Hospital could become celebrity spa

A retired plastic surgeon wants to turn the former Anclote Manor psychiatric center into a pricey resort.

By KATHERINE GAZELLA

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 12, 2001

TARPON SPRINGS -- Dr. Andrew Mason envisions turning the old building near the mouth of the Anclote River into a five-star resort, where celebrities can get pedicures, foreign tourists can get chemical peels and high-powered executives can get away from it all.

Mason wants to renovate the original 1920s Anclote Manor building, knock down the rest of the buildings and develop luxury condominiums on the property. The property would be turned into a five-star destination spa with a conference center, fine restaurant and all the amenities $1,000 to $1,500 a day can buy.

"What we're looking for is something that is opulent," said Mason, a retired plastic surgeon who practiced in Europe and now lives in Safety Harbor. "Something that if I am a celebrity of some sort, I would like."

Things have not always gone according to plan on the former Anclote Manor property, a former psychiatric hospital at 1527 Riverside Drive. The buildings have been vacant for four years, and two recent plans to develop the property have fallen through.

Last year, Clearwater neurologist William Hammesfahr proposed turning Anclote Manor into a rehabilitation center for patients who have had strokes or brain injuries. He said this spring that he no longer has plans to use the facility.

In May, the city shot down plans of the for-profit Central Florida Youth Services to open a juvenile drug treatment center there. Neighbors started a letter-writing campaign against the plans by the newly formed corporation.

The city determined that the zoning on parts of the property would not allow a treatment center. Because of that, the city would not consider the plan, City Attorney John Hubbard said at the time.

Mason, 53, is negotiating with an out-of-state real estate investment trust to buy Anclote Manor for an undisclosed amount. He said he wanted to gauge the reaction to his project before closing on the property. The trust is negotiating with several potential buyers, said Laura Klug, a broker working on the deal.

The property is assessed for tax purposes at slightly more than $2-million, according to Pinellas County records. It sold in 1990 for $3.75-million, records show.

Mason met with city staffers Friday, who told him he faces a six-month process to get the necessary zoning changes approved by the planning and zoning board, City Commission, county and state.

City officials and neighbors have said they like the idea.

"It may be really good for the business community," Mayor Frank DiDonato said. "I think it would be ideal. (The Anclote Manor building) is a wasted jewel."

Laz Vostitsanos has lived less than a quarter-mile from the property for 17 years. He remembers when psychiatric patients escaped from the facility and wandered onto his property. He once gave an escaped patient some Coca-Cola while his wife sneaked next door and alerted authorities.

Like many others in the neighborhood, he did not support the idea of of the juvenile drug treatment center, but he thinks a spa would be a nice addition to the neighborhood.

"It's got to be better than what they were going to do," he said. "I don't think people up here have any objection to anything their families don't have to fear."

The Anclote Manor facilities have a colorful history and have had many incarnations since opening more than 70 years ago.

The main facility was built during the Florida real estate boom of the 1920s and was called the Sunset Hills Country Club. After World War II, an insurance executive turned it into a resort hotel called Upham House on the Gulf of Mexico.

He later closed it, and the facility became Anclote Manor in 1953. Later, it was called The Manors and the Northpointe Behavioral Health System, which closed in 1997. The portion of the property that once was a golf course at the country club was sold for residential development and now is called Pointe Alexis South.

In 1989, when the facility was known as Anclote Manor Hospital, a prosecutor described it as "a medieval house of horrors" during a court hearing about his investigation into allegations of patient mistreatment. Some patients complained of being tied to their beds for weeks and locked in their rooms for up to a year.

Mason said he wants to return the facility to its former glory. He said the building is a wonderful structure that just requires some fixing up, and the grounds provide a good location for a secluded getaway spot.

Locals who wanted to use the spa would be able to get individual treatments for $200 to $600, he said. The price is considerably higher than fees at many local spas, but Mason said the customers would pay for the high-quality services.

His goal, he said, is to make the spa in Tarpon Springs a yearly destination spot for national and international customers. He said the spa would be similar to high-end resorts such as Canyon Ranch in Arizona and Golden Door in California, which typically rank among the top destination spas in the country.

A main portion of the clientele, Mason said, would be patients who want to recover from plastic surgery before returning to their everyday lives. Others, he said, would be people who recognize the need for an occasional facial or Swedish massage.

"We live in a very stressful society," Mason said. "We deserve to take a break."

- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Staff writer Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182.

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