Just when you thought there was a clear path to the resort opening, another bump in the road pops up. This latest delay is being blamed on a miscommunication and it could delay the Margaritaville opening by several months.
It all has to do with the restroom facility by the resort’s pool. The old Cigar Hut building, which TPI originally planned to save, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian. After the storm, the building had to come down because repairs could not be made under FEMA’s 50% rule. Town Manager Andy Hyatt tells Beach Talk Radio News, “The bathhouse project was started without a permit. Staff is working with the contractor to get the project back on track.”
TPI issued a statement to BTRN stating the work was started after a miscommunication with the town. “The stop work order centers around a miscommunication between TPI’s architect and engineer and the Town’s building department. TPI thought we were given the all clear to wet-flood-proof the restroom replacement building. The Town is requiring the replacement building to be dry-flood-proofed. TPI agreed this week to retrofit work to date on the replacement building to meet dry-flood-proofing requirements. Both solutions leave the replacement restroom building down at grade level in the same location of the previous building.”
The Stop Work Order will cause a delay in the resort opening, which was planned for around November of this year. While TPI is working on a revised opening date, the delay, which requires TPI to start back at the design phase for the bathhouse, could be several months.
Since making their original proposal to the town years ago, The TPI resort project has been delayed multiple times. The project had to be revised several times when the community objected to its original size, there were lawsuits to try to stop construction, then COVID and Hurricane Ian got in the way. Many in the community are anticipating Margaritaville opening which will start to bring tourists and visitors back to the beach that was beaten and battered by the September 28, 2022 storm.