PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Pete Beach city commissioners could vote Monday on major redevelopment plans for the TradeWinds Island Resort.

If approved, this could be the latest change for the beachside community. In late February and after months of back and forth, commissioners approved redevelopment plans for the nearby Sirata Beach Resort.

The plan would add hundreds of additional hotel rooms to the resort’s property and additional parking garages. 

Among the upgrades:

• 650 new upscale guest rooms and demolish 21 old rooms, and a 33,000 sq ft of conference space including a state-of-the-art 20,000-square-foot ballroom
• 18,000 square feet of new retail space, including neighborhood retail space along Gulf Boulevard, three new swimming pools with slides.
• Integrated resort design
• A publicly accessible glass-bottomed observation deck
• Three new parking garages totaling over 2,000 spaces
• A FlowRider surfing simulator

In March, the city’s planning board unanimously approved the conditional use permit for TradeWind’s developer, 1754 Properties. The approval included 39 conditions and states the developer must also contribute $1.25 million over 10 years to transportation projects in the area.

Resident Terri Grcott says she’s concerned about the strain the additional hotel rooms and visitors will have on the city’s infrastructure, safety and emergency preparedness. She says while parts of the design, like its inclusive resort aspect, are desirable for the community, she wants commissioners to take a hard look at the bigger picture.

“We have to take time, take a step back, and look at the impacts of all of these intersecting projects,” she said, referencing the nearby Sirata resort expansion.

Due to statewide changes to the financial disclosure requirements for city commissioners that took effect at the beginning of the year, more than half of the city’s commissioners stepped down. New members were appointed to take their seats starting in early 2024.

“It’s concerning that these major decisions are being made by individuals that were not elected and representative of the people,” Grcott said.

Resident John Kurzman also shares concerns about what the increase in visitors will do to the beachside city he calls home.

“Where are all of these people going to go when you have a busy beach day with 60% more guest rooms… where are they going to go?” he said.

Kurzman said he wishes the new city commissioners could have gotten more guidance before making decisions that will impact the future of St. Pete Beach for decades.

“This is a huge magnitude of people and to have a couple of people on our staff looking at paperwork and trying to figure out what’s right? I think that’s part of the problem,” he said.

Joe Smith, CEO of 1754 Properties, told the planning board in March that he’s been transparent with the community throughout the process and plans to build with less density than city codes allow.

“What we try to do is be very transparent,” he said. “We want the whole community to understand everything. We want them to understand we’re building 16% less than density allows.”

The 20-year redevelopment project would happen in three phases and take 20 years. The project is estimated to cost $500 million.

The city commission meeting and hearing are scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, April 15.

Residents are invited to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. A formal vote could follow.