Resort proposes condos at Sand Key

The Belleview Biltmore Resort wants to develop a 13-story tower on property it owns. Some potential neighbors object.

By CHRISTINA HEADRICK

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

CLEARWATER -- The Belleview Biltmore Resort's owners have proposed building a 13-story condominium beachfront tower in the middle of other high-rises on Sand Key.

Neighbors have already objected to the plan.

The 26 high-end units would be about 3,000 square feet, with only two units on each tower floor. They each would have underground parking spaces, according to plans submitted to the city for review, and elevators would open directly into the dwellings.

If approved by city officials later this summer, the condominium tower dubbed Las Brisas is expected to cost about $12-million to build. Individual unit prices haven't been set.

The 1.4-acre site at 1590 Gulf Blvd. was the home of the now-defunct, pricey Cabana Club restaurant.

So why are the owners of a historic resort hotel on the mainland developing condominiums a few miles away on Sand Key?

A century ago, when railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant was developing the Belleview resort to bring tourists by train to Florida, he owned thousands of acres around the Belleview Biltmore property, including the narrow island that today is called Sand Key.

Year after year, pieces of the resort's property have been carved away, sold to other developers for projects, and the hotel itself has changed ownership several times. The 1.4-acre lot a few miles away on Sand Key is one of the few remaining properties that the hotel in Belleair still owns.

The Belleview Biltmore will use profits from the 13-story condominium to finish $5-million to $8-million in renovations at the resort hotel, said Shaffin Jetha, whose family hotel business owns and operates it.

However, residents near the proposed condominium object to its height and location. In addition to adding to beach traffic jams, they fear that the condominium tower could block their views of the Gulf of Mexico, particularly for people living in condominiums across Gulf Boulevard. Letters have started coming into City Hall.

"How many more high-rises are going to be built on Gulf Boulevard?" recently wrote Mr. and Mrs. Walter Rowlette, who live across the street from the proposed condo. "Do we want to look like New York City with one skyscraper after another with just a few feet between them?"

Jetha said care was taken to design the condominium tower so it leaves views open. It would be only 65 to 75 feet wide, leaving gaps of at least 80 feet on either side between the proposed condominium and adjacent condo towers.

"It's going to be a very pretty building," Jetha said. "We have really struggled to make it so everyone has a good view."

City approval and several public meetings are required before the condominium proposal can move forward.

The city's Community Development Board would have to okay increasing the height allowed at the condominium's parcel from 40 feet to 130 feet.

Also, City Commissioners would have to approve changing the commercial zoning of the property to a residential zone, where condos would be allowed.

"Right now, we could build a hotel or time-shares there," Jetha said. "We can do so many things there with commercial property. But we felt the community would prefer something residential."

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