SIESTA KEY (WSNN) – More hotels may come to Siesta Key. A fourth developer has submitted a proposal for a boutique hotel on the island.
If the development proposal is approved, the old Wells Fargo Bank building on Midnight Pass Road may turn into a mega hotel of up to 100 rooms.
“It would totally change the character and the feel of the place,” John Yancey said.
Kathy & John Yancey visit Siesta Key every year to vacation and enjoy the beautiful beaches, but they don’t agree with the proposal.
According to the Herald-Tribune, a Local real estate investor David Balot wants to build the boutique hotel on top of a parking garage on about 2 acres of land near Siesta Key Beach. The design also includes a restaurant and a hotel lounge and bar.
“I don’t think it can accommodate that kind of traffic in and out,” John said. “It would be ridiculous here. And there’s no place to expand the roads.”
But others say the amount of cars isn’t the problem.
“The issue is the trolleys and the frog hops” an anonymous Suncoast resident said. “There’s no cutout for them. They stop anywhere they want to and they go slow and they won’t go out of the way and that’s the majority of the traffic.
The anonymous resident supports the development.
“Traffic is traffic, business is business. He’s trying to make a business here, and he’s not the only one. There are several of them that are going to try and do it. I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
Like the other three developers who have submitted proposals for property, Balot wants to change long-held building requirements that affect density and transient use. But some are not having it.
A petition online for ‘NO to Massive Mega Hotel on Siesta Key’ has already gotten more than 1300 signatures.
“A small hotel that fits in with the character and similar size,” John said. “But I don’t see a high rise going up here.”
According to the paper, The Siesta Key Coalition is the largest opponent to the projects. It’s hired a land-use attorney to fight the proposals and is fundraising to bolster its efforts.
Nothing is concrete just yet, the proposal still has to go through the planning commission board of Sarasota County and then go to the County Commission Board.
When SNN reached out to the developer’s attorney, they did not want to comment.