After a 7 hour meeting on the London Bay project Tuesday, no decision was made by the Local Planning Agency. London Bay CEO Mark Wilson asked for a continuance when LPA members said they wanted him to reduce his highest building from 177 feet to 158.
Being that the tallest building is London Bay’s condo building, Wilson appeared to want some extra time to go back and see where he can make up that lost revenue from 8 condo units. Those two floors would have most likely have been his best selling condos. He may want to convert those 8 condo units to 24 more hotel rooms. He could do that based on the town’s multiplier from condo units to hotel rooms. The town code allows a property owner to convert one unit to 3 hotel rooms.
Wilson would also have to decide where to add the two floors he’s losing from the tallest building. The other 4 proposed buildings are all less than the 158 feet some LPA members are indicating they are ok with.
Another reason Wilson asked for the continuance was that LPA member Doug Eckman had to leave the meeting at 3PM. It appeared Eckman was leaning toward a YES vote on the project and Wilson doesn’t want to lose that vote. With Eckman out of the room, a vote was looking more like a 3-3 tie. A tied vote is a failed vote. Of course, Wilson can also decide he doesn’t like that the LPA lopped off 2 floors and go directly to the Town Council with his original plan. That’s exactly what Seagate did for the Red Coconut property and it passed 3-2.
Several members of the LPA seem to be fine with disregarding the island’s maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) max of 2.5. Wilson says his calculations bring the F.A.R. to a 3, although there’s a question as to whether they way he’s calculated it the way the town has made other properties calculate it. The bottom line is however it’s calculated it’s not 2.5. If the town allows London Bay to create its own “Outrigger” district, the calculation becomes meaningless.
Wilson’s sales pitch has been that the island needs this project to get its mojo back and he painted bleak financial numbers for the island during his presentation. He also said this is a project the south end of the island needs with the Wyndham the only other big south end property able to add a larger scale project. The project has both support and opposition from residents.
The LPA meeting will continue on May 8th at 9AM.
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