Feb. 04–ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Plans to build a 400-bed condo-hotel at the site of the old Radisson Hotel on North Hutchinson Island are moving forward despite a change in land ownership.
In December, billionaire Phil Ruffin, the owner of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, spent $6 million for the 11.78-acre property at the corner of State Road A1A and Shorewinds Drive, where Singer Island developer George Heaton wanted to build a condo-hotel.
However, Heaton’s purchase plans fell through, said real estate broker Bob Lowe, owner of Lowe’s International Realty Plus, who connected Ruffin with the property.
Lowe said Ruffin flew into the St. Lucie County International Airport on Jan. 1 and spent one hour looking at the property and reviewing paperwork with him before returning to Las Vegas.
“Phil thinks this is a priceless piece of property,” Lowe said Tuesday afternoon.
Ruffin still wants to continue the zoning change initiated by Heaton, who is no longer involved in the project, Lowe said. County staff members were crafting a new zoning district that would allow for the proposed hotel. The property is zoned residential after a failed attempt of previous owners to build condos on the site.
“We’re trying to do the same thing (as Heaton) — 200 hotel units, 200 condos,” Lowe said. “We’re going to sell the condos furnished. But they will be slightly smaller than 1,000 square feet.”
Heaton was proposing sizes of 1,000 square feet for suites and rooms of 400 square feet.
Lowe said Ruffin hasn’t decided on a design for the hotel, except to say he will not use Heaton’s tropical style building design. However, Ruffin does plan to keep other parts of Heaton’s proposal such as two restaurants, a spa, convenience store, gift shop, conference and meeting space for groups up to 750 people and a venue to hold weddings with up to 300 people.
Heaton planned to use foreign investors to help pay for the hotel, but Lowe said that will not be the case with Ruffin.
“There is no question about financing. Ruffin’s a billionaire and you couldn’t meet a finer guy,” Lowe said. “He’s a great individual. He’s not ostentatious. He’s a very good business man.”
Ruffin, 78, has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion and is listed No. 222 on Forbes magazine’s 2013 list of 400 richest Americans. In 1998, Ruffin purchased the New Frontier Hotel & Casino for $165 million and nine years later sold it for $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.com.
The St. Lucie site, at 2600 N. A1A, was the location of the 150-room Radisson Hotel before it was damaged by twin hurricanes Frances and Jeanne and closed in 2004.
The owner of the Radisson Hotel in 2005 sold the property for $17.9 million to Greenwood Development. Ruffin purchased the property for $6 million — $11.9 million less than the 2005 price, according to the property appraiser’s website.
St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said the county’s ability to attracting attention from Ruffin shows developers the area has a lot to offer.
“St. Lucie County is ripe for the right kind of development,” said Dzadovsky, who is chairman of county’s tourism board. “This is an incredible opportunity for tourism for St. Lucie County.”
Past Shaping Our Future team coverage
–Rewriting zoning code may be key to proposed Orchid Beach Resort on North Hutchinson
–Treasure Coast officials hope wealth of hotels, resorts spurs growth
–Editorial: Orchid Beach Resort may be indicative of better economic times
–Vero Beach hotel gives taste of what might come to Fort Pierce — Photo gallery
–How proposed Orchid Beach Resort compares with Vero Beach Hotel & Spa
–Proposed luxury resort on North Hutchinson Island faces zoning hurdles
–More daily traffic expected if proposed resort built on North Hutchinson Island
–Developer has long to-do list before resort goes up at former Radisson Hotel site
–St. Lucie commissioners like island resort idea, want to see building plans — Map, rendering
–Developer proposing a resort on former Radisson Hotel site on North Hutchinson Island — Map
