Melbourne Margaritaville artist's renderings released; City Council approves site plan
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After four years of behind-the-scenes planning, the Margaritaville Landing and Riverwalk development team has secured unanimous site-plan support from the Melbourne City Council.
And during City Hall discussion Tuesday, speculation began: Will singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett visit Melbourne to attend the future grand opening of the riverfront hotel-marina resort on U.S. 1?
Mayor Paul Alfrey labeled the roughly $75 million Margaritaville project "a game-changer" during about 90 minutes of discussion. In a crucial step, the City Council unanimously approved:
A site plan featuring a seven-story, 146-room resort hotel; a two-story restaurant building with 400 seats; a marina with 221 boat slips; a 14,000-square-foot event lawn with stage; a four-level parking garage; and a public boardwalk.
First reading of a conditional use allowing building height of 87 feet. That measures 39 feet higher than the 48-foot limit in the surrounding commercial zoning district.
First reading of a conditional use to reestablish a marina on the 3-acre footprint of the long-defunct Intracoastal Marina.
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Second, final City Council readings on the site's conditional-use rezoning will take place June 14. Harry Mirpuri, who heads the development team, has said he hopes work starts by the third or the fourth quarter, with construction wrapping up in fall 2024. The complex may employ about 200 workers.
The City Council votes were 6-0. Council Member Debbie Thomas abstained from voting because she works for Welbro Building Corp., the project's general contractor.
Two weekends ago, the Margaritaville Paradise — the new Margaritaville at Sea cruise line's first ship — took its inaugural sail from Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island.
Margaritaville Paradise has 10 passenger decks and 658 cabins, along with a JWB Prime Steak & Seafood, Frank and Lola’s Pizzeria, Port of Indecision Buffet, LandShark Sports Bar and Margaritaville Coffee & Pastry Shop, as well as the Euphoria Lounge, Sunset Bar and 5 O’Clock Somewhere Bar, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Buffett attended the inaugural sail, singing and playing acoustic guitar on the pool deck.
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The Margaritaville Landing and Riverwalk development team unveiled new PowerPoint artist's renderings showcasing the Melbourne project, slated for 4.6 upland acres and 3 submerged acres on U.S. 1, just south of Cherry Street.
Vacant for years, the property's development history dates to a zoning change for O’Brien's Transmission Shop in 1979, an agenda memo said. The site also was home to a marina and the popular restaurants Shooter's, Skipper's, Dixie Crossroads and Coral Bay, dating to the late 1980s.
Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne heavily damaged the 185-seat Coral Bay restaurant in 2004, and crews razed the ruined structure in 2011.
"This is a wonderful site. I mean, this peninsula of land is just very unique," Tom Hogan, co-founder and principal of HC Architecture, told council members.
However, longtime Melbourne resident Wiley Elliott opposed Margaritaville from the public-comment podium, saying the project saddens him.
"We are turning into a plastic Daytona Beach-Orlando, Florida," Elliott told council members.
Aside from the seven-story Compass by Margaritaville hotel and a building shared by two themed restaurants, much discussion centered on the property's artificial-turf event lawn — which Hogan said will accommodate about 1,000 people.
Event-lawn programming may run the gamut from Margaritaville- and Caribbean-themed events to holiday events, a Gasparilla-type event, craft beer festivals, food and wine festivals with food trucks, art festivals, car shows, weddings and more.
"The event lawn: That'd be like probably Jimmy Buffett coming himself and kicking the place off, right?" Council Member Mark LaRusso asked.
For comparison's sake, Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort officials have announced the inaugural Margaritaville Summerfest music festival weekend on June 11 and 12. Classic rock bands and DJs will perform at the resort's band shell and restaurants.
Margaritaville Summerfest also will feature food and beverage vendors, margarita-making demonstrations, a community art installation and other activities.
LaRusso pointed out that the Melbourne site's former marina was wiped out by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004.
Ron Schults, principal and chairman of Edgewater Marine, said the Margaritavilla marina will be designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and protect boats from a Category 1 storm's winds and waves.
Schults said it took about three years to secure marina permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Marine Resources Council board members Joanie Regan and David Botto asked the City Council to help ensure that Margaritaville does not contribute to the degradation of the ecologically ailing Indian River Lagoon.
"We think it's a great project. It's a great addition to the hospitality market — if we do it right," Botto said.
Rob Baker, a business consultant with the development team, said he welcomes MRC input on lagoon-friendly environmental practices.
"Our success — no, in fact, our survival as a successful development — is the quality of the waterways," Baker said.
Mirpuri said marketing research showed the Margaritaville marina should be geared toward 30- to 50-foot boats. However, the facility will accommodate vessels up to 100 feet long.
"If Jimmy Buffett decides to pull up in there, we have to have a parking spot available for him," Mirpuri said.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Margaritaville Landing and Riverwalk gets Melbourne City Council approval
