Fewer condos, less density proposed for Colony site

A new plan for the redevelopment of Longboat Key’s long-closed Colony Beach & Tennis Resort includes fewer condominium units and won’t require town approval of a contentious zoning code change.

Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Developments Inc., told town commissioners in a Wednesday email of his plan to withdraw his company’s bid to seek the zoning change, which would have paved the way for a total of 268 hotel rooms and condo units.

Instead, without changing the footprint of the proposed buildings and open spaces, Unicorp will seek to stay within the allowed 4.5 units per acre and build 244 units – 166 hotel rooms and 78 condos.

“It seemed like the community was fighting me and I wanted the community to embrace it,’’ Whittall said in an interview Thursday. 

Whittall proposes a five-star resort, anchored by a St. Regis Hotel and featuring a 10,000 square foot ball room, an event lawn, a saltwater lagoon, lazy river and, evoking memories of the iconic previous resort, a Beach Tiki Monkey Bar.

Since 87% of Longboat voters rejected Unicorp’s initial proposal in March 2017, Unicorp has scaled down the scope of its project three times: first reducing 180 condos to 108 and building height from 12 stories to nine; then 102 condos and now 78.

Public opposition to the plan has focused on Whittall’s insistence on seeking an exception to established density rules and the traffic that would likely result from a development of the proposed size.

The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, in a 4-3 vote, in December recommended approval of Unicorp’s zoning amendment, going against town staff’s recommendation to deny, which also stirred up public outcry.  Dozens of e-mails were sent to Town Hall in the week leading up to a Monday Town Commission workshop at which about two-thirds of the more than 40 people who spoke expressed opposition to the zoning code change.

"I’ve already been contacted by some of the groups who were against us stating that they were glad we made the change," Whittall said.

Though no vote was taken among commissioners on Monday, Mayor Terry Gans said he thinks it would have been difficult to get four commissioners to approve the zoning code change. This approach is more "realistic," Gans said. 

"We’ve been dealing with this for a long time, we have a responsibility to get something suitable for what’s currently a blighted property to be complementary to everything that’s on Longboat Key," Gans said of the site of the former Colony. "I feel we’re closer now than we were in a long time."

The now-withdrawn zoning request was headed for Town Commission scrutiny and an initial vote on Feb. 5.

Now, Unicorp said it plans to submit its development plan to the town’s Planning and Zoning Board for consideration on Feb. 22, with possible initial commission action on March 5. Town commission elections will take place March 20.

"I think it was a wise move on his part," District 2 Commissioner George Spoll said of Whittall in an interview Wednesday night after hearing the news. "I believe the vote would have not carried it though."