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Tarpon Springs Development

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#1 ·
'A good project, but is it Tarpon Springs?'
A resort aimed at "mega yachters" evokes mixed reactions.
By ELENA LESLEY
Published June 7, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS - Jumbles of masts, some partly sunken, and rusted metal roofs frame the industrial skyline across from the Sponge Docks.

It's a somewhat ramshackle backdrop for diners and shoppers on the south side of the Anclote River.

It's also an authentic one.

But a plan for a resort hotel on the river's north side could transform the character of this quaint waterfront.

Jerry Fletcher, president of Bayland Development Group LLC, told city commissioners at Tuesday night's meeting that his planned 200-room destination resort and spa would draw high-end tourists and money to the city.

And he claimed it could be built without driving out what's left of Tarpon's working waterfront.

Commissioners said they needed time to think, and asked Fletcher to return in two weeks for their vote on whether to negotiate a development agreement with him.

Their decision, nearly all agreed, is much bigger than deciding if Fletcher is entitled to permits to build an 84-foot-tall terraced structure that would require dredging some previously filled riverbed. It's a decision that evokes what Tarpon Springs has been and what it will become.

"Sure, it's a good project," George Billiris, husband of Mayor Beverley Billiris, said during the public comments portion of the meeting. But, he asked, "is this Tarpon Springs?"

Fletcher thinks it is. His plan calls for a $700-million resort marketed to well-heeled yachters. Amenities would include 200 to 300 dry slips, 50 to 70 wet slips, a spa and wellness center and space for boats up to 165 feet long. He said the project, located on Island Avenue, would create 270 jobs.

Fletcher described luxury yacht owners, dripping money, who would dock their boats, enjoy the resort's amenities, and then take water taxis over to Dodecanese Boulevard to shop and eat. And they "do buy T-shirts and they do buy trinkets," he said. "And they would buy 20 where I would buy one."

Fletcher called "mega yachters" an underserved niche market. He said resort rooms would be marketed to those willing to buy six-week fractional shares. He predicted the new tourists would pump $300-million annually into the regional economy.

Despite all these potential benefits, commissioners and some residents still struggled with the question of identity.

"Do we want to be Fort Lauderdale, or do we want to be Tarpon Springs?" George Billiris asked the audience.

The problem is, said those supporting Fletcher, maybe Tarpon Springs can no longer afford to be Tarpon Springs -- an authentic little Greek waterfront with lots of history and no hotel rooms.

"That charm is not working any longer," said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance and owner of one the properties Fletcher has under contract. "Tourism is going down, buildings at the sponge docks are dilapidated. There are more parking lots than businesses."

In Williams' opinion, the best way to save Tarpon Springs, particularly its working waterfront, is to develop. Plus, Fletcher has offered to accommodate the six shrimping boats -- owned by Williams and a partner -- that the project would displace, and help start a fisheries co-op in the area.

"The fisheries are part of what makes Tarpon attractive to tourists," said Spiro Verras, one of the lawyers who, along with former Rep. Mike Bilirakis, is representing Fletcher.

Commissioner Peter Dalacos, the only commissioner who wanted to enter development negotiations immediately, said he saw where the fishermen were coming from.

"We are rooted in our history, but we have a chance to make new history," he said.

Still, other commissioners weren't convinced this was the future they wanted for Tarpon Springs. They asked Fletcher to return June 19 with plans at varying heights and examples of similar structures they could examine.

"What we have, if we lose it, I don't believe we can ever get it back," Commissioner David Archie said.


http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/07/Northpinellas/_A_good_project___but.shtml
 
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#6 ·
84 feet! Good Lord, call the FAA!

Just tell them to put a model of the Acropolis with a couple of statues of sponge divers having a relaxing smoke, drinking uzo, and eating spanokopita on top of the buidling, and we can all pretend it fits with Tarpon Springs' ambiance.
 
#7 ·
I think it is more the demographic of people this would attract, and the conflict of businesses, that are the problems more so then the height, although I'm sure this height doesn't help.

That said, if they hope to financially save many of the bussiness along the spounge docks, they need some hotel rooms or some kind of connection to attract tourists. In this case the connection would be by boat, apropriatley.
 
