St. Regis clears hurdle to build $600 million beachfront resort and condos on Longboat Key

The St. Regis Residences and Hotel moved closer Wednesday to finally breaking ground on Longboat Key where once stood The Colony Beach and Tennis Resort.

The long-awaited five-star resort will see 67 condos built in three five-story towers and 166 hotel rooms built in another five story tower in the 1600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive.

There will be four swimming pools, three bars, three restaurants, more than 17,000-square-feet of meeting space and numerous onsite amenities once the project is fully built.

The $600 million development has been pursued by developer Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Developments, who has committed $100 million to a lengthy legal battle, development plans and land costs, he told the Herald-Tribune.

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The Longboat Key Town Commission and Whittall have worked for years on the project, ultimately seeing a development plan hammered out in 2018. But modifications to the plan required another approval from local officials on Wednesday.

With more than 60 conditions and other stipulations, the complex contract between Unicorp National Developments and the Town of Longboat Key resulted in a vote that was not unanimous nor quick, with the meeting lasting about six hours.

A key sticking point for some of the commissioners revolved around how close two of the buildings would be to the coastal erosion control line, the line on Longboat Key's beachfront that designates private property from public land.

By the town's zoning code, buildings must be 150 feet away from the erosion control line as a way to prevent potential damage during storms.

St. Regis' developers seek to recreate The Colony's "Monkey Bar" roughly 100 feet away from that line and they had planned to build an event pavilion about 70 feet from that line.

Commissioners agreed — on a 3-2 vote — to allow for the Monkey Bar, but failed to approve the event pavilion on Wednesday. 

The other major sticking point among Longboat Key commissioners involved parking, something that they said at the meeting has been a challenge on the barrier island.

Two commissioners, Debra Williams and B.J. Bishop, were opposed to buildings closer to the erosion control line and expressed concerns that parking at the property was not adequate.

Bishop, who voted against the final site plan but for the development plan, said while she has concerns about parking and buildings close to the erosion control line she still largely supports the project.

"I'm hoping this gets done," she said. "We just can't create problems."

Williams voted against both the development plan and final site plan because of the buildings being too close to the erosion control line and the parking issue.

She said that at The Zota Beach Resort at 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive she's seen employees park offsite and walk some distance to their place of employment.

"I feel very strongly about both of these issues," she said.

The development plan passed on a 4-1 vote and the final site plan passed on a 3-2 vote. The Town of Longboat Key has seven commissioners, but Sherry Dominick recused herself since she's an independent contractor with Michael Saunders & Co., which is the exclusive listing agent for St. Regis Residences and Hotel.

Commissioner Maureen Merrigan did not attend the meeting as she was dealing with a family issue, but town officials noted she would examine all evidence and would vote during final approval on Oct. 20.

The development agreement seems safe as it passed on a 4-1 vote on Wednesday, but Merrigan's vote will likely be the determining factor for final approval of the project as the site plan was approved on a 3-2 vote on Wednesday.

The financial impact to Longboat Key will be massive when the development is completed as the potential tax bill from St. Regis would see a boost of 8% to the town's $18 million budget.

Mayor Ken Schneier said the project could ultimately pay $1.5 million per year in property taxes to Longboat Key.

Whittall said that once final approval is received on Oct. 20 there are plans for a Oct. 25 groundbreaking.