Colony Association drafts site plan

The Colony Beach & Tennis Association Board released a draft conceptual site plan to unit owners that includes 13 more units than the property’s current 237 units. The proposed conceptual site plan was included in an eight-page outline sent Tuesday to unit owners and the town, along with a four-page letter to unit owners and a letter sent to Town Manager David Bullock in preparation of the status update the Colony parties will give to the Longboat Key Town Commission March 5.

The status update was a condition given by the commission in May when it voted to extend a continuance of the town’s tourism abandonment requirement for the Colony to Dec. 31. Without the extension, the property could have lost 85 of the resort’s units by Aug. 15, 2011 — exactly one year after the resort closed — because they were built on the property before town code limited tourism units to six per acre.

The draft site plan includes the entire 18-acre property, although both the board and its development partner, Club Holdings LLC, have repeatedly stated that they are willing to move forward by building around three acres controlled by longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber and other entities.

The eight page letter states:

“The plan includes a multimillion-dollar restoration and rebuild of the residential units, amenities and resort. Our improvements and operating standards will be at four-star quality and offer a choice between whole ownership, fractional ownership and traditional hotel use.”

Highlights of the plan include “promptly” embarking on the restoration of 12 existing beachfront units, which “will allow The Colony to begin accommodating owners and attracting guests and will serve as a valuable marketing tool for future owners and guests.” The plan includes 174 tower residences, located toward the back of the property near Gulf of Mexico Drive, along with 64 bungalow-style villas.

The draft also includes a welcome center with meeting, banquet and conference space located directly above; full-service spa; expansion of the former Monkey Bar, restaurant and beach pool and construction of a second adult pool; private beach cabanas; and a tennis and fitness club that would include nine courts, a stadium court, tennis retail shop and celebrity tennis plan; and the possibility of a second signature restaurant and additional units.

The proposed plan suggests limiting vehicular traffic to the perimeter of the property with pedestrian walkways and gardens within the resort, with parking directly beneath units.

The separate, four-page letter outlines three options for unit owners: whole ownership, one-eighth fractional ownership or sale — either to a private party or Club Holdings Ventures. The letter states that Club Holdings isn’t interested in owning the new units at the Colony, but rather would transfer those units to other individuals. The company would run the Colony through a management agreement. The letter outlines a two-tier pricing system of “founder pricing” for existing owners of a unit for the purchase of a new unit at the actual cost of construction and “retail pricing,” meaning the price of units after construction.Board Association President Jay Yablon said that the pricing structure provides an incentive for interested parties to buy out owners in the early stages of the project.