Final Vote on Dunedin Gateway Deal To Be Postponed

Dunedin officials need more time on the negotiating table before city leaders can cast the final vote on a development deal for a years-vacant, prime downtown parcel.

City leaders' final vote on the Gateway project, originally slated for Aug. 15, is now recommended for postponement to the regular Sept. 12 commission meeting.

"The additional time will enable staff and the City Attorney to work on the remaining details of the Ground Lease and Option to Purchase agreement with Pizzuti staff and their legal counsel," an Aug. 5 city memo states.

At the first public hearing on the preliminary deal, city leaders had some concerns about parking and the financial effects of a proposed incentive package packed with unprecedented discounts to help land developers Pizzuti Companies get the $15 million project moving.

City officials believe once the project is constructed could bring an estimated $952,000 to city coffers in its first year, according to city documents.

Six years in the making, the Gateway project — a three-story, mixed retail, restaurant and 124-unit, high-end apartment complex planned for the corner of downtown Main Street and Milwaukee Boulevard — is being touted a key transformative development to downtown Dunedin.