacing us for two years, we are very uncomfortable with that."

The city has come under fire for considering the project, which would add an additional 175 condominiums to St. Pete Beach's landscape at a time when city and business leaders have called for more hotel rooms in order to save the city's fragile tourism industry.

"I can't even imagine why the City Commission is considering allowing an 88-foot condo in the middle of a district in which the City Commission has said they do not want more condos," said Ken Weiss, a Treasure Island attorney representing Citizens for Responsible Growth, an antidevelopment group that has threatened to sue the city if officials approve the project. Currently, Dolphin Village consists mainly of a large one-story Publix anchored by beach gear shops, a CVS pharmacy, and a handful of restaurants.

In the proposed project, most of the original structure will be torn down. In its place will go a two-story parking garage and a two-story retail structure. Restaurants and the Publix supermarket would be moved to the second level, a bank would be put on the first floor, and shops would be built along Gulf Boulevard. The condominium building will go up on the north end of the center.

Dan Peretz, owner of the Dolphin Landings Charter Boat Center and president of the complex's merchants association, said he has tried to urge other shop owners to remain optimistic about the project. "Ultimately it is going to be a jewel on the beach," he said. "I've told the other owners, 'You want to stick it out through this rough patch to make it through the end.' "

If the project is approved Tuesday, Dolphin Village Partners, the Tampa group which owns the property, has said ground-breaking could be as early as 2009, said Karl Holley, Community Development director for St. Pete Beach.

Michael Leeds, president of Dolphin Village Partners, could not be reached for comment.

The project still faces one major hurdle. Publix, which has a long-standing lease at the complex, has not approved the development plan and is still considering how it would like the shopping center to be updated, said Shannon Patten, a spokeswoman for the Lakeland-based supermarket.

Publix has received numerous calls from residents concerned about the store being shut down for an extended period, Patten said.

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 11, 2007, 10:05:41]