The Miramar Resort, shuttered since the 2024 hurricanes battered St. Pete Beach, is racing toward a December reopening as a reimagined 50-room boutique hotel at 4200 Gulf Boulevard. Owner Kevin Bowden says the property is pursuing an old Florida boutique style, blending a new eight-story tower with the resort's original 1953 courtyard motel, and he's filed the paperwork to prove it's close.
Sign Permits Filed as Opening Target Looms
Four sign permit applications, including illuminated lettering and a monument sign, were filed with the city on September 22, according to St Pete Catalyst. Bowden told the outlet he expects the signs installed by December 1, though that depends on city approval, and he was careful to note the December opening date itself remains uncertain. The resort is nonetheless preparing to accept reservations through Hyatt for March and April, with earlier dates to be released once it receives its certificate of occupancy.
Bowden visits the construction site nearly every day, per the Catalyst's reporting, and said elevators are expected to be running in the coming weeks. The property is planned for reopening during the winter 2026-27 season, he said, as part of its new affiliation with the JdV by Hyatt collection, which brings Hyatt's reservation system and loyalty program to the property.
From Teardown Plan to Preservation
The path here wound through years of revisions. Bowden's investment group purchased the Miramar in 2017 and initially planned to demolish the resort entirely for a newer boutique hotel, and St. Pete Beach approved a 54-room replacement plan in 2021 that would have required tearing down the existing motel, according to the Catalyst. That full-demolition approach never broke ground.
A revised proposal surfaced in 2024 that instead retained 20 older rooms while replacing 10 rooms with a new tower, a shift St Pete Rising described as a scaled-back version of the original 54-room vision. The revised plan also called for demolishing the resort's two existing pools and building a new one. St. Pete Beach's city commission approved the revised development in January 2025 by a 3-2 vote, with commissioners raising concerns about retaining rooms in older, low-lying buildings below the required flood elevation, the Catalyst reported.
Conflicting Details on Height and Parking
Accounts of the project's final specs don't fully agree. St Pete Rising initially described the new building as a seven-story, 30-unit structure, while a later report from the same outlet, along with Bay News 9, described an eight-story tower with 30 rooms — matching the Catalyst's own description of a new eight-story hotel tower. Parking totals are similarly disputed: one St Pete Rising report put the finished count at 50 spaces, while another from the same outlet said renovations would more than double the 22 spaces currently on site to 48. Bowden has separately outlined plans for a nearby valet parking facility with controlled access to an off-site lot, per the Catalyst.
Whatever the final tally, the design intent is consistent across sources. The renovated original motel will keep 20 rooms in their courtyard layout, while the new tower's 30 rooms will include balconies overlooking the Gulf, with tower and courtyard accommodations priced differently depending on the building. Bay News 9 noted the tower will mark the first new hotel space on St. Pete Beach since Hotel Zamora opened in 2014.
Rooftop Dining and a New Pool
Atop the tower, an eighth-floor restaurant and bar called Solara will serve steak, seafood and upscale American fare, with outdoor seating overlooking the beach, according to the Catalyst. St Pete Rising has reported the rooftop restaurant and bar is planned for 90 seats, with 1,555 square feet of indoor space and a 500-square-foot outdoor balcony offering panoramic Gulf views. At ground level, the resort will add a new swimming pool and bar, replacing the two pools slated for demolition.
Bowden Hospitality has said its team worked carefully to preserve as much of the resort's original character as possible, and the Miramar's own construction leadership has said the project aims to preserve part of the original courtyard layout even as the tower rises around it. The resort sustained some flooding during the 2024 Gulf Coast hurricanes, which prompted its owners to close the property before beginning demolition and construction on the current plan.
Part of a Broader Beachfront Rebound
The Miramar's relaunch arrives amid a wider rebound along the Pinellas County coastline. Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused temporary closures, renovations and operational disruptions across beachfront communities in late 2024, according to HVS, but the firm now describes the Pinellas beachfront lodging market as showing resilience through renewed tourism demand, major resort reinvestment and a growing development pipeline. HVS points to the planned JW Marriott Saint Pete Beach, expected to comprise a ten-story tower with a luxury spa and other wellness amenities, as another sign of that momentum.
For now, the Miramar's timeline hinges on permits and construction milestones still in progress. If the sign approvals and elevator work proceed as Bowden described, the resort's first Hyatt-branded guests could be checking in for the 2026-27 winter season — a season Bowden himself has acknowledged could still shift.