#9 ·
^ Eh. I'm still calling BS. The hotel portion is tiny, 200 rooms. Overall the whole project is set to create 270 jobs. That doesn't sound very big to me. The medium sized resorts in Las Vegas employ 20x that many people and still don't cost that much. Closer to home, the Ritz Carlton Sarasota cost a mere $130m and I have to believe the land cost in Sarasota was more.
 
#10 ·
Well, don't buy it then.

But I've got to assume that you haven't priced out a dry slip or wet slip for boats up to 165ft long lately either... And the article also says the project will feature a resort and spa for the bluebloods tooling around on those yachts...

Nothing about that project's description says that it will generate anything less than several hundred million dollars in sales at build out. Whether it adds up to $700m, I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me.
 
#14 ·
^Definitely... This will probably be seen as a cost effective alternative to pricier high-end marinas along the coast in SW FL, and even over in the Cape are and Palm Coast (for people who live in the middle of the state and travel to their boat, and also snowbirds, who RV down.) I wouldn't expect the market to be all that big, but I seriously doubt this guy would ever get a dime if the demand wasn't there... heck, there's even a bit of kitchy culture to be enjoyed in Tarpon Springs.

And besides, there are probably only a percentage of spaces for very large boats... I would assume that the marina is generally targeting smaller boats.
 
#16 ·
This is something Tarpon needs and no one can say it doesn't. This article brought up something that many don't realize, TS tourism has dropped. Businesses and tourism have dropped and why come here if you can go somewhere closer to Clearwater or Tampa. A resort at this size will be a well needed growth to the area. If this isn't a turning point in the tourism sluggish, then I can't wait to see what is.

And yeah, $700 mil. for this, I don't think so!
 
#18 ·
^^Maybe $700 mil. is correct, after all canal dredging may be involved and that is pricey.

Huge Sponge Docks spa-hotel planned
By Vivienne Green of The Suncoast News

Published: June 9, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - The first mega yacht resort in the United States could be built in Tarpon Springs in a couple of years, but commissioners hearing the proposal from a group of Safety Harbor developers Tuesday, June 12 appeared hesitant.

"One of the biggest issues is the height," Mayor Beverly Billiris insisted, during a three-hour vocal tug-of-war with the developers and merchants from the Sponge Docks who supported the proposal.

The Mariners' Club & Resort, a 200-room, 84-foot-high development, to be built on six acres of Island Avenue just across from the Sponge Docks north of the Anclote River, would pull as much as $600 million in annual revenues to the city, he said, translating into much tax revenue and a boost to businesses in the area.

Jerry Fletcher, president of Bayland Development Group and former U.S. Rep. Michael Bilirakis, his attorney, were seeking the go-ahead from commissioners so they may start negotiating terms of the development agreement with zoning staff, which would later bring it back to the Board of Commissioners for approval.

Fletcher, who showed renderings of the development, described it as a "world class destination spa and luxury hotel" with boat slips for large vessels to attract high spending yacht owners.

With the hotel would come 275 new "high paying" jobs, he added. A fisheries co-op would be formed to preserve the local fishing industry; a complete sewer system and a fire control system would be installed; there would be some dredging in the bay to remove copper and other substances that have blocked plant life there for years; and a dry marina.

Dozens of Sponge Docks merchants who came to support the venture, hailed it as an answer to the continued decline in business in the area.

"The docks need help, we're barely making money. Stores are not even making $100 a day," said David Gauchman, head of the Sponge Docks Merchants Association and owner of Five Fish clothing store on Dodecanese Boulevard.

"There's absolutely no downside to this," declared John Williams Thursday, June 7.
Williams, the executive director of Southern Shrimp Alliance, owns Northside Seafood and four of the six fishing boats that will be the only ones directly impacted by the development. His business partner, Bill Hardee owns the other two.

Imported shrimp has been forcing shrimpers out of business and as a result Williams has had his property up for sale almost a year.

Reluctant to completely give up the business, he turned down two offers and approached the city with a proposal: He would sell the city his business, they would lease it back to him at a reasonable rate and he would "keep the working waterfront as it is." But they had no funds to do that, he said.

