Belleview Biltmore clears all legal hurdles

Things seem to be looking up for the owners of the Belleview Biltmore Resort and Spa. The appeals period for the latest court challenge of development plans has expired. Last month saw another court challenge to development of the Cabana Club site on Sand Key defeated. Both properties are owned by Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, who plan to spend over $100-million on renovations and updating. This is good news after 2 ½ years of non-stop legal battles with various groups trying to prevent the proposed development work.

The historic 113-year old resort, located at 25 Belleview Blvd. in Clearwater, was built by Henry Bradley Plant and is on the National Historic Register. The Biltmore is probably the largest occupied wood-frame structure in the world at 820,000 square feet. Since opening in 1897 the hotel saw a steady stream of prominent guests including numerous presidents, queens, kings and captains of industry from around the world. It is one of very few historic hotels in the state of Florida.

With the removal of all legal obstacles to the development, project architect Richard J. Heisenbottle said the search for funds can begin in earnest for the first time. Finding financing for the complete project as planned could be a challenge. Knowing that the project can really be built should make the financial search a little easier.

The hotel has been shuttered and more than 300 employees laid off for more than a year. At one point the hotel was paying daily code violation fines for roofing problems. The originally filed development plan called for opening the renovated resort in January 2012. The new timetable for work and re-opening is not known.

Recent Happenings

There is a lot happening on the real estate scene in the Tampa Bay area. The residential and commercial markets continue to evolve and there is an undercurrent of life just going on. I am going to touch briefly on a list of items that have caught my eye over the past few days.

Commercial real estate shows signs both good and bad. Two large new projects are moving ahead in Clearwater that will replace years-old eyesores with new senior housing, upscale apartments and retail and restaurant space. The Tampa East Industrial Park had one tenant renew their lease for 100,000 square feet of space. But Tampa area hotels saw average daily rates and revenue per room rates drop much more sharply than the state or national rate. I am seeing more empty retail space in Pinelllas county strip malls every time I go out.

Residential single family home sale numbers are strong, mostly on foreclosed properties priced at $125,000 and less being snatched up by first-time home buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit and the bargain prices. On the down side, Tampa Bay’s average home price continues to drop more quickly than state or national rates and foreclosure rates remain the highest in the nation. More bad news recently came from FEMA, which refused Florida’s request for federal emergency money to deal with high rates of toxic Chinese drywall in all 67 counties.

For investors the low prices and foreclosures make finding good properties easier than it has ever been before. The low prices and foreclosures also mean that profit margins are very thin. But even with depressed rental rates it is not difficult to find properties with good positive cash-flow. The near stand-still in new construction starts means a lot of unemployed construction workers which translates to a discount labor pool for rehab investors. The still dropping prices mean that properties must be turned around quickly or bought at huge discounts, though.

For anyone involved in real estate, adaptability is absolutely necessary. Many of the old game plans no longer work very well and there are opportunities that did not even exist a few years ago.

Commercial real estate developments in Clearwater, Florida

Two substantial commercial real estate developments have been approved during March by the City of Clearwater, Florida. Both involve additional housing. One project also brings more retail and restaurant space. Both developments will transform sites that have been unused for several years and are considered eyesores.

Pine Berry Senior Limited Partnership plans to build 85 units of affordable senior housing on the site of the former Rainbow Lanes bowling alley at 1225 S. Highland Ave. This will be a four-story building with laundry room, community room, library, computer resources room, picnic area and emergency call service. Total project cost is estimated at $15,859,959. Clearwater is putting up $545,000 for 30 years at 3% and 5 years of deferred payments. Other funding comes from a variety of sources. Expected completion is the summer of 2011. Estimates of tax revenues from the project ranged from $13,000 to $70,000 per year. Pine Berry is experienced at building senior housing.

Nickel Plate Properties, Inc. plans to develop the former Lakeside Mobile Home Park. This 30-acre site fills the area between Gulf-to-Bay and Druid on the west side of Belcher. The plans, backed unanimously by city officials, call for 240 apartments and 83,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Because of its size this project also needs the approval of the Pinellas County Commission and the Florida Department of Community Affairs. The proposal is significantly smaller than the maximum allowed under current zoning for the property. The retail space would get one new entrance on Gulf-to-Bay and one new entrance on Belcher. The apartments would get three gated entrances along Druid. Shoppers would not be able to exit onto Druid. Cost of this project has not been made public.