A 3-2 vote on Tuesday evening (February 27^th) by the St. Pete Beach City Commission ended months of deliberation and testimony from the public and involved parties with approval for the Sirata Beach Resort expansion. A conditional use permit (CUP) for the construction of a 290-key luxury JW Marriott Hotel, 130-key Hampton Inn, and revamp of the existing 382-key resort was approved.



Tuesday’s decision came after a five-hour discussion and was a continuation of a nearly 11 hours hearing last week where commissioners deferred the decision. Commissioners Nick Filtz and Mayor Adrian Petrila were in opposition of the approval, citing concerns of traffic backups, designs of each hotel, and obstruction of views that the expansion will cause for neighboring developments.

The plans were initially filed in early 2023 and called for over 50 rooms at the Sirata Beach Resort to be eliminated and replaced with a freestanding pool and restaurant. The proposed JW Marriott hotel would have a permitted fourth floor rooftop deck with a bar and dining area at the northern portion of the property. The Hampton Inn hotel will rise at the southern end of the property. The Sirata Beach resort is located at 5300 Gulf Boulevard.

When completed, the development will contain 646 hotel rooms, an increase from the existing 264 units. Kentucky-based hotel management company, Columbia Sussex, purchased the hotel in 2022 for $207 million and plans to pump $250 million into the expansion plan.

The Sirata expansion plans also include construction of a public boardwalk that runs along the beach which is fully funded by the developer. Additionally, they plan to widen sidewalks along Gulf Boulevard to 10 feet, have on-site parking, and add lighting restrictions and special film on the new building's windows for sea turtle nesting safety.

Commissioners made comments on redesigning certain aspects of the project, such as the parking garages, and have asked developers to go back to the drawing board. The developers will host a design charrette soon to get community feedback on the parking garage design. The Sirata does not conform to today’s building codes, so they are unable to rebuild without a conditional use permit. The commissioners considered more than 40 proposed building conditions, including a wind impact study, which Columbia Sussex rejected as it would delay the process by at least nine months. The developer will now begin permitting the project, though a construction timeline has not yet been announced.