Local

Big development coming to St. Augustine

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — "It fills in this part of the community and kind of creates a sense of urban identity,”  John Regan said.

City Manager John Regan is calling it the wave of the future.

The San Sebastian Inland Harbor was just bought for $4.75 million, which for St. Augustine, has been a long time coming.

If all goes well, SA Marina Holdings LLC will put up a Westin Hotel resort, retail shops, condos and spruce up the existing marina.

“This is a tourist town. That could be a good thing,” Christine Litchfield said.

The development butts up to historic Lincolnville, which most want to keep intact.

Some, like Litchfield, don't' mind the progress.

“It’s just an ugly piece of land right now, so you might as well do something productive with it,” she continued.

Humphrey Realty has also pledged to pitch in with infrastructure.

To help ease parking and tight quarters, the group will extend the road around the San Sebastian Winery.

Once finished, the city should bring in an extra $1 million worth of taxes.

“This is a win-win for everybody. It's been planned for a long time and it's been stalled by the economy,” Regan said.

There’s still a lot of logistics and kinks that have to be worked out, but once that's finished -- construction will start between 18 and 24 months. The planned budget for the development is around $80 million.