Sunset Beach park strolls ahead

A deal is made for the largest parcel needed. Negotiations continue for the last site.

By KATHY SAUNDERS

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 4, 2000

TREASURE ISLAND -- By the end of the year, the city could hold the title to three of the four parcels it needs to develop a park near Sunset Beach.

The Trust for Public Land has contracted with members of the Pheil family to buy the largest parcel needed for the park. The 40,000-square-foot piece of property includes six vacant beachfront lots south of 97th Avenue.

The non-profit trust will hold the property until the city can purchase the land with a state grant. Treasure Island expects the entire project to cost about $1.5-million, most of which will come from a $1.2-million grant awarded to the city by the state's Florida Communities Trust.

Two weeks ago, Martha Dilley moved out of the house on the first parcel purchased by the Trust for Public Land. Dilley and her late husband, Earl, agreed to sell the lot on the north side of 97th Avenue for $725,000.

The city expects to pay $160,000 to $175,000 when it buys another, smaller parcel owned by the All Children's Hospital Foundation. The trust negotiated that purchase last year.

City Manager Chuck Coward said the city's agreement with the Trust for Public Land forbids him from revealing the negotiated price for the Pheil property until the closing. The land is owned by brothers Frederick and Clarence Pheil of Chesterfield, N.C.

Coward said the Trust for Public Land is still negotiating with Harold Noordhoek of Miami, the trustee for the estate of Gary Noordhoek, which owns the last site needed for the park. The Noordhoek property, a former convenience store, fronts West Gulf Boulevard.

But the Pheil property is the key to the new park.

"With those properties, we've got a park whether we get Noordhoek or not," Coward said.

In the next few months, architects will begin final designs for the new Sunset Vista Trailhead Park.

Early next year, the city plans to demolish the Dilleys' former house to open the view to the beach from Gulf Boulevard and the Blind Pass Bridge.

Treasure Island wants to develop a 2-acre park with natural vegetation, such as sea oats and sea grape. It wants to restore the natural habitat near the beach, including sea turtle nesting areas and sand dunes.

Ultimately, the city plans to connect its beach sidewalk to the new park, where visitors can watch the sunset from a sand platform, meander through shell trails or relax on benches.

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