DESTIN — A hotel may rise one day in front of Regatta Bay if Okaloosa County approves a modification to the gated community’s build-out plans.
The request has been filed with county officials.
“It’s an amendment to their development order for their master plan,” county planner Marissa Martinez said. “No plans (for development) have been submitted yet.”
According to documents on file at Destin City Hall Annex, under the current Planned Unit Development for Regatta Bay, developers were approved to build 549 units as part of “future development,” which would consist of 367 single-family homes and 150 apartments. It would also permit a community called The Enclave, which would have 32 units.
The developers want to reduce the number of future apartments from 150 to 32, which would allow them to build a hotel. There also would be a reduction in the amount of square footage that’s been approved for office space on the property.
“With the reduced density and intensity, we are proposing to include a 209-unit hotel complex with meeting rooms,” the application reads. The maximum intensity of the proposed hotel would be no more than 333,875 square feet.
The proposed apartments cannot exceed a height of 75 feet and the hotel cannot exceed 99 feet, documents show. The proposed project would be on a series of parcels along U.S. Highway 98 and Legendary Drive.
The land to be developed is owned by Emerald Grande Development LLC and Robert J. Guidry Financial Services LLC.
Legendary Inc.’s Thomas Patton, who is listed on the paperwork, said there are no immediate plans to build on the parcels. He said the change would allow developers to build something more useful given current market trends, as opposed to office space, which is plentiful in Destin.
“This is not a project. We’re just trying to get the land use changed to something the economy will support,” he said. “We feel as though there is a potential demand for hotels in this market.”
The county Planning Commission will consider the request at its meeting at 5 p.m. Feb. 14 at Niceville City Hall.
County commissioners are expected to address the changes March 19.
Destin Log Staff Writer Matt Algarin can be reached at 850-654-8446 or malgarin@thedestinlog.com. Follow him on Twitter @DestinLogMatt.