The property is undergoing a $50 million redevelopment, and is asking for the blessing of voters to build a new one-story parking garage over eight existing tennis courts. The club is paying for the November 7 referendum seeking approval for the new garage, which the resort owner says will benefit the city by opening up parking options.
The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg (Fla.) Resort & Golf Club in is undergoing a $50 million redevelopment, and part of that plan calls for building a new one-story parking garage over eight existing tennis courts, the St. Petersburg-based Tampa Bay Times reported.
But to move forward, the resort needs the blessing of St. Petersburg’s voters. The Vinoy will pay for a November 7 referendum seeking approval of the new garage, the Times reported.
“There’s only benefits to this for the city,” said Debra Feldman, vice president of capital transactions at FelCor Lodging Trust, the owner of the resort. “It doesn’t change the geographic footprint of the hotel.
“We’re not asking for any tax dollars and it’ll keep parking off the streets and open up some new options.”
C&RB reported on the property’s plans for the renovation in November 2016.
The language of the referendum was discussed at a City Council committee meeting on June 22. No public comment was allowed, but the public will be able to weigh in before the council takes a final vote sometime after the members return from vacation July 13, the Times reported.
The garage would take up 2.3 acres and offer 270 parking spaces. The tennis courts would move to the top of the new building. The Vinoy already has four tennis courts atop an existing one-story parking garage, the Times reported.
Those in charge said the project will help with parking congestion downtown by making more spaces available for those using the Vinoy’s facilities and restaurants, which are open to the public. The Vinoy’s 509 existing parking spaces are open to the public, but often filled by hotel guests and employees. If approved, the project would take about nine months to complete, Feldman said. The new garage itself will cost an estimated $10 million, the Times reported.
The Vinoy acquired the land that the tennis courts currently sit on in a swap with the city in 1984. The resort traded some of its waterfront property to the city in exchange for a parcel of land behind the hotel. The land the city got from the resort is now part of Vinoy Park. FelCor Lodging Trust said it is funding the entire project, which includes renovating the spa, fitness center, golf course clubhouse and public restaurant facilities, the Times reported.
This isn’t the first time the Vinoy has needed voters’ approval for a project. Because the hotel is part of historic downtown St. Petersburg, parts of its property are subject to deed restrictions and needs approval from city residents for construction. But those referendums involved tax dollars, the Times reported.
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