PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Eight hours wasn't enough time to settle an issue so consequential to the future of St. Pete Beach.
Monday afternoon, the St. Pete Beach City Commission met at length to consider a sweeping redevelopment plan for TradeWinds Island Resorts.
The discussion continued past midnight Tuesday, so commissioners ultimately decided to pause the debate. They will continue it during their next meeting on Tuesday, April 23, at 6 p.m.
1754 Properties, the owner of TradeWinds since 2019, has proposed a redevelopment plan for the resort that, if approved by the commission, would be built in four phases over the span of 20 years.
It would include hundreds of new rooms, half a dozen new buildings and parking garages, and multiple restaurants and bars.
“If this does not happen, I think St. Pete Beach would lose a real opportunity: everything from creating a world-class resort—the TradeWinds is certainly in that category—but it only enhances that," said Kyle Parks, a spokesperson for the development team.
The redevelopment would add a total of 629 new rooms in three new guest towers.
Supporters say the plan will help modernize the family resort while pumping billions of dollars into the local economy.
They add that the area and Gulf Boulevard can handle the growth and additional traffic the redevelopment would generate.
Critics, however, aren’t so sure. Some of them, like St. Pete Beach homeowner Lisa Robinson, dispute the development team’s traffic estimates.
She believes the project will destroy views and detract from the unique charm of the coastal community.
“We’re going to look like Ft. Lauderdale. It’s going to go up and down the beach, and that’s what we’re looking at," she said Monday. "The views that they’re going to get rid of are going to be gone forever.”
When commissioners resume debate on April 23, they are expected to consider the conditions attached to the redevelopment plan before taking a deciding vote on the project's conditional use permit and development agreement.
