Florida Resort Plans $500-Million Transformation

Located on land once owned by John Ringling, a Gulf-front Florida resort that has become synonymous with sunshine and sophistication is about to launch an extraordinary $500-million enhancement project.

Longboat Key Club & Resort, a popular Florida resort situated on a barrier island just off the coast of Sarasota, will be spending $500 million to add 222 new hotel rooms and 261 new condominium residences on four land parcels at the Florida resort's Islandside area, located on Gulf of Mexico Drive on the south end of Longboat Key. The Florida resort also plans to make improvements to Islandside Golf Course – designed by Rees Jones.

Many of the current facilities at this AAA Four-Diamond Florida resort date back to the 1980s, and this transformation could help Longboat Key Club & Resort earn a five-star rating.

Along with the Islandside Golf Course at this Florida resort, plans call for 168 new golf club condo residences as well as a 28,000 sq. ft.  meeting center. The Florida resort also plans to add the following: 30 luxury waterfront villas; a 28,000 sq. ft. wellness center; Inn on the Pass, which will have 222 hotel rooms and 51 condos; a 6,400 sq. ft. restaurant; and a new 20,000 sq. ft. administration building for the Florida resort.

The new hotel being planned by the Florida resort will be built on the site where entrepreneur John Ringling tried to build a hotel in 1925. He had to abandon it a year later at the start of the Great Depression despite being just 90 days from completion.

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