Government

Clearwater ‘Eyesore’ Property Redevelopment Approved After Years-Long Wait

by
Daniel Nee
April 3, 2024

The property at 1510 Barry Road, Clearwater. (Source: Planning Document)

A property described as an “eyesore” will be redeveloped with 43 residential apartment units nearly two years after it received its initial approval from the city’s Community Development Board.

The property at 1510 Barry Road, an abandoned complex of commercial buildings, was first approved to be repurposed for dwelling units in 2022. Since then, however, a new owner has taken possession of the property and quickly discovered that the plan as initially proposed would not conform to FEMA floodplain regulations.

“Due to some unforeseen construction costs – part of the site lies within a FEMA flood hazard area – the cost to retain the one-story building adjacent to Barry Road was too cost-prohibitive,” said Melissa Hauck-Baker, a Clearwater city planner.

In order to comply with FEMA’s new base flood elevation standards, a one-story building that fronts Barry Road would need to be raised – a project determined unfeasible. Therefore, its new owner, Glozal Village LLC, of West Palm Beach, returned to the board to pitch a plan in which the building would be demolished and replaced.

“The two-story buildings that are interior to the site were already approved, and the project went through a minor revision where the applicant requested to change the project, and that’s what led up to the meeting today,” said Hauck-Baker.

The revised plan calls for the demolition of the one-story building along Barry Road, to be replaced with a new building 27-feet in height which complies with both city zoning ordinances as well as FEMA’s height standards. Brian Aungst, Jr., the attorney representing the property’s new owner, told board members at a recent hearing that the new building would be considered “phase two” of the project, and contain 31 of the 43 units.

The property at 1510 Barry Road, Clearwater. (Source: Planning Document)

The new owner has also decided to remove basketball courts that had initially been planned and replace them with open green space. The new building will be set back from Barry Road by 10-feet, complying with the zoning ordinance, and the number of parking spaces will increase significantly from 53 to 79 stalls.

Glozal Village has also committed to funding landscaping improvements around the entire property and realigning sidewalks and crosswalks. Prior to building permits being issued, the developer agreed to shift the west curb ramp to the north to align with the east curb ramp, and grant a sidewalk easement which will be dedicated to the city over the portion that lies within private ownership.

“It will also help to clean up that area a little bit,” said Hauck-Baker.

A sidewalk that currently leads to a dead end will be removed.

Aungst said his client is eager to begin work on the new development, and recently reached an agreement with the city to settle code enforcement fines that were left outstanding by previous ownership.

“This project is moving forward, which is good news because it is an eyesore,” he said. “There are folks in the audience here who are wanting to know when this is going to be approved developed because it is really dilapidated and really in poor condition.”

“Phase one is about to get its building permit and demolition permit,” added Aungst. “Phase one is 12 units, so we are actively going through that permitting process and anticipate that we will have a building permit to demo, and begin construction on phase one any time.”