After nearly two years of plan revisions, public hearings, and formal dispute resolution, the St. Pete Beach City Commission has again rejected a proposed waterfront resort that would have brought a waterpark, rooftop bar, and 100-room hotel to a vacant stretch of Gulf Boulevard along McPherson Bayou.

At its January 27th meeting, commissioners voted to deny a settlement recommendation stemming from a Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act proceeding, effectively reaffirming the city’s earlier denial of three requests tied to the proposed Windward Pass Resort.

The project was first announced in March 2024 as a six-story, 104-key hotel planned for a 2.53-acre assemblage at 3815, 3856, 3859 and 3861 Gulf Boulevard, an irregularly shaped site bookended by the Sand Cove Apartments and Sun Harbor Condos.

A proposed resort on Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach has encountered another setback after city officials rejected the plan for a second time.

The City Commission unanimously voted last Tuesday to reject a variance, density allocation, and a conditional use permit to construct a 104-unit resort on a vacant 2.76-acre strip of land between the Sand Cove Apartments and Sun Harbor Condos.

The Windward Pass Resort, led by Jack Bodziak of Bodziak/Hayes Architects, would feature a five-story, art deco-inspired building. Amenities include a waterpark with slides and a lazy river, a main pool, a sundeck with a swim-up bar, on-site restaurants, a rooftop bar, a 12-slip boat dock offering paddleboard and kayak rentals, and a 190-space parking garage.