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Biltmore will continue to make history
Compromise results in unanimous variance approvals
By HARLAN WEIKLE and CHARY SOUTHMAYD
Article published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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![[Image]](/content_images/052108_bee-01.jpg) |
| Photo by HARLAN WEIKLE |
| Presiding over the marathon Town Commission meeting regarding the Belleview Biltmore are, from left, Town Manager Micah Maxwell, Mayor Gary Katica and Town Attorney David Ottinger. |
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BELLEAIR – It took nearly eight hours, stretching into the wee hours of the morning.
When the dust finally settled on a town commission meeting that began at 7:30 Tuesday evening, the town of Belleair and the owners of the Belleview Biltmore had a deal based on the time-honored principle that good fences make good neighbors; not physical fences made of wood or stone, but rather fences built of proportion, proximity and perception.
The centerpiece of Belleair’s face to the world is the historic, Victorian-styled Belleview Biltmore Resort. Constructed more than a century ago by millionaire hotelier Henry Plant and now the last fading memory of a lost, simpler time, the venerable “White Queen of the Gulf” needs an extensive makeover.
Legg Mason Real Estate Investors is a believer in the hotel’s potential – to the tune of $100 million. All LMREI had to do Tuesday was convince members of the Town Commission to tweak their code of ordinances here and there.
LMREI told the commission that it needed a variance to the building height limits of 32 feet in order to raise the roof of the proposed new East Annex to be built where the staff quarters once stood. Those quarters built in 1914, according to former Mayor Connie Mudano, were razed in 1992. The new East Wing would soar 60 feet, by lead architect Richard Heisenbottle’s studied design, and seemed to members of the adjacent Belleair Country Club more like an obstruction on the skyline than a pleasant adjunct to the historical architecture. Here, compromise was needed.
In addition, the new owners said they needed accessory accouterments off the main property, a spa in the residential section across the road from the historic hotel nestled beneath eight-story condos and alongside a 1930s single family home; and a new poolside café.
“Because where else would a poolside café be,” Heisenbottle quipped, “other than by the pool.”
To be a true contender for 5-star status, the developers said they needed to decrease the overall number and individual size of parking spaces from the mandated 2,075 spaces each measuring 9-feet by 20-feet to less than 650 spaces measuring 9-feet by 18-feet and increase the greenery by planting into the rights of way surrounding the Belleview Biltmore Golf Club at Poinsettia Road and Indian Rocks Road.
When all was said and done, seven variance requests were granted unanimously with some measure of compromise on all sides. The East Wing height reduces to 50 feet and lengthens 30 feet; in the process losing some 23 rooms.
The spa and poolside café plans were approved but with hours of operation for the spa limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The town maintains full easements along Poinsettia Road bordering the golf club and, at the suggestion of Commissioner Karla Rettstatt, retains control over the construction of a sidewalk linking that section east to the Pinellas Trail. Legg Mason agreed to grant the town $15,000 cash, which will enable the town to build the extension during reconstruction work at the golf club.
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, the general consensus seemed to include another proposition that good neighbors can be found wherever fence mending and compromise prevail.
“We are delighted with the outcome and we are pleased that the commission has come together to restore the grand old Biltmore,” Heisenbottle said. “We have a full year ahead and a lot to accomplish to get the construction documents done. We are confident this will ultimately be a four or five star resort.”
Heisenbottle said there have been preliminary discussions with major hotel operators who have a proven track record with historic hotels. He chose not to elaborate, for now.
A sleepy, but pleased Mayor Gary Katica reflected Wednesday morning on the successful outcome of the marathon session.
“This was a defining moment for the town of Belleair,” Katica told the Belleair Bee. “I was proud of how the commission handled itself. We wanted compromise on some things and I have to hand it to Legg Mason, they were very sensitive to the needs of the people. There was tremendous interest in this among the residents of Belleair – everyone was trying to save their grandparent.”
The Biltmore is scheduled to close for the extensive renovation in May of next year.
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Article published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
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