ST. PETE Seaside, Fla. (WFLA) — It was standing room only Thursday, as hundreds of folks went to learn additional about a proposed resort expansion on St. Pete Beach.
TradeWinds Island Resorts is preparing the expansion. Nonetheless, there’s tons of pushback bordering the undertaking. 1,600 folks have signed a petition to guard St. Pete Seaside.
There are others who say this is what this neighborhood wants.
Leaders guiding the undertaking gathered input from St. Pete Beach front inhabitants, group associates and neighbors Thursday evening.
The growth involves 650 extra rooms, new retail place and a few new parking garages. It will also convey about 300 new jobs and additional than $19 million in new yearly tax profits to St. Pete Beach.
Deborah Schechner is a single of numerous folks indicating no.
“Our issues are actual,” she claimed. “It’s as well much for our little group.”
Schechner has lived on St. Pete Beach for extra than 20 several years. She’s concerned the expansion will incorporate a lot more traffic and the come to feel of St. Pete Seaside will modify.
“The factors the people get pleasure from and that we like that make our daily life additional pleasurable to dwell on the beach front are really getting taken absent from us in the title of tourism,” Schechner explained. “It’s extremely hard to increase 650 rooms, a few towers and all of the pools and features and not anticipate our website traffic condition exponentially grow.”
Not everybody spoke towards the undertaking Thursday. Paul Worsfold spoke on behalf of tiny enterprise proprietors, declaring the undertaking is a moreover for them.
“You’re heading to have a lot more shoppers,” he reported. “You’re also adding positions. You are including tax pounds. One thing has to help all of this.”
The builders say they created the challenge with the community in thoughts, incorporating the growth will address concerns from targeted visitors congestion to flooding.
Managing associate of 1754 Attributes, the operator of TradeWinds Island Resorts Joe Smith mentioned it is not just about increasing, but upgrading infrastructure also.
“The ideas you see now demonstrates some of the opinions neighbors manufactured,” Smith claimed. “We firmly feel the expansion in real people today on web page is not nearly as substantially as what it may possibly be implied by the expansion of the physical strategies of the challenge.”
“We just take the concern of targeted visitors and congestion very critically.”
Several like Schechner are concerned if this venture gets the green light-weight that they’ll see other resorts abide by go well with.
“Quite frankly, our metropolis are unable to manage that influx,” Schechner said. “I do dread that we’re going to be yet another Miami type, Fort Lauderdale type. Clearwater Beach front, Sand Vital. We really do not want that.”
The St. Pete Beach Town Commission will take into consideration this growth sometime in the tumble.