Terry Persaud is back with plan B for his Sunset Grill lot in Times Square. Persaud is asking for exactly what he can build back by right. He would not be required to go before the LPA or Town Council if he does choose to build what he can by right.
You may remember Persaud paid a consultant to tell the Fort Myers Beach Town Council that 50 hotel rooms were needed in order to make that piece of property work in that spot. That idea was soundly rejected by LPA. Persaud reduced the 50-room request to 30 rooms and took it to the Town Council which was heading toward a denial too when Persaud pulled the project before they could vote on it.
Persaud is now planning to build a three story building with parking and pool bar on the ground floor, 6 hotel rooms on the 2nd floor with a restaurant and the third floor has office units to rent and a roof top bar and deck. Some people believe that while Persaud has the third floor listed as office rental units that, down the road, he’ll ask to convert those units to hotel rooms. By right, Persaud is allowed to build 9 hotel rooms.
The Sunset Grill lot is located next to Persaud’s parking lot at the base of the Matanzas Pass Bridge and across from La Ola. The restaurant, like most buildings, was demolished by hurricane Ian three years ago.
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Why would anyone put office space that high up, with those views, unless they were planning on converting them to vacation rentals down the road? Persaud has been nothing but a thorn in the side of this town for years. Why can’t anyone just do the right thing instead of trying to manipulate the system?