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May 26, 2009

Like sands through the hourglass so are the days for development order in Destin.

City rules require builders to break ground within a year of receiving their development orders, or DO, and to make periodic progress to keep it from expiring. This prevents developers from applying for a permit far ahead of construction so they will be grandfathered in if the city toughens its Land Development Code.

Developers who can't meet the deadline can apply for a year's extension. Last month, Destin City Council directed its staff to research the pros and cons of offering an extra year's extension so developers unable to build because of the current recession won't see their DO's expire.

Destin's Community Development Department has a list of development orders that potentially could benefit from an extra year's extension. Some received the initial DO earlier this year; others already have received an extension. Developers who continue making "improvements" to the property don't need an extension.

Here's a list of those projects:

1. Caretta Dunes Condo, two five-story buildings, 80 condos. This project began in 2005 as Beach Crystal, a four-story, 64-condo complex in Crystal Beach. Last year Traship Holding proposed adding a fifth story, which would make Caretta Dunes a Tier Three project, the highest level of development in the city's Land Development Code. The changes also required an amended DO. Destin city Council approved Caretta Dunes in February 2008, despite opposition from a number of Crystal Beach residents. Since then, they've been working under construction permits to keep the DO active.
   
   
2. Beach Pointe Condo II, five stories, five condos, 60 feet tall. The council approved this Crystal Beach Tier Three development in August 2008, south of Sc. Hwy. 98 and next to Green Reef Townhomes. The owners listed in the city's files are Daniel Fitzpatrick and Theodore Jones. Tier Three buildings on the harbor can run to 15 stories, but in Crystal Beach, which is predominantly residential and rental, the bar is much lower.
   
   
3. Harbor Reflections Condo, 15 stories, 28 condos, 99 hotel rooms. In January 2008, Harbor Reflections – a project ABC Amusement plans for the site of Gilligan's Restaurant and Gilligan's Watersports – became the first Tier Three project to receive a development order from the city. It received an extension in January.
   
   
4. Le Melange, 145 feet tall, with 55 condos and 50,393 square feet of office/retail space. La Melange, the brainchild of LeMelange Development, will go up at the east intersection of US 98 and Restaurant Row, on the site of Whitney Bank. It received a DO in 2006, an extension in 2007, an amendment to the DO in November, and is now working under construction permits.
   
   
   
5. Pointe One Beach and Yacht Club, 79 condos, 10 stories. This development, now called the Pointe Beach and Yacht Club, is at Norriego Point at the end of Holiday Isle. It generated controversy because, when it first went before the city, it included a marina that some Destin residents said wouldn't be safe so close to the busy Destin harbor. Developers removed the marina from the proposal, and the city issued the DO in 2005. Pointe One then applied to the Department of Environmental Protection for a marina permit – which would then have to come before the city for approval – but has not receive one yet. Pointe One received an extension in 2006, and has been working under construction permits then.
   
   
6. Safe Harbour Estates, eight lots off Bayou Drive. The council approved developer Rod Wright's plan to break a 4.5-acre property into eight single-family lots, which he said will become an "old world Mediterranean style boating community."
   
   
7. Village Inn Development, 82 condos, 148 hotel rooms, 2299 square feet of retail, 1717 square feet of restaurant space. This redevelopment project from SFB Investment Co. will replace a motel at 215 Harbor Blvd. The city issued a DO in April 2008 and granted an extension in March 2009.
   
   
8. West Harbor, a four-lot subdivision at 220 Sibert Ave. Ronald Wright's West Harbor received its DO last September for four "single-family residential detached condominiums."
   

By Fraser Sherman, Destin Log Staff Writer; Article courtesy of The Destin Log