Las Vegas-based budget carrier Allegiant Air announced it will build the 0 million Sunseeker Resort in Port Charlotte, Florida, located on Charlotte Harbor near the Gulf of Mexico. The 22-acre waterfront resort will feature a 75-100-room hotel, nine condominium towers with 1,100 units, a marina and a 1,000 foot-long pool, said to be Florida’s largest. Construction will begin in mid-2018 and be completed by early 2020, creating 500 jobs.
Guiding the project is Allegiant Air President John Redmond, previously chief executive officer at MGM Grand Resorts; he also served on served on the board of the Tropicana Las Vegas and held senior executive positions at Caesars World Inc. “This is an amazing opportunity for us because our airline caters to nothing but leisure customers. You can’t take a Vegas-style hotel and stick it in another location like Florida. We’re selling a lifestyle.”
Preliminary prices range from $650,000 for a 880 square foot, 1-bedroom to $1.1 million for a 3-bedroom, 1,520 square foot unit. Redmond said, “We sent an email under the Sunseeker name to our database of people who visit Florida, and we got about 4,500 people who expressed interest. About 550 of those people said they’d be willing to spend $750,000 for a unit.”
The complex site is located less than six miles from Punta Gorda Airport. The sole carrier there, Allegiant is projected to serve about 1 million passengers this year. More than half of Allegiant’s planes and passengers fly to Florida as a destination. “These aren’t people who are going to stay at the Ritz Carlton. They want a resort that’s comfortable and isn’t overly intimidating.”
Redmond was named Allegiant’s president last September. He said he found the waterfront property adjacent to U.S. Highway 41, which connects Miami and Tampa. He negotiated with the 15 owners of the 20 parcels at the site, including a gas station, boating businesses and a motel.
Redmond said he has no plans to open a Sunseeker Resort in Las Vegas, but the Port Charlotte development succeeds he may consider additional locations in Florida. “There’s no room for us on the Strip. We want to go into areas where we can compete,” Redmond said.
