One ballot question that may be unnecessarily controversial: the one about whether or not to allow the Vinoy to build a single-story parking garage on its own property.
Management at the hotel is a tad spooked these days that the measure might not actually pass.
Their concern?
Misconceptions about what the referendum, if passed, would actually do.
That's why hotel management is trying to get the word out about it, especially given that such a ballot question could lead to the perception that there is a taxpayer cost involved.
“At this point, we are educating people as well as they can because we want to make certain that everyone understands that we're not asking for any taxpayer money at all, which could be confusing if somebody sees it on a ballot,” said Debra Feldman, a spokeswoman for RLJ Lodging Trust, the company that recently purchased the Vinoy.
The reason that a project a private company is carrying out on its own dime has to be on the ballot in the first place?
Essentially, to ensure that land that once belonged to the city doesn't get turned into something un-St. Pete. That's because of a land deal that took place between the City of St. Petersburg and the Vinoy in 1984. That was back when the Vinoy had land on the city's waterfront, land the city wanted in order to complete its waterfront park system. The resort gave that land to the city, and in exchange, the city gave the resort some city land that happened to be adjacent the resort property — on the condition that every time there was a proposed modification of the 4.3 acre space, the city's voting public got to weigh in.
So, here we are.
For the third time in 20 years, the resort is asking voters whether it can redevelop the area. In 1997, they asked voters allow ballrooms. Then, in 2007, it was a few tennis courts. Now, they want to put a single-story, 270-space-spot parking garage in and relocate the tennis courts on top of said garage.
It's a $10 million project that's part of a bigger, $50 million project upon which the resort is set to embark.
By adding nearly 300 parking spots — which would be open to guests, restaurant-goers, event attendees and the like, the resort could be in effect easing congestion and parking woes along Beach Drive and along the streets of Historic Old Northeast.
“The city needs more parking, especially during events. The Vinoy needs more parking during the events they hold, many of which are charitable local events that bring in folks from all over St. Pete-Clearwater-Tampa area,” Feldman said.
The garage would be built where eight tennis courts currently at ground level.
If the referendum passes, that obviously means the on-site tennis courts at the Vinoy would be out of commission for a while, but Feldman said the resort plans on building new tennis courts at St. Pete Tennis Center in Bartlett Park to offset the loss of valuable recreation space during the garage's construction — at no cost to taxpayers.
Another concern:
That some voters will think that the project will have significant impact on the waterfront. But given how the St. Petersburg City Council twice — stalwart environmentalists and all — voted unanimously to put the measure on the ballot, hotel management hopes that should quell voter concerns.
“We're not changing the footprint of the Vinoy's parcel at all,” Feldman said.
If the referendum passes, construction would likely not begin until 2019, after a site plan review process, followed by pulling permits, and construction would take about 12 months to complete, Feldman said.
This article appears in Oct 12-19, 2017.