"We don't want to sell. We don't want to leave. Then along comes this project. We sell our property to them, get the full value for it and remain in the Tarpon Springs fishing industry. This is a perfect fit for me, the city, the fishing industry all of us combined. We're excited about it."
Commissioner Peter Dalacos called it "a win-win situation for our fisheries," but other commissioners were hesitant.

They had already turned down several developers who wanted to build 75-foot structures at the site of the former Pappas riverside Restaurant on Dodecanese Boulevard, out of concerns shared for years with the merchants that the city.

The area attracts roughly 800,000 tourists to the docks annually. Some merchants are concerned the area could lose its working waterfront and the quaint authentic charm that made it the attraction it is.

In fact, the city is now in the process of amending its Land Development Code to lower the maximum allowed height for buildings on Dodecanese Boulevard and surrounding areas from 75 feet to 50 feet. The first reading of this ordinance is due to come up before the City Commission on July 3.

Making changes to accommodate the proposal could prompt other developers to present plans for similar sized structures in the area, the mayor said.

"We had a developer in today and we mandated that person to 50 ft.," she said.
Fletcher said reducing the size to 50 feet would render the building "ugly" and unappealing to the niche group they were trying to attract.

He appealed to commissioners to at least let staff members start the process of negotiating the development agreement, but a four-to-one vote declined the request until after the next board sitting June 26.

The commissioners said they wanted time for research and to visualize what an 84-foot building in the area would look like.

http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2007/jun/09/huge-sponge-docks-spa-hotel-planned/?news
 
#22 ·
I dont think they mean $600 million in taxes to the city. The project might bring in $600 million in income for local businesses including some of that as taxes for TS, but I dont believe all of that money would go directly to the actual city government.
 
#25 ·
Green light for 80-room hotel
But Tarpon Springs gives a red light to a development plan for a much larger project.
By NICOLE HUTCHESON
Published June 21, 2007


[Handout]
Santorini, an 80-room hotel planned to be built on the south side of the Anclote River in Tarpon Springs.

TARPON SPRINGS - It's been said for years that what the Sponge Docks needs to attract more visitors is a nice hotel.

City commissioners gave a green light Tuesday night to a developer planning an 80-room hotel on the south side of the Anclote River, but put the brakes on a second, much larger proposal for a megaresort on the river's north side.

The ambitious venture, with an eventual price tag estimated as high as $700-milllion, had been proposed just two weeks ago by a Lake City entrepreneur, who was represented then and again Tuesday by one of Tarpon Springs' leading figures, former longtime Rep. Mike Bilirakis.

Envisioned were 200 luxury rooms and up to 70 boat slips, many big enough to moor yachts up to 165 feet. The resort also was to have a spa, a wellness center and dry storage for as many as 300 vessels.

But a commission majority chose not to go forward with plans as presented, despite pleas from some local business people and property owners.

Commissioners did advance site plans for a mixed use hotel called Santorini by the Sponge Docks to be built at Roosevelt Boulevard and Hill Street. Developers plan a Hilton Homewood Suites as well as a restaurant and retail space on the 2 acre site.

The project is being developed by the Menna family through Santorini Developers LLC. The Mennas have developed at least 20 properties in the Tampa Bay area.

Developers plan 80 rooms in the $13-million project. The Hilton's Homewood Suites brand averages customer stays of five days or more, said Marc Menna, director of operations for the development group.

The project's aesthetics aren't definite, but architect Robert Resch of Dunedin expects the exterior would maintain the historical charm of the Sponge Docks and could include colors such as olive, sage and beige. The hotel's height wouldn't exceed 50 feet, said Menna, whose company, Mencorp Hospitality and Development, would operate the hotel.

Mencorp, based in Palm Harbor, also operates a Hampton Inn in St. Petersburg and developed the Holiday Inn Express at U.S. 19 and Gulf to Bay Boulevard in Clearwater.

"This is an initial concept," Menna said. "We wanted feedback and reaction and we figured from this we could proceed to tweaking it a bit more and coming up with something that ultimately satisfied at least a majority of people in the area."

