Contact your Commissioners to thank them for their support of the Historic Belleview Biltmore.

For over a century, the Belleview Biltmore has bestowed history and elegance to the Tampa Bay region. Located in Belleair Florida, the Belleview is poised to undergo a major restoration.

Both The Town of Belleair Planning and Zoning Board and the Town Commission approved the site plan and variances earlier in May. Legg Mason’s plans include: a complete historic restoration of the existing hotel, construction of new “East Wing,” two levels of subterranean parking, and a new grand entrance with lushly landscaped grounds.

Since purchasing the hotel in June, 2007, Legg Mason has worked with the community on these exciting plans. Please tell the City Commissioners THANK YOU. This is another step toward restoring not only the City of Belleair’s treasure but a jewel for the entire region and state.

Email the Commissioners at:

• Gary H. Katica, Mayor
• Stephen R. Fowler, Deputy Mayor
• Tom Shelly, Commissioner
• Karla Rettstatt, Commissioner
• Stephanie Oddo, Commissioner
• Commission@townofbelleair.net
  

Write to the Commissioners at:
Town of Belleair Commission
901 Ponce de Leon Blvd
Belleair, FL 33756
Call the Commissioners at:
Phone: (727) 588-3769 ext. 214 or ext. 216
Fax: (727) 588-3778

Come out to show your support. May 20 Belleair City Hall 7:30 pm

• A new landscaped grand entrance to the main hotel
• A fully restored 256 room main hotel structure with 5 ballrooms, meeting rooms, restaurants and retail shops
• A new, but architecturally consistent, 174 room annex hotel adjacent to the main hotel structure
• Three restored Victorian cottages
• A new one story spa facility with underground parking
• Elegantly landscaped grounds and the elimination of surface parking through the construction of underground parking garages
• Removal of the existing “pagoda” structure at the current front entrance to the main hotel
• A refurbished clubhouse and improved landscaping and parking at the Pelican Golf Club
• The project will be LEED certified        

Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa Fast Facts:

• Built by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant, the hotel opened in 1897.
• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December, 1979.
• Purchased by Legg Mason, June, 2007.
• Includes 176 rooms in the new “East Wing”, 260 hotel rooms in the restored Biltmore and 12 rooms in the Magnolia and Palm Cottages
• 13,000-square-foot Tiffany Ballroom
• Total banquet and meeting rooms space is 140,000 square feet
• 18,908 square foot full service spa with thirteen treatment rooms and fitness center, salon and aerobics room
• World class 18-hole Donald Ross designed golf course
• Cost of project in excess of $100 million
• Projected grand reopening January, 2012 in time for the resort’s 115 Year Anniversary
  

Lobby
East Wing Entrance
East Wing from the 18TH Fairway of the BCC East Course

• Built by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant, the hotel opened in 1897. 
• Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December, 1979.
• The only remaining Henry Plant hotel still in operation.
• Purchased by Legg Mason, June, 2007.
• Expansion plans include a new East Wing adding 176 rooms.
• Restoration of the main building will provide 260 rooms.
• Restoration of the Magnolia and Palm cottages will add 12 guest quarters.
• Complete restoration of the Starlight, Candlelight and Tiffany Ballroom to their original grandeur.
• Construction of a new 18,908 square foot full service spa with thirteen treatment rooms, fitness center, salon and aerobics room with parking provided directly underneath the spa for access in all weather conditions.
• World class 18-hole Donald Ross designed golf course include renovation of the existing club house with a new entrance Port Coucher, new heavily landscaped parking lot and perimeter buffers and the construction of a new 3,840 square foot banquet facility.
• Cost of project in excess of $125 million.

• Fortune ® Magazine's March 17, 2008 issue included its annual ranking of America's Most Admired Companies®. For the second consecutive year, Legg Mason ranked in the top 5 in the securities industry category.
• Part of publicly traded Legg Mason Inc., the world's fifth largest asset manager, with assets of more than $800-billion.

There are countless benefits of the historic restoration and redevelopment of the Belleview Biltmore.  Those include:

• Increase in tax revenue.
• Impact fees for the Town of Belleair and Pinellas County.  The impact fees are estimated at over $300,000.
• Increase in jobs, construction and permanent employees both short and long term.
• Establishing a four – five star resort will benefit the entire town and region.
• Additional conference space, which will support conventioneers, local community events and state and national summits all bringing revenue to Pinellas County and local businesses.
• It will once again put Belleair and Pinellas County in the spot light on a national scale as a world class destination.
• Proposed resort is planned to meet the LEED Certification criteria of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
• Historic restoration of one of only 2 original Henry Plant hotels remaining in Florida.

The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Florida (State of Florida, Office of Secretary of State,2002) reveals that for every dollar generated in Florida’s historic preservation grants, two dollars return to the state in direct revenues.  The same report illustrated that:

• Historic preservation creates jobs.  More than 123,00 jobs were generated in Florida from historic preservation activities during 2000.
• Historic reservation makes a substainable contribution to tax collections for Florida and local governments.  More than $657 million in state and local taxes were generated from spending on historical preservation in 2000.

Where will the construction traffic be routed and will there be any long term benefits to the community via better access once the project is complete?

Legg Mason, owner of the property, will be paying for the construction of a new bridge and relocation of the current guard house.  The revised entrance will include a dedicated access lane accessible by bar code or transponder, to be used by residents and Belleair Country Club members.  Unregistered hotel guests and visitors without an access card will use the manned security lane.  The additional bridge lane and security entrance will enhance the overall efficiency of traffic flow.  During construction, trucks will proceed across the new bridge and through and enter immediately at the east end of the property. 
Once the construction is complete the bridge will remain and a three lane access way will dramatically improve the ingress and egress for the site long term. 

For almost a year, an internationally recognized team of experts have been working on this project.  The team includes an award winning historic preservation architect, landscape architects, civil engineers, traffic and transportation consultants, parking consultants and the county’s most qualified land use attorney.  See complete listing of expert witness resumes submitted to Town Manager May 20, 2008. 

There is a proposed 176 room East Wing to be built on the site of the old dormitory.  The additional required rooms are critical for the financial success of the project.  For the Biltmore to be competitive in its market segment and have long term success, the need for additional hotel rooms is essential. 
The conference and convention market is sorely lacking for Pinellas County and the entire region.  A most recent example is when Governor Crist hoped to host his Energy Conference at the Belleview Biltmore.  When his staff came for a site visit, they quickly realized the property lacked the number of rooms required (in excess of 400). 

This property will compete on a national and international scale for tourists and resort customers.  We expect to compete with other similar properties such as The Boca Raton Hotel and Resort,  the Hotel Del Coronado, the Arizona Biltmore and other similar historic properties.  The New York Times, Executives Checking into Historic Rooms (March, 2008) referenced that historic hotels offer a fresh alternative to the regular run of business hotels.   According to Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, in 2002 the hotel industry in the US had a 63.2% occupancy rate and the luxury market had a 72% occupancy rate.

The parking study concluded that the hotel property will require 560 spaces, although the plan includes 654 spaces at the hotel and 245 spaces at the golf club, for a total of 899, or 1080 spaces utilizing a valet parking system.