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By Chris Wille
Real Estate Editor via Herald Tribune.com

St. Regis Hotels and Residences planned for abandoned 17.6-acre site

Longboat Key residents and visitors are one step closer to welcoming a new development to replace the defunct Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

The Longboat Key town commission has voted 6-1 to approve a plan to create a 166-room hotel, 78-condominium St. Regis Hotels and Residences on the prime Gulf-front property. The vote came Friday after a third lengthy day of testimony and discussion.

Orlando-based Unicorp National Developments plans three five-story buildings on the 17.6-acre site of the former landmark resort that was allowed to deteriorate during almost a decade of litigation and neglect.

Unicorp President Chuck Whittall first approached the commission two years ago with a much larger proposal, but in the ensuing years he made a number of concessions to secure final approval, including reductions in the number of units, the size of the ballroom and the number of event patrons — mostly to mitigate traffic, one of the primary issues that concerned some residents.

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