Best Western owner hires lawyer for Siesta Promenade discussions

Morgan Bentley doesn’t find himself representing the opposing side of new development too often.

But, as Benderson Development moves through the regulatory process with plans for the 24-acre Siesta Promenade, the prominent attorney will represent the Best Western Plus Gateway Siesta Key’s push to reign in the lofty proposal. And it could be that development-friendly lawyers and landowners find themselves in a similar position as more infill projects materialize.

“I think everyone agrees there’s going to be some type of development there, so the best outcome for us is one that brings the most benefit with the least impact,” he said. “Which is easy to say and hard to do.”

Siesta Promenade is slated to contain up to 400 residential units, 195 hotel rooms and 140,000 square feet of retail space, according to the latest iteration of the proposal.

While that plan for the former mobile-home park includes two hotels, Bentley said the Best Western is concerned less about competition and more about potential traffic woes — which aligns with the dozens of neighbors who spoke during a Sarasota County Commission meeting Tuesday.

“Hotels have a certain synergy about them, and you generally see hotels next to each other,” Bentley said. “But, anything that causes backup there is going to cause a problem for us.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, he advocated for county staff’s recommendation to delay a decision on Siesta Promenade’s proposed Critical Area Plan boundary, which would have laid the groundwork for taller and more dense buildings. Commissioners eventually voted to continue the discussion to a later meeting.

During the meeting, he told commissioners he had been working with Benderson representatives about roadway improvements.

Bentley, who recently represented the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association as Manatee County and the Sarasota County School District considered impact fee hikes, said as more development — and redevelopment — moves into the populated portions of the county, there may be more backlash from pro-growth stakeholders. 

For example, GreenPointe Communities is planning a hotel, condominiums and retail space at the former Sarasota Quay property, which is sandwiched between the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, the Hyatt Regency Sarasota and the coming Embassy Suites on North Tamaimi Trail. 

“Infill is always up next to some commercial use,” he said. “And there you’ll see the same type of thing happen: typically development-friendly entities opposed to development.”