ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — It’s one of St. Pete Beach's largest projects and was met with community backlash.
St. Pete Beach City Council recommended approval for a developer to build two new hotels and renovate the existing Sirata Beach Resort. The company, Columbia Sussex, a hotel management company based out of Kentucky is leading the project. Officials spoke on behalf of Columbia Sussex during Monday’s city council meeting.
The developer had people from the company, engineers, and attorneys to speak to the council. A majority of the meeting focused on engineers explaining studies that have been done to give council information. With these presentations, the council made the decision to recommend approval to the Pinellas County Commission. That is who has the final say on the proposal.
The developers plan to build two new hotels and renovate the existing Sirata Beach Resort. The plans are to add a JW Marriot and a New Hampton Inn. In the plans, one hotel would have a rooftop on top of the resort. This would allow for event space and a pool.
The new JW Marriot would be on the North side of the Sirata and would have 290 units. There would also be a 4th-floor pool. The New Hampton Inn would have 130 units. The developer would take away 156 units from the existing Sirata Beach Resort.
The developer also plans to include public beach access points. Along with that, they will construct a 10-foot wide sidewalk for safety.
Monday’s meeting was packed with people who live in St Pete Beach. Many expressed they do not want their beach town to turn into Clearwater Beach.
"We all moved here for the tranquility and beauty, they’re taking that away from us," one resident explained.
Those with Columbia Sussex stated their plans align with the community’s goals. Officials with the developer explained in their presentation that a large resort is equalized in the city’s comprehensive plan.
Columbia Sussex operates hotels in Tampa, Clearwater, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando and Naples, and the Sirata Beach Resort.