- March 29, 2024
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Who is allowed to demolish a building? That’s the million-dollar question, quite literally in the case of possible development at the site of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.
A proverbial gauntlet was thrown just a couple weeks ago when the town sent a letter notifying the developer and the condominium association about its intent to use a $1.1 million bond Unicorp National Developments purchased two years ago.
That bond guarantees that the Colony Beach & Tennis Club Association would keep the property at the former resort up to town code standards. And if it didn’t, the bond would be used to fix the problems. The association, and by extension, the developer, was required by a resolution passed in 2016 to:
Neither the association nor the developer have done this, according to the letter.
All of the structures are in a state of disrepair and neglect, degraded to the point of collapse, according to the letter.
The letter claims many of the buildings could prove dangerous to neighbors in the event of a tropical storm. It further states other structures could attract “homeless or vagrants” who are searching for shelter.
The town estimates the cost to “eliminate” the code violations at $1.1 million. If the problems are not fixed within 10 days of the letter being sent, the town will begin the process of condemning the structures and notifying unit owners of its intentions to demolish the buildings.
But that’s not what the town wants to do, said Building Official Stan Dinwoodie. The town would much rather Unicorp demolish the buildings, avoiding the process of notifying all unit owners and hearing appeals — all part of the due process necessary for any municipality to demolish a structure it does not own, Dinwoodie said.
Unicorp, however, is also saddled by due process. The Orlando-based developer does not own all the units at the former Colony.
Unicorp Colony Units has asked the 12th Judicial Circuit Court to terminate the Colony Beach & Tennis Club Association on the basis that the property has been deemed “unsafe and uninhabitable” by the town.
The case, submitted to the court in January against almost 200 defendants, has not been scheduled for a hearing.
Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Developments, told the Longboat Observer last week that he is moving “ferociously” to get the court’s decision on the case.
“There’s going to be an onslaught of legal paperwork and hearings, whatever it takes to get this done as quickly as possible,” Whittall said. “My time of negotiating is done.”