The Colony, the famed tennis resort on Longboat Key that closed in 2010 after losing game-set-match to a lack of maintenance and a subsequent bankruptcy by its owner, could be redeveloped as condominium and hotel, which would be managed by an internationally known hotel chain, according to a proposal Wednesday by an aspiring development team.
Longboat Key investor Manfred Welfonder’s MW Development Group is partnering with storied Collier County developer The Lutgert Companies. The goal is executing a $195 million redevelopment of The Colony.
Lutgert, formed in 1964, put Naples on the luxury map with the Gulf-front Park Shore development of luxury high-rise condominiums. Lutgert is the parent company of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, which sells from Marco Island to Sarasota.
Colony Beach & Tennis Club Association, through its president Jay Yablon, has “expressed a commitment to negotiating and finalizing a development agreement," Lutgert said in a statement. The resort could reopen as soon as November 2018.
The architecture firm Fugleberg Koch has drawn a plan for the 18-acre property. It has 190 residences and a 160-room hotel in a “village atmosphere.”
But the plan has to hurdles to clear.
