New owners of Beachcomber Resort plan to keep ‘old Florida’ feel

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A South Carolina-based hotelier has expanded its footprint in the Bay Area after purchasing The Beachcomber Resort on Monday.

St. Pete Beach resort acquisition

What we know:

The resort has been a community staple for more than 50 years. The property is also home to the popular Jimmy B’s Beach Bar.

The move comes as the resort recently celebrated its reopening in late October, following a temporary closure due to extensive damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"Jimmy B's is a legend in this community," Kerri Green, the complex general manager for both the Beachcomber and the neighboring Hilton Garden Inn, said. "Our plan is to preserve that legendary beachfront bar that it already is. That's what interested us [in buying it] in the first place."

Green noted that while the new ownership plans to implement some minor cosmetic changes, the goal is to maintain the old Florida feel that has defined the resort for more than half a century.

"It shows you this is a great destination, America's best beach, and people all over the country want to be a part of it," Charlie Justice, President and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, said.

The Beachcomber features 102 rooms, two pools, and 2,100 square feet of indoor meeting space. By owning the Beachcomber and the Hilton Garden Inn side-by-side, OTO Development aims to create a "unique opportunity" to reach more visitors as tourism demand in the St. Pete-Clearwater area continues to surge, Green said.

Future resort amenities

What they're saying:

"Coconut Charlie's and Jimmy B's are very different. We have different kinds of live music, different genres that we play, different kinds of demographics of people, and at the same time, a lot of people like to bar hop and go between the two. So, this allows us to kind of reach out to a broader amount of the community and offer different kinds of amenities, host larger events because our meeting space at HGI is smaller than what we have here at the Beachcomber and kind of play off of the synergy of the two different brands and the two different identities," she said.

"With over 15 million people visiting the St. Pete, Clearwater area last year, this is definitely a booming community, and this allows us to reach that demand of people here on the beach," Green explained.

St. Pete Beach Mayor Scott Tate expressed a desire for a strong partnership with the new owners.

"The resort in general and the entertainment opportunities that it provides is something that's been vital to the vibrancy of St. Pete Beach and we want to protect that," Tate said. "So, we hope that the new owners come in and want to partner with the city and keeping that that tradition and that character. While we think about the residents and what it means to the city, we want to protect that as well, so, you know, we're looking for a good partnership with the new ownership."

Rising St. Petersburg tourism

Dig deeper:

The purchase adds to OTO Development’s growing portfolio in the Bay Area. 

In addition to the Beachcomber and the Hilton Garden Inn, the company owns the AC Hotel in St. Petersburg, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Ybor City and a DoubleTree in North Redington Beach.

Unlisted Beachcomber purchase price

What we don't know:

OTO Development did not disclose the final purchase price for the property.