P&Z decision could bring new era for Villa Am Meer

The Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board will review the 16-unit Aria condominium project at 2251 Gulf of Mexico Drive at its regular meeting Jan. 21. And, if all goes according to plan, buyers won’t have to wait long to make reservations.

Sarasota developer Jay Tallman, president of Ascentia Group LLC, plans to open reservations Jan. 22.

“Everything’s contingent on approval from the town,” Tallman said. “But, frankly, to get to this point with the town, we’ve already gone through a very detailed review. It’s already been vetted thoroughly with town staff.”

Tallman said his phone began ringing right away after he announced plans for the project in September. It was the second planned condo project announced in 2013. Michael Saunders & Co. announced plans for the 11-unit Infinity condominium project at 4765 Gulf of Mexico Drive in March.

The last new luxury condominium project on the mostly built-out Key was Positano, completed in 2006.

But the prospect of new luxury with the Gulf-front condos isn’t the only buzz surrounding the project. The property has a storied history.

A German immigrant named Dr. Hermann Kohl purchased the property in the depths of the Great Depression in 1932, two years after he was indicted on federal bootlegging charges. After Prohibition ended in late 1933, the charges were dropped, and Kohl built Villa Am Meer in 1935 as a winter retreat.

In 1993, the family of the Kohls’ adopted daughter, Elena Benedict, sold the southern parcel of the property totaling just less than seven acres to the developers of the 38-unit Villa di Lancia.

Tampa-based Statewide Associates purchased the remaining five acres of the property, which included the main residence, guest home and carriage house, for $18 million in 2006. The company planned to build 30 townhomes on it and renovate the original home into a community clubhouse — but then the market went south.

BBC Key LLC became the owner of the property in 2009, after it went into foreclosure three years after the $18 million sale.

The 5,000-square-foot main residence, which BBC Key LLC now owns, is currently under renovation. It will stay on the property and serve first as a sales office and, later, as the condo’s clubhouse.

“It adds depth to our plan and our marketing of the project when there’s some history to be able to speak to. While we were going with more of a coastal contemporary design for the building, we very much wanted to re-create the history and embed that history, and part of that is the renovation of Villa Am Meer,” Tallman said.

The site’s old rusty iron gates, complete with the image of a lion on them, will be preserved and attached to a future privacy wall that will sit off of Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Tallman hopes to begin construction, which is anticipated to last 15 to 17 months, in the summer. Units are currently priced between $3.44 million and $4.25 million. The total value of the project is estimated at $60 million.

Units will range from 3,804 square feet to 3,940 square feet in a new four-story building.

The P&Z Board will consider a site plan for the project in a quasi-judicial hearing at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Longboat Key Town Hall.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]