BELLEAIR BLUFFS — A 100-room boutique luxury hotel is officially headed for a long-vacant lot on West Bay Drive.
The Belleair Bluffs City Commission on Sept. 14 unanimously approved a development agreement with Belleair Bluffs Hotel LLC, the company led by local hotelier Tony Utegaard. The agreement clears the way for the hotel to be built on a 1.67-acre parcel just east of the Belleair Causeway Bridge. The vote, on second and final reading, capped more than a year of meetings and discussions that included a change to the city code governing transient lodging.
Officials have called the project, estimated at $30 million to $40 million, the biggest to hit the Bluffs since the new Belleair Causeway Bridge was built in 2009. Utegaard said he hopes to break ground this fall or winter and open the hotel in early 2028.
The final hearing drew another large crowd. A few residents repeated their objections to the 75-foot-tall building, which will overlook the neighborhood behind it, and raised concerns about traffic, crime and other issues. But most of those who spoke backed the project.
“I’m here to express my strong support for this project,” said Chris Whalen, owner of the nearby Belleair Coffee shop. “We could use the revenue and use the jobs, and I think it will make this town more appealing to residents.”
Barry Nieman said he also supports the project, noting that Belleair Bluffs does not allow short-term rentals.
“So, it’s hard to find a place for visiting relatives to stay,” he said, adding that the renderings “look like it’s going to be a very nice place.”
Candice Kelly, a local real estate agent, said she “understands the hesitation” from nearby homeowners but urged commissioners to weigh the project’s broader benefits.
“This city has a responsibility, financially, to diversify, and this property will make a huge economic impact,” Kelly said.
“The developer has been very thoughtful,” she added.
Several homeowners on Harbor Bluff Drive, which runs parallel to West Bay Drive behind the lot, described how the hotel will change their lives.
“I live behind the lot, and I’ve accepted the reality that it’s moving forward,” said Heather Brink, who asked the city and Utegaard to provide a “fully funded privacy mitigation plan” for residents of the street.
Deborah Swift, another Harbor Bluff Drive resident, remained firmly against the project. She said she was “definitely opposed to this project, primarily because the back of the hotel overlooks our street,” adding that hotels are known to bring “an increase in drunk driving, vagrancy and other crimes.”
Utegaard’s attorney, Brian Aungst Jr., told commissioners his client is a longtime area resident with a long history of building hotels who also owns a bakery across the street and has the community’s best interests in mind.
“The reason the entity is called the Belleair Bluffs Hotel LLC is because the family that is developing the project lives here in Belleair Bluffs,” Aungst said. “In my nearly 20 years of practicing law, I have found the best partnerships and the best opportunities between municipalities are with their own residents.”
He described the process as “a collaborative, transparent and very deliberate engagement with the city” and thanked commissioners, city staff and the residents who took part.
“I think the ultimate product here is a fantastic amenity that is consistent and compatible with the goals, objectives and vision of your comprehensive plan,” he said.
Utegaard’s mother, Helen, also stepped to the lectern to speak about her son.
“I thought it was important for everybody to know a little bit about the character of my son,” she said.
Helen Utegaard, a widow with six children, said Tony, the oldest, was about 20 when his father died in 1998.
“He stepped in to be the most wonderful oldest son that you could ever imagine,” she said.
She said her son “is always one who wants to lift up others,” including through a business fellowship he runs at a Tampa Bay-area megachurch.
“He is always trying to help people in business. He is tireless in it,” she said, adding that her son’s “character has never changed, and I think he will be a great asset to this community.”
Utegaard has said he wants the hotel to be known as “the Don CeSar of Belleair Bluffs,” a nod to the landmark St. Pete Beach resort.
After the meeting, he said he was relieved to have cleared the approval process and was eager to move toward a groundbreaking.
“After two years of praying and holding my breath, it’s such a relief to know this dream can finally become a reality,” Utegaard said.