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Dunedin hotel moves forward, minus 10 rooms

The city finds the site has less space than the developer had claimed.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY, Times Staff Writer
Published August 15, 2007

DUNEDIN - A proposed downtown boutique hotel is moving forward despite an error that will force developers to trim the project by 10 units.

The original proposal by Dunedin Station Development LLC called for a 50-room, mixed-use hotel project at 362 Scotland St.

The 1.05-acre parcel is the former site of the historic Zimmerman-Boyd-Honey House, which has been moved and restored.

City staff members, however, found discrepancies in the acreage numbers submitted by the developer, said zoning administrator Matthew Campbell. The developer's site plan showed a calculation of 34,850 square feet as 1.01 acres, he said. But 1 acre equals 43,560 square feet. Campbell said the developers have approximately 34,000 square feet to build on.

The city staff also discovered that part of the proposed project's site was deeded to the city for roadway improvements in 1990 by the site's original owner, Bill Honey, and in 2002 by then-owner Dennis Martino in exchange for parking flexibility.

Approximately 5,400 square feet of the original project site was deeded to city, Campbell said. That space was used for improvements such as streetscaping on Douglas Avenue and parking on Honey Street.

Dunedin Station Development bought the property from financial planner Martino for $2.21-million in early 2006 after Martino's unsuccessful attempt to build a retail and residential building. Dunedin Station Development was the contractor on that project, which was torn down in May before it was completed.

The new project will include 40 units and 9,000 square feet of retail space. What stays the same is the plan for a three-story building with two-room suites featuring kitchenettes to appeal to extended-stay visitors.

Both the city and the developers said they believe they have a workable project. A preliminary site plan review is scheduled before the local planning agency on Sept. 12 and before the City Commission on Oct. 4.

"It's definitely workable," said managing partner of the project, Paul Bakkalapulo. "We're actually just fine-tuning some of the construction specifics. He said he hopes to break ground in six months to a year.

[Last modified August 14, 2007, 21:42:49]