FW Sand Key shops (2)From: Watkins, Sherry
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 12:30 PM
To: Everitt, Steven
Subject: FW: Sand Key shops
FYI
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Simmons [mailto:bens@tampabay.rr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 9:21 AM
To: Watkins, Sherry; Hibbard, Frank
Subject: Sand Key shops
I have recently learned that the Sand Key shopping may be eliminated
in favor of a major Marriot hotel expansion. This would be a
mistake. I routinely visit the shops for food; breakfast lunch and
dinner choices are great. My wife is a huge fan and patron of the
jewelry story (it's friendly parrot is my interest). My daughter
loves the donuts and ice cream. And it's a handy place to pick up a
few groceries. A Marriot may have a few shops too, but they would be
aimed at the convention tourist, not the neighborhood customers. And
a lazy walk down their boardwalk in the afternoon is just delightful.
Rezoning for the Marriot would dramatically change the character of
our neighborhood.
In addition, there are safety and traffic impacts. Sometimes,
especially during spring break, Gulf boulevard is very slow going to
the north of Sand Key. Adding a major hotel would further exacerbate
this problem. What if we had to evacuate Sand Key?
And frankly, there is an impact to my condo value. If a prospective
buyer thought that they had to go all the way across the East Bay
bridge to buy a loaf of bread or eat a reasonably priced dinner, it
would surely lower their evaluation of my property. I personally
find the thought daunting!
Thank you for your consideration:
Ben Simmons
1380 Gulf Blvd
Sand Key, 33767