ST. PETE BEACH — The TradeWinds Resort is proposing to add a 116-foot tall, 12-story hotel and parking garage, which would be the city's first major redevelopment project in more than a decade. "We are really excited. The last major project in the city was in 1999 when the Sirata added its tower," said TradeWinds CEO Tim Bogott. Bogott said he hopes construction can start before the end of the year and the hotel open for business by mid 2018. The proposed "Sugar Sands at TradeWinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach" will be built on the site of the former 200-room Coral Reef Hotel, a complex condemned by the city, demolished and purchased by the TradeWinds Resort in 2014. The nearly 3 acres at the site brings the TradeWind's land package to about 30 acres of beachfront property.

The Sugar Sands, at 5750 Gulf Blvd., would add a fourth complex to the existing TradeWinds Island Grand Resort, Guy Harvey Outpost and the Breckenridge at TradeWinds Resort — bringing the company's total available timeshare and hotel rooms to about 800. The estimated $55 million Sugar Sands project will include 217 tourist rooms, an 810-space multi-story parking garage, a timeshare sales center, a spa and fitness center, a marketing office, a bar and a reception area. The structure features a lower facade along the roadway, building to a 12-story tower at the rear.

The property sits in the midst of the city's Large Resort and Gulf Boulevard Community Redevelopment zoning districts and is subject to the conditions of a settlement agreement the city signed last year with resident Jim Anderson, who had sued to block development he claimed would be beyond the capabilities of the city's sewer system and other infrastructure. Anderson could not be reached Friday for comment, but the agreement addressed the height of new hotels; the number of hotel rooms allowed per acre, how required infrastructure improvements would be paid for and the rights of residents living adjacent to hotel properties. The agreement also placed an 80-foot cap on building heights until the city completed a series of infrastructure studies. The final study on the city's sewer system is scheduled to be completed by the fall. Credit: http://www.tampabay.com/news/business... -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Please watch: "Selling My Home For More Introduction" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8lhY... -~-~~-~~~-~~-~-