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County says yes to Fenway on the Bay
By SUZETTE PORTER
| Article published on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 |
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CLEARWATER - Zoning changes approved by the county brings Fenway on the Bay one step closer to reality.
The Board of Pinellas County Commissioners, sitting as the Countywide Planning Authority, voted unanimously on June 16 to approve an amendment to the countywide future land use map as requested by the city of Dunedin.
The amendment applies to 5.3 acres located at 453 Edgewater Drive and changes the designation from residential urban to resort facilities medium.
The property is the site of the Fenway on the Bay Resort Hotel which operated from the early 1920s to the late 1950s.
In conjunction with approval of the land amendment, the site also is proposed to be co-designated with the city zoning category of single site historic overlay district to identify and recognize uses on properties that existed prior to 1940 and that add historic value and significance to the city, according to a report from the Pinellas Planning Council which along with Pinellas County Planning Department staff recommended approval of the amended land use.
Approval of the amendment allows the developer to proceed with work to reestablish the site as a historic resort hotel.
According to the development agreement between Fenway on the Bay and the city of Dunedin, the parties wish to encourage the restoration and preservation of the historic structures currently on the property that were part of the original Fenway Hotel which operated for more than 35 years.
Subsequently, the property was used by Trinity College in the 1960s and 1970s and, in recent times, by Schiller University until it was purchased by the developer.
The developer proposes to use the property for a resort hotel containing up to but not more than 132 rooms with associated amenities, which may include a restaurant open to the public with at maximum 151 seats, a ballroom, meeting facilities, swimming pool, sundeck with tiki bar and grill, a spa, gift shop and other accessory shops, and related amenities commonly provided by a high quality resort.
The developer has agreed to restore the present 52,000 square foot historic main hotel building as part of phase 1 development.
An extensive developer’s agreement, approved by the city of Dunedin, is meant to limit the impact on adjacent residential property.
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Article published on Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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