In the coming months, developers will bring a site proposal before the commission. Tuesday night, commissioners expressed optimism for the project.

"The fact that you see the potential for the city's growth is very encouraging to me," said Commissioner Robin Saenger.

But optimism waned when commissioners considered the massive proposal presented by Bayland Development Group LLC. The group, led by president Jerry Fletcher of Lake City first appeared before the commission June 5. Presenting his sweeping plans, Fletcher requested that the city enter into a development agreement. But officials asked him to return in two weeks.

There was no question Fletcher's project would have been the biggest structure at the Sponge Docks. Early plans called for a series of buildings that would have looked like a Greek village on a hillside. The tallest of the buildings could have been more than 80 feet.

It wasn't clear whether Fletcher had any contracts to purchase properties on the north side of the river.

Commissioners voted 4-to-1 not to enter into an agreement with Fletcher, citing problems with the height of the project and questions about the project's economic sustainability.

"If we change our community to such a degree, we lose who we are," said Mayor Beverley Billiris said.

Billiris also said she had reservations after reading a St. Petersburg Times article Sunday detailing some of Fletcher's past legal problems and failed development projects.

"It gave me great pause," Billiris said. "I just sat back and said 'Oh, my God.' "

Commissioner Peter Dalacos supported the project, saying it would generate business at the Sponge Docks and would keep the north side of the river from becoming industrial.

"We're at a crossroads and we have an opportunity to draw tourists," said Dalacos, who cast the lone vote for the project. "I'd rather have an 84-foot resort than a 75-foot high and dry."

Several business owners around the Sponge Docks supported the project.

"Have an open mind and leave it open," pleaded Capt. Joyce French, who owns the Narcosis Scuba Center on Pinellas Avenue.

"You guys represent us but you don't know how hard it can be."

Property owners on the north side of the Anclote said the commissioners' decision left them discouraged about their economic future.

"We're struggling extremely hard," said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance and a north side property owner. "This is restricting my property value and it's just not right."

Fletcher declined to comment for this story. Bilirakis, his lawyer, said he felt "disappointment and frustration," after the commission's decision.

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727 445-4162.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/21/Northpinellas/Green_light_for_80_ro.shtml
 
#26 ·
Now I didn't see the plans for the 'megaresort' so it oculd've been totally incompatible, but I find it funny how they reject a plan that would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to the city and is only 84 feet on the non-historic northside of the river and they approve a plan for a 50 foot tall project on the more historic southside that will bring in next to nothing.

Its not that I disagree with approving this Hilton hotel, is that I don't understand how they could've rejcted the megaresort unless the plans were just horrid.
 
#27 ·
Wal-Mart bides its time on Tarpon site
A meeting between the retailer's lawyers and Tarpon Springs officials shows the company is investigating its options.
By Elena Lesley, Times Staff Writer
Published February 16, 2008


Wal-Mart officials want to build a store along U.S. 19 in Tarpon Springs. The Board of Adjustment dealt the retailer a setback in January. Wal-Mart could challenge the decision in court.
[Jim Damaske | Times (2007)]
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TARPON SPRINGS - For nearly a month, anti-Wal-Mart activists and city officials have waited for the retail giant to make its next move.

A decision Jan. 16 by the Board of Adjustment - which could force the company to undergo a new series of public hearings - "puts the ball in their court," said City Commissioner Peter Dalacos. And Wal-Mart is in no rush.

A recent meeting between lawyers from Wal-Mart and the city indicated the company is considering several options, including asking for a new hearing or appealing the decision in court.

"It would be counterproductive to speculate," said attorney Jim Yacavone, who participated in the meeting requested by Wal-Mart attorney David Theriaque. A summary of the discussion was sent to city officials and made available to the public.

A spokesperson from Wal-Mart said the company is investigating its options.

In the meeting, which was also attended by attorneys John Hubbard and Shauna Morris as well as Director of Planning and Zoning Renea Vincent, Theriaque questioned the basis of the board's decision.

