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Zoning Board signs off on Margaritaville’s New Beachwalk Short-Term Stay Cottages

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A rendering of Beachwalk's crystal lagoon.
A rendering of Beachwalk's crystal lagoon. (Pebb Enterprises)

The developer of Beachwalk’s Margaritaville hotel revealed key details Thursday for its proposed short-term stay cottages at a zoning meeting — including their size and whether they will be on Airbnb.

The St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency (PZA) recommended approval of the cottages despite opposition from some residents.

The proposal will next go before the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, which has final say on the project.

Representatives of the Falcone Group, the Boca-Raton based developer, revealed publicly for the first time Thursday that the new hotel plan would include 132 hotel rooms and 68 cottages abutting the crystal lagoon.

“These are not designed to be party houses that are individual Vrbos that you have to worry about 20 people renting,” Falcone Group attorney Ellen Avery-Smith told the zoning agency, addressing local concerns. “They literally will be managed by the Margaritaville hotel management company.”

Pastel-colored townhomes flanked by palm trees.
Rendering of the proposed Margaritaville ‘cottages’ in Beachwalk. (St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency)

She displayed a rendering of the units that she said comport with Beachwalk’s Caribbean coastal aesthetic.

A recent filing for the proposed modification seeks permission to increase the number of hotel rooms from 150 to 200, in exchange for reducing 7,900 square feet of previously approved commercial space. One cottage counts as a single hotel room.

The cottages will range in size from two to six bedrooms and 1200 to 1700 square feet, Falcone’s COO Alfonso Costa revealed Thursday in response to board members’ questions.

Costa also said that the cottages, which feature kitchens and are intended for stays of up to three months, would not be advertised on Airbnb.

“We are precluding the ability to market and list and do any type of operation via Airbnb,” he said.

Diagram of Beachwalk's marketplace.
A diagram showing the location of four restaurants that will overlook Beachwalk’s signature blue lagoon. The developer is looking for tenants for these spaces. (Pebb Enterprises)

The units will be owned by the hotel, which could choose to sell them to individual owners but would have to continue to manage the properties, Avery-Smith noted.

Several residents objected to the proposed cottages and urged the board to vote against it.

John Geoff Gundlach, representing 37 members of the Beachwalk community and 300 online petition signers, asked the board not to recommend the modification.

He expressed concern that 68 cottages would have a significantly larger footprint than the same number of hotel rooms and could increase guest capacity by 300 people per night, crowding shops and roads.

“A cottage is not a hotel room,” he said.

Rendering of Beachwalk's marketplace.
Beachwalk in St. Johns County, Florida, is looking to sign leases for four sit-down restaurants overlooking the community’s signature blue lagoon. (Pebb Enterprises)

Some residents are also concerned that Margaritaville guests will be given access to the lagoon, overwhelming the community’s signature amenity and “eroding the desirability” of the development, Gundlach added.

The developer did not disclose whether Margaritaville guests would have access to Beachwalk’s amenities.

The board voted 5-2 to recommend the modification.

“I think the cottages are a good fit,” said board member Meagan Perkins, who noted the dearth of hotels in the area. “I think they’re going to attract families.”

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3 Responses

  1. In an earlier term on the PZA, Meagan Perkins approved every development proposal of undeveloped land for four straight years. She is a lobbyist for builders, and she does not have the residents’ best interest. Of course she thinks the cottages are a good fit! I’ve spoken to many residents at Beachwalk, and it seems every time they turn around there’s a new surprise in store for them. Their quality of life is not the priority.

  2. Thanks Geoff.

    “the developer did not disclose ……. Lawyer speak for they will have access to can you imagine having a room in a hotel or staying in a cottage, looking out on the lagoon and NOT having access.

    Someone on the board better start thinking of how they will be compensated for this. Charges, restrictions, lifeguards, cleanup and control, legal and insurance costs. It could be wonderful if run correctly but the chances of having an employee of this firm having the same concerns that we have is very disconcerting.

  3. The concept at evermore resort in orlando is very appealing. They have the Conrad hotel single family homes and restaurants all surrounding the lagoon. In this case if you do the hotel a few cottages and and a few waterfront restaurants it would be fine. I strongly believe you should keep hotel guest to its own side of the lagoon and have there own water activities etc. Restaurants should be open to the public.

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