Longboat condemns final building at Colony site

The only building unaffected by an emergency condemnation order on the property of the proposed St. Regis Hotel and Residences on Longboat Key has now been condemned by the town.

The difference: the condemnation of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort’s Beach Unit building is not considered an emergency, which opens the door for unit owner Ruth Kreindler to appeal within 10 days to the town instead of to a court. She owns two units in the building, one assessed in Sarasota County property records at $1.5 million and the other at $555,000.

Demolition is ordered by the town to begin no earlier than Aug. 6. Dan Lobeck, an attorney representing Kreindler, said he could not comment because of attorney-client privilege.

Demolition of the property’s other 26 buildings, which were the subject of the town’s June 1 emergency condemnation order, is scheduled to begin July 26 but has been delayed twice. The beachside building cannot be demolished until the appeal period has passed. 

 A legal challenge to that order was rejected in June by a circuit court judge.

The town issued the latest order July 23.

The beachside building was not included in the emergency order because it is built of cinder block, making it less of an imminent danger come storm or fire. The town did deem the building unsafe and unfit, but not until five months after it originally  ordered the other buildings repaired or razed last fall. 

 In addition to Kreindler, the other unit in the building is owned by Unicorp National Developments Inc., the developer of the St. Regis project.

CEO Chuck Whittall said the demolition would take up to six months to complete, after which the property would be sodded in preparation for groundbreaking. His company won the contract to demolish the remaining buildings on the 17.6 acre site with a zero-dollar bid.

Whittall gained town approval in March to build the 166-room, 78-condominium project and hopes to open it in 2021.