As the rye grass pokes its head out of the empty 18-acre site on Longboat’s Gulf of Mexico Drive, the only movement toward redevelopment is the ebb and flow of pleadings and arguments in the courtroom. And the same words spoken as a humorous refrain by Longboaters a few years ago are now shadowed by resignation — “Do you think I will live long enough to see the Colony property ever get redeveloped?”

What is the value of 17.2 acres situated on Longboat Key and boasting one of the best Gulf-front beaches in Florida?

Nothing has died more slowly and with more waves of litigation than the once world-famous Colony Resort.

The majority of the condos will cost between $4 million and $7 million and penthouses about $10 million.

“The code was written in the 1970s before the collapse of Lehman Brothers and changes in lending rules. It will accelerate the reconstruction of the Colony site by 12 months.”

Judge Hunter Carroll denied the request by Andy Adams, who owns about 25 percent of the original Colony units, to dismiss Unicorp’s plan. Case is on “expedited” schedule.

Unicorp owner Chuck Whittall hopes to terminate once and for all the Association of Unit Owners and compel the sale of the remaining units.

For years, it appeared as if the legal battles between the ownership interests of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort were eclipsing any real progress toward redevelopment. This situation changed dramatically in 2018. On March 16, the Longboat Key Town Commission approved a plan to allow 166 St. Regis Hotel rooms and 78 St. […]

“If you deny this, I will not be able to start until Spring of next year. If you delay this, and your code is unlike hundreds of other cities in the state of Florida, it will delay us by one year,” said Whittall.

Demolition contractors are set to demolish the final building — the mid-rise — as it was known at the site of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.