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Politics
Voters okay upgrade for Vinoy
A 1984 land agreement with the city made it necessary to get the okay from the voters.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 14, 2007
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[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]
Volunteers hold up campaign signs Tuesday standing outside the Gulfport Recreation Center.
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ST. PETERSBURG - City voters approved a referendum Tuesday that will allow the Renaissance Vinoy Resort to add a 17,000-square-foot spa and fitness center to the venerable pink hotel. With all of the city's votes counted, the ballot measure had 53 percent support. Managers of the downtown resort say a spa became necessary to compete with other area four-star hotels. Voters were only asked to weigh in because of a 1984 land agreement between the city and the resort's owners. Vocal opposition to the plan never materialized. "To me, it's the first step in a long process," Vinoy Club president Russell Bond said Tuesday night. The resort expansion will not affect the layout or design of the original 1920s Mediterranean Revival hotel, although the changes could cut into the hotel's parking garage and tennis courts. Bond said the resort hopes to break ground on the $10-million to $15-million project near the end of the year. Also Tuesday Voters overwhelmingly approved a series of minor changes to the city charter. Among them, the City Council will now be required to fill council vacancies within 45 days and swear in its council chairman and vice chairman at its first January meeting.
[Last modified March 14, 2007, 05:46:49]
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