SRIA hears proposal for 'fractional ownership' resort at Clarion site
BY LISA NEWELL Gulf Breeze News lisa@gulfbreezenews.com

The old rules of time share condos don't apply to the new fractional resort concept proposed to the Santa Rosa Island Authority last week by the owners of the old Clarion Resort.

A presentation by JME Realty showed that fractional ownership resorts are being embraced by hoteliers such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Holiday Inn, who generally market the facilities as "vacation clubs" which are available for nightly stays through travel websites.

The new plan for the Clarion property calls for a luxurious 19- story building designed by Adache Group. A "lazy river" is the design for the pool area. The building will also feature a spa.

The fractional ownership resort plan sells larger fractions of time than the old timeshare concept, and each owner can stay in the unit up to six weeks, two of which can be consecutive.

Owners can exchange their units for stays at other fractional resort hotels in New York City, Las Vegas or any other location in the world, and those owners can conceivably visit Pensacola Beach in return.

Each owner is required to share the unit, which is appointed exactly the same as all other units. When the unit is not in use by one of its eight owners, the unit is available for rent as a hotel unit. There will be a hotel front desk for this purpose.

Joe Endry told the SRIA that this concept meets the intent of the residential cap and hotel considerations.

"This is a legitimate lodging facility, not a dwelling," Endry said.

Pensacola Beach hotelier and developer Julian MacQueen said he is in favor of the fractional ownership concept.

"What's nice about this product is it's not competing with hotels in the strict sense of the word," MacQueen said.

Because the units are owned by up to eight different owners, the price is much more affordable to the average person, and some people own several fractions of units in the 254 fractional resorts around the world.

The members of the Santa Rosa Island Authority tabled the proposal for conceptual approval.