CRA board approves redevelopment package for Aqua Harbor site at US‑19 and Marine Parkway

The New Port Richey Community Redevelopment Agency voted to approve a redevelopment agreement with Aqua Harbor Developments LLC for a 3.67-acre property at the southwest corner of U.S. Highway 19 and Marine Parkway that previously housed the Magnusson Hotel.

City staff told the board the mixed-use project will include two condominium buildings totaling 96 units, a 90-room Home2Suites by Hilton hotel and a marina. Staff said the developers project a total investment of about $25 million and estimated the development could generate approximately $14,925,752 to the CRA through tax year 2049 (the CRA’s sunset year), using a conservative 3% inflation projection.

The agreement approved by the board provides several incentives the staff outlined: a waiver of building permit fees (staff estimate: $404,350) and a waiver of water and sewer impact fees (staff estimate: $328,320); staff said the CRA would cover those fees out of CRA funds and pay them over a two-year schedule beginning in fiscal year 2024–25. The CRA also committed to $1,500,000 in public improvements on Florimar Terrace, included in the city’s capital improvement program for FY 2027–28. In addition, staff said the project will receive transferred development rights appraised at $56,667 each for 96 units (stated in the packet as a collective value of about $5,000,440.32); staff reported a total economic development package of $7,743,352.

City staff introduced the item and said the development had been identified in the CRA plan update of 2018 as a priority redevelopment site. The staff presentation included a project schedule: site improvements by December 2025, condominium completion by August 2026, hotel construction to begin in March 2026 and a certificate of occupancy for the hotel targeted for January 2028.

The applicant’s representatives provided renderings and a three-dimensional model and described project features. The applicant (identified in the transcript as Mr. Myers) said site work for the condominium portion had begun and that the team resolved piling issues; he estimated the full project and hotel build would take roughly three years. He described the hotel pool as an elevated, family-oriented splash pool roughly 3 feet deep and said the restaurant and bar were intended primarily for hotel guests, with controlled elevator access so residential floors would remain secure. The applicant also said the Home2Suites brand best fit the local market.

Board members expressed general support. One director praised the use of density rights and raised the potential to link the site to regional trails (including a possible spur to the Pinellas Trail) as an ecotourism opportunity; staff and the applicant said they would consider trail connections during design if feasible. No public opposition was recorded during the meeting’s public-comment period on this item.

A board member moved to approve the agreement “as presented” with authority to correct scrivener errors; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote, recorded in the meeting as 4–0 in favor. The board then closed the item and adjourned.

The agreement and the staff report were attached to the CRA agenda packet; staff said the city attorney drafted the development agreement. The packet and the board’s motion allow for minor scrivener changes before final execution.