Kiran Patel breaks ground on long-awaited $175M resort on Clearwater Beach
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Jan 13, 2015

A $175 million resort on Clearwater Beach more than a decade in the works is officially under construction.

Dr. Kiran Patel broke ground on the 450-room Wyndham Grand Resort in December and will hold a celebration ceremony on Wednesday. The resort, which will be two 15-story towers, will include banquet and event space, multiple restaurants and a spa, said Bill West, director of development for Patel.

Patel acquired the parcel in 2004 for $40 million, and it has sat vacant since. In May, he told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the project would break ground by the end of 2014.

Moss & Associates is the general contractor on the project. Bank of America is the primary lender, West said. The hotel is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2017.

"It's a very good time to kick off a project like this, and I think the future of Clearwater Beach is very bright," he said.

Ashley Gurbal Kritzer is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.