MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Madeira Beach city commissioners are scheduled to take a final vote on Wednesday to approve a new $150 million hotel development in the heart of John’s Pass Village.
“It’s the biggest investment that you’ll see in John’s Pass,” said Bill Karns, JPV Hotel Property partner. “There’s no branded hotels along the beach here.”
Karns said the proposed six-story, 87-room hotel will be part of the Marriott Tribute Collection, which are properties geared at telling a story for a specific area. The design plans include 7,550 square feet of retail, 3,350 square feet for a first-floor restaurant, 1,000 square feet for a first-floor café, 3,900 square feet for a rooftop restaurant with a pool, and 2,800 square feet of event space.
The hotel will be a single building with compatible village architecture to visually fit with the popular historic tourist district, according to Karns.
“It’s going to look like it’s been here for a long time,” he said. “The Place Architecture did a great job of capturing the vision of John’s Pass. A lot of these buildings were built in the ‘30s and ‘40s.”
Karns said he spent years buying 15 parcels, which have been used as parking lots, to get enough land to build a hotel. The 1.4 acres currently has 180 parking spaces. The proposed hotel will have more than 264 parking spots in a six-story garage that will be hidden from street view at the center of the hotel. An agreement with Madeira Beach states that the hotel can’t charge more than $1 above the city’s standard parking rate.
John’s Pass is one of Pinellas County’s top tourist destinations, which can make finding a place to park challenging during peak times. Pinellas Beaches Chamber of Commerce CEO Barry Rubin said the village has also been lacking in upscale hotel rooms.
“There’s not hotels of this scope and scale,” he said. That’s what the tourists are after now. The motels from the ‘50s are no longer desired by most travelers.”
The city has agreed to allow developers to build on a 3,360-square-foot section of Fisherman’s Alley, which divided the parcels in two, in exchange for a 16,000 square foot easement for the extension of Pelican Lane from 129th Avenue to the boardwalk. Karns said they’ll also pay to build 10-foot wide sidewalks, a park with restrooms and a big event stage.
“It’s going to really become a hub of activity here in Johns Pass,” he said. “I want this to be the shiny penny in Madeira Beach, something we can all be proud of and enjoy.”
Madeira Beach city commissioners unanimously passed a re-zoning and development agreement during a first reading on June 10. At that time, there was no public opposition to the project. In order for the hotel to be fully approved, there must be another public hearing, and the ordinances must pass a second vote with a super-majority.
Karns is so confident city leaders want to see the project come to fruition that he and his partners decided to move forward with the second vote, scheduled for July 8that 6 p.m., despite one city commissioner being on vacation.
“I’m confident that we’ll succeed and get a 4-0 vote, which I need all four,” he said. “The community has embraced it in such a way because they’re tired of seeing… an acre-and-a-half of unpaved parking lots.”
Karns said if approved, he hopes to have the new John’s Pass hotel open by the fall of 2028.