North Port Commission could give permission for developer to study Warm Mineral Springs
NORTH PORT – Warm Mineral Springs Development Group may be given permission to start its assessment of the grounds of Warm Mineral Springs by the North Port City Commission Tuesday night.
The agreement, which is on the consent agenda, does not guarantee that either side will enter into a partnership to redevelop the 83-acre property, which includes the historic springs and three buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The property includes a 21.6-acre campus and 61.4 acres of surrounding parkland that may be both developed for recreational purposes and become the future home of a 150-room resort hotel and spa, 50 rental eco-cabins and 270 condominiums.
The commission meets at 6 p.m. at North Port City Hall, 4970 City Hall Boulevard.
The development proposal has been criticized by many city residents and responses to a city-sponsored survey actually favored park improvements significantly less intense than those proposed by WMS Development Group.
City commissioners responded by discrediting most of the survey.
A time for assessment
North Port city commissioners voted on July 25 to direct city staff to start working with Warm Mineral Springs Development Group on a public-private partnership to direct Warm Mineral Springs Park, which is located at 12200 San Servando Avenue.
The agreement the commission will be asked to approve Tuesday will allow the developer and subcontractors it employs to survey the land, conduct soil tests and environmental assessments.
The city of North Port contracted separately with the Sarasota branch of Ardaman and Associates to conduct geotechnical surveys and hydrographic studies to determine whether the ground in the 61.4-acre portion of the park could support hotels or condominiums.
A place for healing and history
Warm Mineral Springs – an hourglass-shaped sinkhole that is fed by an underground stream that pumps in 20 million gallons of 85- to 86-degree water per day – is significant on its merits as an archaeological site, which serves as a window to roughly 10,000 years of history.
Once thought to be the Fountain of Youth when it was discovered by explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, Warm Mineral Springs was developed as a spa shortly after World War II and from December 1959 to March 1960 was one of the sites for the Florida Quadricentennial Celebration.
The three buildings built for that celebration – a sales building, a spa and an accompanying cyclorama – are believed to have been designed by Jack West, a member of the Sarasota School of Architecture.
The city of North Port created its own historic register specifically for those buildings. The three had been in varied stages of disrepair, even before they were further damaged by Hurricane Ian.
At a July workshop Ashley Bloom, one of the main partners in the private WMS Development Group, noted that the developer would guarantee a $19 million performance bond to restore those buildings as well as complete other work highlighted in a 2019 development plan.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port board vote would let developer study Warm Mineral Springs
