St. Pete Beach’s Tradewinds Islands Resort has become one of the top destinations on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and the sprawling resort has shared plans for its full expansion and renovation. The immersive project will, of course, add to the number of rooms at the hotel, but the plans go much deeper than just a higher key count.
In addition to 650 new upscale guest rooms, Tradewinds is proposing 18,000 square feet of retail space, much of it taking shape as neighborhood retail spaces along Gulf Boulevard. The resort also plans 33,000 square feet of conference space, three new swimming pools, a variety of additional resort amenities, and a long list of infrastructure projects it says will benefit the resort and the community alike, including a multi-million dollar storm water drainage system to help with flooding.
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Developers of the project say that community benefits such as those are top of mind for the project, and they appear to be backing that up with some of their proposals. For starters, they plan to widen the sidewalks along Gulf Blvd to make them safer for pedestrians, and they have also promised to construct a 30-foot wide direct public beach access walkway that will be lit at night.
Tradewinds promises benefits for community in expansion
Additionally, the expansion will drop the number of entrance/exits to the resort from nine to four, helping to relieve Gulf Blvd congestion by constructing interior roadways for guests. Developers estimate that the project will generate $19 million in tax revenue for the city, while creating approximately 300 new permanent jobs and 500 construction and other jobs.
New amenities for the resort include spiraling towers of water slides, a surfing pool, and three new parking garages. Developers says existing parking lots will be covered with new landscaping and new buildings, including updated landscaping along Gulf Blvd. Tradewinds also has plans to build a second public beach access walkway somewhere on the property.
Of note, developers say the project will only move the density to “slightly more than half” of what is permitted, with the expansion checking in at 37% below the allowable permitted additional guest room capacity of the site. All buildings will be set back an average of 180 feet from Gulf Blvd, helping to prevent a “canyon effect” of tall buildings.
See more about the proposed expansion here.
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