Colony reopens today

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort has about 100 rooms open for business starting today.

Interim building official John Fernandez said inspection reports submitted do not show termite damage is significant enough to not open the rooms.

Eight of the rooms, however, will not be used because of safety issues with the balconies.

The resort, located at 1620 Gulf of Mexico Drive, is reopening three months after it suspended hotel operations, after receiving permission from a federal bankruptcy judge to do so.

But the Colony’s association board of directors, which is upset that the 100 units planned for reopening will not be available for owner use, questioned the safety of the buildings.

In federal bankruptcy filings, the association submitted an exhibit on Dec. 2, which reveals Sarasota-based Karins Engineering Group Inc. presented a report to the association in November that shows widespread termite infestation was found in all the buildings. Further investigation of the buildings needs to be performed to determine safety of the resort’s continued occupancy, according to the report.

Fernandez, however, never foresaw the town not allowing the Colony to open.

“The Colony already has a certificate of occupancy,” Fernandez said. “They shut down voluntarily and can reopen voluntarily.”

Colony moving forward
Tampa-based U.S. Bankruptcy Court Middle District of Florida Judge K. Rodney May approved the re-opening of about 100 Colony Beach & Tennis Resort rooms in suites and buildings directly on and closest to the beach earlier this month.

The judge also approved a $175,000 loan Colony Chairman and Owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber has paid to the resort partnership to assist in the resort’s re-opening, the hiring and training of about 40 employees, the deposits needed to keep utilities running and the materials needed to advertise the opening.

The Colony is celebrating reopening with special pricing on suites during the December holiday period.

For more information, call 383-6464 or visit www.colonybeachresort.com.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].