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PO Box 1212 Tampa, FL 33601 Pinellas Updated October 2005
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RETURN TO NEWS INDEX
Developer unveils ambitious plan
CRYSTAL RIVER - A developer wants to build a six-story, extended-stay resort on Kings Bay where Pete's Pier now stands.
The 120-unit development wouldn't be a timeshare, representatives say. Investors would own the units - some with two bedrooms, others with three, priced from $550,000 to $800,000 - and then have a management company rent them to visitors.
The minimum stay would be one week; the maximum stay would be three months.
Rumors have circulated for months about Pete's Pier, the aging marina off Kings Bay Drive. It was for sale, and there was rampant speculation about what a new owner might do, or try to do, with the valuable waterfront land.
During a town hall meeting Tuesday night, the Crystal River City Council finally got some answers - and a sneak preview of some hard questions.
If the developer builds what it wants to build, the city would have to grant some variances and make some accommodations. Will Crystal River leaders work with the developers, or make them follow city codes to the letter and grant no ground? Will Crystal River try to buy the property itself somehow and stave off the development and any other developments that might follow it?
"It really is a pivotal time for the city," Mayor Ron Kitchen said.
Representatives for NEHI Investments LLC attended the meeting, which was held inside a City Council chambers packed with residents, business leaders and government officials.
NEHI representatives said the company has a contract to buy Pete's Pier for $11.5-million, which is about 10 times its assessed value. To make the investment pay off, NEHI has an extraordinary vision, a list of enticements for city government - and a few requests.
The vision for the development - the working title is Pete's Pier at Kings Bay - is striking. It would be, in the words city staffers used in a memo distributed Tuesday night, "the first truly defining development " for the city and would "set the course for the future look of Crystal River."
The plan calls for demolishing the existing structures, including the boat storage barn, and erecting two six-story buildings.
The first two floors would be covered parking; the four levels above would be the units. As planned, the buildings would be 65 feet tall. But Inverness attorney Clark Stillwell, a land use expert who represents the prospective owner, said one parking level per building might be eliminated, making the buildings each five stories.
The structures would be set back at least 10 feet from Kings Bay, and the development's parking total, 206 units, would exceed the city code's requirements. The impervious surface ratio would be 85 percent.
"Resort housing," as it is known, is defined as a commercial use, not residential. Thus, the developer said in its presentation, "concern for increase in residential density in the Coastal High Hazard Area does NOT apply."
The marina services - at least 100 wet boat slips, fueling station, billage service and convenience store - would remain open to the public. But NEHI would refurbish them, said John Piccione, a NEHI consultant.
It also would provide stormwater treatment facilities; right now, stormwater runs untreated into Kings Bay.
As for the facility itself: "It will be managed and operated like an upscale hotel," Piccione said. Guests might bring their own boats or rent from local businesses. The property would have no restaurant, so guests would head into town for meals and shopping.
And traffic? NEHI said there actually would be a net decrease in traffic on Kings Bay Drive, in large part because the public boat ramp at Pete's Pier would close.
The public marina access, the economic infusion from guests, the stormwater treatment upgrades and the estimated $500,000 in city property taxes the owners would pay are among NEHI's greatest incentives.
But there are more.
NEHI said it would buy 2.08 acres at U.S. 19 and NW Second Avenue - across the highway from City Hall - for $1.4-million and build a boat ramp, concession building and parking lot for the city.
The company also would improve the city boat ramp at NW Third Avenue, build a lot for vehicle and boat parking behind the city fire station, and contribute toward the purchase of a ladder truck for the fire department.
The total cost of the land, construction and city incentives, could be between $90-million and $100-million.
NEHI's plans call for elimination of the public boat ramp at Pete's Pier, and for the city to surrender a 50-foot access easement it has at the marina. It also seeks some variance allowances and "density transfers."
NEHI faces a long road before its plans could become reality. There would be a long series of public hearings and meetings. The first step is expected to come at the City Council meeting on Nov. 14, when the developer begins the process of seeking a development order.
"There's a lot more to be done to refine this," Piccione said. Indeed, he and other NEHI representatives said the plans already have evolved significantly.
But many people who attended the meeting Tuesday night already had seen enough.
"It's the first step along the path to (becoming) New Port Richey," council member Jim Farley said, echoing the sentiments of many in attendance.
They expressed fears that, by allowing this development, the city would open the door to others just like it. Then the city would lose its Nature Coast charm.
One man spoke up in support of the plan, imploring the crowd to give the developers a chance to improve the city.
Paresh Desai, a Crystal River resident, business owner and physician, said the presentation was professional. But he's not ready to speak out for or against the plan. "We have to, I think, look at both sides."
The council did not take any vote on the matter.
City staffers outlined another scenario: The city purchasing Pete's Pier and operating it as a marina.
That would be expensive, since the city would have to match the high price that NEHI and any other outside company is willing to pay. There are grants available, city staffers said, but the potential amounts are modest, and it would be difficult to generate revenue from a marina to match the expense of purchasing the land.
The city also could make no deal with the developer and just approve uses of the property as proscribed under the Land Development Code. NEHI representatives said they could do that, but the 50-foot easement leading to the boat ramp would be walled off and rendered far less useful for boat owners, and the development - albeit with fewer units than now proposed - wouldn't look as good.
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