Wal-Mart has the option of challenging the decision in circuit court, and Theriaque outlined several points the company could argue. He said board members might not have used substantial evidence in making their decisions and suggested that one or more of the board members may have been biased, Yacavone said in his Feb. 4 memo.

Despite outlining different legal arguments, Theriaque said he worried a court challenge would drag on for at least a year and that the judge might eventually rule to have the board rehear the case.

Theriaque also asked whether the board had a rule regarding motions for rehearing or clarification. Yacavone said it did not, but if Wal-Mart wishes to pursue this possibility, city attorneys will research whether it would be appropriate.

One of the final points raised in Yacavone's memo stoked the ire of activists.

According to Yacavone, Theriaque said the Army Corps of Engineers recently advised Wal-Mart it might be able to apply for the permit the company was originally granted. It was withdrawn in 2006 after activists discovered it was inappropriate for the Tarpon site and Wal-Mart was forced to apply for a more restrictive permit.

Considering Wal-Mart has yet to give the corps a complete application, it seems implausible that anyone would have made this claim, said resident Chris Hrabovsky, a Wal-Mart opponent.

"It's more than a misunderstanding," he said. "It's an out and out lie."

Chuck Schnepel, who is reviewing the project for the corps, confirmed that he has not received all necessary documents from Wal-Mart. Thus, he said, he has made no decision as to what kind of permit is required, nor has he discussed the matter with attorneys from Wal-Mart or the city.

"I'm still in a holding pattern," he said. "Wal-Mart has been put on notice."

Those opposing the construction of a store on the Anclote River say there's a simple explanation for Wal-Mart's indecision: The company is fighting a losing battle.

"It's like Theriaque threw everything up on the wall to see what would stick," Hrabovsky said of the meeting. "He's really grasping at straws."

Since Wal-Mart's site plan was approved by the city three years ago, a vocal group of residents has contended the environmentally sensitive property is ill-matched for a supercenter. They've monitored the company's every move, reporting all mistakes and violations, whether big or small.

Their vigilance prompted the corps to withdraw the permit it had improperly granted Wal-Mart in 2006.

The company then had to choose whether to redesign the project, which would require a long approval process, or make minor adjustments to avoid protected wetlands.

Wal-Mart chose the latter.

While city staff concluded that those changes were minor - and thus did not need to be reapproved after another public hearing before the City Commission - opponents disagreed.

The proposed changes, they said, were major revisions. They went on to appeal the "minor" classification to the board.

A hearing in 2006 was canceled when Wal-Mart withdrew its revised application. This January, activists finally presented their case to the board - and won in a 3-2 vote.

If Wal-Mart doesn't challenge the decision, it will once again have to seek approval from the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission.

But, as Yacavone's meeting recap showed, the company is considering a number of options.

Activists said they didn't think it was appropriate for Wal-Mart to do its pondering with city attorneys. "They say that it's not collusion," activist Dory Larsen said. "But it doesn't look good."

Yacavone contended that such meetings weren't unusual and could offer insight into how to protect the city.

"If you're involved in a touchy legal situation, you want to get some idea of what the other party is thinking," he said.

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4167.

[Last modified February 15, 2008, 22:33:08]

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/16/Northpinellas/Wal_Mart_bides_its_ti.shtml
 
#28 ·
I can't believe this is still going on. The site deserves more than a Wal-Mart on it, look at the pic on the last post. And it isn't like Wal-Mart has no where else to build. There is a site south of it that can handle a Wal-Mart, maybe not a Super one, cause Tarpon Springs has everything a Super Wal-Mart has.
 
#29 ·
I can't believe this is still going on. The site deserves more than a Wal-Mart on it, look at the pic on the last post. And it isn't like Wal-Mart has no where else to build. There is a site south of it that can handle a Wal-Mart, maybe not a Super one, cause Tarpon Springs has everything a Super Wal-Mart has.
Agreed. :eek:hno: I remeber when I was in 7th grade my science teacher, who lived in Tarpon Springs, used this exact project as an example of how man-made developments hurt the enviorment. We even had the assignment of writing a letter to the city of Tarpon Springs explaing these effects and for them to not approve the project. Of course, you didn't have to have your letter sent but it was extra credit if you did. :yes:
 
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