BELLEAIR BLUFFS, Fla. \u2014 A planned 100-room, 75-foot-tall hotel in Belleair Bluffs is drawing mixed reactions from residents and business owners as developers prepare to break ground this fall on West Bay Drive near the Belleair Causeway.<\/p>\n
The project was discussed during two public meetings, held Sept. 3 and Sept. 14. Despite opposition from some nearby residents, developers said they expect construction to begin this fall.<\/p>\n
At Belleair Coffee Company, owner Chris Whalen said the hotel could bring more customers to local businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019ll be a great amenity for people who live in this area,\u201d Whalen said. \u201cI think it\u2019ll be good for business owners like me with restaurants and coffee houses around here, we\u2019ll get a little increased volume, probably from the guests staying at the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Candice Kelly, a realtor who has worked in the area for nearly a decade, said the project could have a strong economic impact in a community that does not have this kind of hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about just 100 rooms,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s about 100 opportunities each night for people to come into this community and support our local businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others said they are concerned about additional traffic and whether the project benefits local residents. Indian Rocks Beach resident Bob Coplen said the area is already crowded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand how they think it\u2019s functionally appropriate,\u201d Coplen said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with the hotel, but we\u2019re very overcrowded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hotel property borders the backyards of residents on Harbor Bluff Drive, who live just outside Belleair Bluffs city limits. Some residents there said they are concerned about noise, construction, parking and privacy.<\/p>\n
Galen Chandler, a Harbor Bluffs resident, said the height of the hotel could create privacy concerns for nearby homeowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis hotel will look down onto the properties, the backyards and the front yards of properties here on the street,\u201d Chandler said. \u201cI think that\u2019s going to be a big problem. I don\u2019t think anyone wants to have strangers looking down into their backyards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other residents near Harbor Bluff Drive said they were less concerned. One man said he lives far enough away that he is not worried, while another family pointed to bamboo in their backyard that provides privacy.<\/p>\n
Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to the developer for an on-camera interview, but they were not available. The local hotelier leading the project, who is also a Belleair Bluffs resident, sent a statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am honored to have the support of my Belleair Bluffs friends and neighbors as we build something truly beautiful and historic for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BELLEAIR BLUFFS, Fla. \u2014 A planned 100-room, 75-foot-tall hotel in Belleair Bluffs is drawing mixed reactions from residents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[2031,274,558,7143,2200,4628,596,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,278,2032,835],"class_list":["post-412842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-app-local-business","tag-app-top-stories","tag-business","tag-economic-development","tag-instagram-bn9","tag-matt-lackritz","tag-pinellas-county","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa","tag-top-stories","tag-trending-topics","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}