What will the Clearwater Beach of the future look like?
Sand Key is built out with high-rise condos. The handwriting is on the wall. They are moving north through Clearwater Beach. I don’t think you’ll ever see another big hotel or any more retail built north of the roundabout. Everything is going condo. The retail we do have has had a rough time. Nobody is trying to increase the traffic capacity of the roads here. Mandalay Avenue remains a two-lane street because they cannot afford to widen it. Meanwhile new condo construction will close one of the two other north-south streets on this end of Clearwater Beach. I know of 10 to 12 condo projects on the drawing boards just within a couple of blocks of us. I think a smart hotelier would add dining options. Maybe a lot these expensive condos will end in rental pools for vacationers. But all these new condo residents will want to eat somewhere within walking distance. – Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or 727 893-8252. Wallace Lee Youth: Grew up on a small farm in Ralph, Ala.
