Delays have continued to plague a luxury boutique hotel planned on Palm Avenue on land being purchased from the city of Sarasota, but developers and professionals involved with the project say they have no plans of abandoning the effort, and should have permit requests in to the city within weeks. “We’re happy with where we are,” said architect Jonathan Parks. “We’re almost running out of stuff to do.”

The tentatively titled Floridays Hotel Sarasota, expected to be a part of Hilton’s Curio Collection, has been in the works since 2012. It was delayed substantially while the city dealt with a lawsuit from the Leiter Group involving previous plans nixed in 2008. This summer, the city moved forward with plans to close on the property with Palm Avenue Hospitality Holdings, a company formed by Angus Rogers of Floridays and Larry Abbo of Prime Group that will obtain the title for the property. In recent weeks, though, city officials said they have become frustrated that little progress has occurred at the site. “We had all this momentum and now it seems to have ceased or gone backward,” said Tim Litchett, director of Neighborhood and Development Services. Litchett said the city is still waiting for the application for a foundation permit.  

But Rogers and Abbo say the project is on track. Rogers noted that in addition to the city property, $1.6 million was spent by developers for an adjacent property to the city land and there is no plan to walk away. “We have not come back with anything that kills the deal or makes it undoable,” he said. Developers acknowledged it has been time-consuming meeting the requirements of the city, those of Hilton and simply the standards of developers, but efforts are moving ahead. 

Officials were scheduled to move ahead on a Major Encroachments agreement and on closing the transaction on Monday, but delayed any action on the deal until an upcoming meeting of the commission, either later this month or in early December. But City Commissioners said developers need to improve communication. “I thought this was a real sweetheart deal in the beginning,” said City Commissioner Susan Chapman, noting the city has done substantial road improvements and will allow use of a city-owned parking garage next to the hotel. But other officials were complimentary of the work being done and remain optimistic the project will be stellar when it is complete. “I don’t think they (developers) are getting a sweetheart deal,” said City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell. “Maybe the city is.”