Voters to decide fate of Floridays hotel

Mayor Jack Duncan made ample use of his gavel during Monday’s Town Commission meeting.

More than a dozen residents spoke out against plans for a new hotel skirting the Longbeach Village, sometimes drawing applause or jeers from the crowd of more than 60 attendees during a two-hour discussion.

But citing the need to revitalize the properties that include an old gas station and bank building, both of which have been vacant for years — and the fact that it is still early in the development process — commissioners approved the project’s request for a referendum. The decision to allow more density on 2.6 acres of north-end land will come before island voters Aug. 30. 

“I think we’re in the first inning of perhaps an extra-inning game,” said Commissioner Armando Linde. “And until we get past this first inning, we will not know what will be worked out that will satisfy the Villagers, the developers and the entire town.”

Floridays Development Co. CEO Angus Rogers and project manager James Brearly unveiled new renderings for the proposed four-story boutique hotel during the meeting. The firm added an “Old Florida” style to the project that Brearly said would better fit the Village’s character.

Despite the new architectural look, as well as an expanded permanent buffer along Broadway and plans for a breakfast restaurant and poolside grill to alleviate traffic concerns, many north-end residents remained opposed to the plans.

“It seems to me that one positive from this whole thing is that we’re concerned about it taking us an hour or two to get to Bradenton,” said Joe Iannello, who lives on Bayview Drive. “Don’t worry about it — Bradenton is coming to us. We are becoming Bradenton.”

Indeed, most of the project’s opponents who spoke at the meeting cited traffic as a factor in their opposition. In December, Floridays asked for a referendum to allow the firm to apply for more density on a cluster of properties southeast of the intersection of Broadway and Gulf of Mexico Drive. If voters approve the measure, the firm could then ask for 105 additional tourism units from the town’s pool of voter-approved rooms.

But, the firm will also have to file for a rezone and comprehensive plan amendment to change the property’s future land use in September if the referendum passes, said Alaina Ray, Longboat Key director of Planning, Zoning and Building. Those proposals would go before the Planning and Zoning Board in November for recommendations, and the Town Commission would consider the plans the following month.

“That is a rough estimate,” Ray said.

“The development business for this kind of project is not for the faint of heart.” — Angus Rogers

Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force Chairman George Spoll, a former mayor, said commissioners should not consider arguments against the project, because the hearing was only to put a referendum on the ballot — not to rezone the property.

“The arguments are just so frustrating to sit here and listen to,” said Spoll, who has worked for more than five years on that task force. “I compliment the commission on their patience.”

Commissioner Phill Younger, who cast the sole vote against the referendum, wanted more clarity in the ballot language. He proposed citing within the referendum the 46 units per acre Floridays will seek through the multitiered development process.

But, Town Attorney Maggie Mooney-Portale warned commissioners that Younger’s proposal and another from Commissioner Jack Daly specifically citing the long-term plans for 120 rooms, could violate state laws against rezoning through referendum.

Commissioner Irwin Pastor appealed to Floridays to reduce the number of proposed units at the hotel. He said with the right design, rooms could yield more than $400 per night.

“When I look at your project the way it is right now, the demographics, the parking and more so the aesthetics are really not in line with Longboat Key at all,” Pastor said. “You said originally when you came here you would be building a boutique hotel. That is not a boutique hotel.”

In an interview with the Longboat Observer, Rogers said he doubts those rates were possible. But he said a project can evolve as it works through the development process.

“The development business for this kind of project is not for the faint of heart,” Rogers said.

Floridays officials said they will take all the criticism into account, as they have so far in the process.

“Any time we hear anything from the Town Commission, we take it into serious consideration,” Brearly said.