On Longboat Key, $800 million St. Regis Resort and Residences preps to open
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: May 31, 2024

After 12 years and hundreds of millions of dollars, The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort and Residences is nearly ready to open.

The St. Regis, which includes 168 hotel rooms and 68 luxury condominiums, was built on the site of the former The Colony, a legendary hotel-condo where President George W. Bush spent the night before the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Orlando developer Chuck Whittall, president of Unicorp National Developments Inc., began assembling the site that would become the St. Regis in 2012. The Colony, a four-star tennis resort, had been mired in litigation and bankruptcy since 2008.

Moss Construction, the general contractor that built the resort, pegged the project value at $371 million. Unicorp has said the total investment in the resort is $800 million. It broke ground in 2022.

The St. Regis is slated to open in July, though an exact date has not been set.

The resort will be home to seven bars and restaurants, most of which are open to the public. One is the Monkey Bar, an homage to the bar at The Colony. The Monkey Bar will have tiki cocktails and limited bar snacks, including a "Murph Dog," named after longtime Colony owner Murray "Murf" Klauber.

Key players

Developer: Unicorp National Developments Inc.

General contractor: Moss Construction

Design team: SB Architects, Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA Miami), Dutch East Design