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Letter to the editor

Zoning change hinges on landing a hotel

The request, if granted, would satisfy the city's long-standing two-item wish list.

By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
Published November 28, 2007

SEMINOLE -  This city has long wanted two things - a hotel and development of the site where the Jesse's Landing restaurant was located.

It looks now as if it may get both in one package.

Developer Bethesda Developers LLC has asked for a zoning change to commercial from residential and has promised to deliver a hotel as part of the deal.

The proposed zoning change has been unanimously approved by Seminole's development review board and awaits City Council approval.

That should come early next year.

It is unclear which hotel chain might build on the property at 10400 Park Blvd. Mayor Jimmy Johnson guesses it might be a Holiday Inn or one of the Marriott brand hotels.

The Marriott chain includes Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn.

Johnson believes those are possibilities because both chains have recently sent representatives to tour Seminole for possible locations. One of the four sites that Johnson showed them was the Jesse's Landing location.

Jesse's Landing, named for the city's founding father, Jesse Johnson, opened in 1986 on the edge of Long Bayou. The 14,400-square-foot restaurant was housed in a massive Victorian-style building.

It became a popular restaurant, serving seafood, steaks, salads and desserts at moderate prices in a cozy, waterfront setting.

Its private rooms sometimes were reserved by wedding parties for rehearsal dinners.

It became something of a landmark and was often used as a checkpoint when guiding drivers to the city.

The restaurant abruptly closed in 1998. It sat vacant until June 2000 when it was struck by lightning and caught fire. The fire caused only minor damage to a cupola at the rear of the building.

But by December 2000, the building was rubble. No explanation was ever given for the decision to raze the building.

The city changed the zoning in 2003 from commercial to residential to allow for the construction of upscale townhomes, but that project never took off.

Now, Seminole seems poised to change the zoning back, but the decision hinges not only on the council's approval, but also on the building of a hotel on the site, said Mark Ely, the city's community development director.

The hotel must be built before or at the same time as any other commercial projects on the site.

"We want a hotel," Ely said.

[Last modified November 27, 2007, 21:34:28]