Developers of Clearwater Waterfront Look to Scale Back the Project

The developers of the Clearwater waterfront project, Clearwater-based DeNunzio Group and New York-based Gotham Organization are seeking to scale back the development. The developers submitted a document to the Clearwater City Council citing rising insurance and development costs and unforeseen infrastructure issues and are looking to eliminate one of the original residential towers and limiting the total number of residential units to 400 in one building. In November 2022, Clearwater voters passed a referendum and under the terms of a purchase agreement with the city, the developers were to close on the land by December 31, 2024, for $15.4 million. The developers have proposed two alternate scenarios, one is for the city to convey the property and retain a zero-interest mortgage for the developers to pay a lump sum of $15.4 million 10 years after closing. The other is that the developers would pay a reduced price of $7.5 million no later than five years after the closing. The city council will address the issue at a meeting on Thursday, April 20. In July 2022, the city council gave its approval, which led to the referendum on the ballot. The developers’ original proposal included two 27-story residential towers on the City Hall site offering a collective total of 600 rental units and 40,000 square feet of retail space.  On the Harborview site, The Bluffs proposes a 13-story, 150-room hotel with 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.  A boutique conference center in the 13-story hotel that could hold 1,000 people, a 2,000-square-foot performance center and a rooftop restaurant and beer garden. The properties will be connected by a pedestrian bridge.  The project would be developed in phases over six years. The developers would receive $25 million in incentives provided by the city, $22 million is slated for the construction of two underground parking garages, up to $2 million is designated for the construction of the pedestrian bridge and $1.5 million for impact fees.

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