Colony demolition rescheduled for July 23

Building demolition of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort has been delayed a week as the town and Unicorp National Developments Inc. finalize a contract for the work.

The demolition of the once-iconic resort buildings, now scheduled no earlier than July 23, was originally scheduled to begin no earlier than July 16, said Planning, Zoning and Building Director Allen Parsons.

The town ordered demolition of the Colony buildings on May 31 after it deemed all but one of the buildings at the site unsafe, unfit and an imminent danger to the town and its residents. That order was appealed.

Unicorp, an Orlando-based development firm approved to build a St. Regis Hotel and Residences at the 17.6-acre site, has offered to demolish the site at no cost to the town.

Town officials gained authority to demolish all but one of the buildings at the site in June after two challenges to a Longboat Key emergency demolition order were denied by a circuit court judge.

This ruling, which came after 5 1/2 hours of testimony, gives the town authority to begin demolition process. Had the legal challenges been successful, they would have only affected three structures in which they own units.

“The town has shown that there is an imminent danger to the citizens,” 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll said in his oral order. “People’s lives hang in the balance.”

Once demolition begins, though, Unicorp does not yet have a clear path forward. 

Units are still owned by multiple individuals and limited liability companies. The developer has sought judicial action to end the condominium association, means by which Unicorp hopes to gain full ownership of the property.

There’s also the planned partition sale July 24 of the recreational property — 2.3 acres that includes the old restaurant, delicatessen, swimming pool and tennis courts —of which Unicorp owns 95%. Andy Adams, who owns 70 units at the property, owns the other 5%. Adams also owns individual units in the complex. 

Unicorp must own all of the property before it may build its proposed five-star hotel and condominium development.