Cabana Club Hearing Delayed Again

The Cabana Club hearing scheduled for January 26th (rescheduled from December 15th) has been postposed. A new date has not been set.

Aquarium Announces Wedding Contest Winners

On Tuesday the Clearwater Marine Aquarium announced the winners of its "Wedding of a Lifetime" contest. The winners however, didn't know they were even in the contest - they had been entered by friends. Kevin Freeland and Samantha Stahl were among 77 entries in the contest to win a Valentine's Day wedding at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on Island Estates.

They found out Tuesday afternoon at the Clearwater Police Department, where Stahl is a dispatcher. Freeland attended thinking Stahl was going to win a work-related award. Stahl showed up thinking she had an employee evaluation.

David Yates, the aquarium's CEO, was there to give them the happy news. The bride and groom can invite 100 guests to the ceremony at the aquarium on Valentine's Day. The Sheraton Sand Key is providing the reception hall and honeymoon night at the hotel. Publix will donate a wedding cake, and clothing, wine, and flowers will be donated by other local businesses.

Stahl and Freeland met on Match.com about 5 years ago. Freeland has suffered severe health problems, being diagnosed with oral cancer in 2001 with 2 relapses. He is now 6 months out of treatment and in remission. They were engaged in August and planned to marry in October 2009. The prize was a welcome relief to the couple. Due to financial setbacks they had considered eloping instead of having a large ceremony with friends and family.

Yes It's Cold, But Not Record Breaking

According to the Weather Channel, Sand Key is under a "freeze watch" and "wind chill advisory". The low tonight is expected to be in the low 30s, with wind chills around 25 degrees. The record low for January is 19 degrees, recorded in 1981.

Cabana Club Hearing Rescheduled

A hearing concerning the building of the Cabana Club on Sand Key scheduled for December 15 was postponed and will now take place in January. Save Our Neighborhood (SON), a community action group formed to fight the building of the new Cabana Club, appealed a decision of the Clearwater Planning Department to allow building code derivations that would permit construction of the $25-million Cabana Club as a proposed 38-room high-end hotel resort at 1590 Gulf Boulevard which would be operated in conjunction with the Belleair Biltmore Hotel scheduled for a $125 million upgrade.

SON gained the support of The Clearwater Beach Association (CBA) and the Sand Key Civic Association (SKCA) and received donations from the groups for its legal battle against Legg Mason, owners of the Belleview Biltmore. SON representatives and Sand Key residents oppose the project because they feel it is not in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood and would diminish the views of properties adjacent to the site and would create traffic and parking problems.

They oppose the Planning Commission's September 16 approval of code deviations that includes a reduction to the required lot width; a reduction to setbacks; allowance of proposed temporary cabanas and an increase to building height; a reduction to perimeter buffers and a reduction to the width of interior landscape islands. SON has opposed the granting of code variances except for safety or ecological reasons citing a reduction in quality of life and the environment that results from such variances.

Sand Key Real Estate Transactions December 2008

The following sales closed in December 2008. Data is obtained from the local Realtor MLS . Look for our yearly recap in a few days.

Property Address / Subdivision / Sale Price / # Days On Market
1401 Gulf Blvd #215 / Sand Key Condo Bayside / $234,000 / 179
1430 Gulf Blvd #511 / Sand Key Condo South / $242,000 / 235
1400 Gulf Blvd #212 / Sand Key Condo South / $295,000 / 26
1380 Gulf Blvd #207 / Sand Key Club / $260,000 / 89
1351 Gulf Blvd #213 / Sand Key Condo Bayside / $302,500 / 24
1401 Gulf Blvd #108 / Sand Key Condo Bayside / $270,000 / 107
1480 Gulf Blvd #809 / Sand Key Condo South / $347,500 / 329
1430 Gulf Blvd #709 / Sand Key Condo South / $357,500 / 49
1200 Gulf Blvd #1205 / Meridian on Sand Key / $1,350,000 / 144

Average Sales Price $406,500
Average number of days on market 131
Number of properties sold: 9

For more Sand Key Real Estate information & a Free CMA for your Sand Key Condo call PropCo Real Estate 727-585-0800, or visit SandKeyProperty.com