Investors told opening of $618 million Port Charlotte resort will be delayed

The opening of the $618 million Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor could be pushed back by at least six months as the company deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Allegiant Travel Co., which is building the Port Charlotte resort, announced the decision to investors in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday morning — Oct. 7. The filing was meant to update investors on the state of the resort and construction plans after Hurricane Ian.

In the filing, the company, which has been taking reservations for a May 2023 opening, says that it has pushed back “the selling date” until September 2023.

It did not say what happens to bookings already made for the months in between.

Allegiant did leave itself some wiggle room writing that “as the extent of the damage is not yet known nor can the company predict how quickly resources will be available to complete the construction, it is too early to tell whether the delays will be longer or shorter.”

Allegiant announced last week that the hurricane knocked down a massive crane on the property and that it would begin inspecting for damage as soon as it was possible.

In Friday’s filing, the company says access to the resort has been limited but “it appears that the resort was protected to a significant degree by the construction design to have structures built 16 feet above the mean high tide line and by the company’s decision to install a seawall along the length of the resort’s boundary with Charlotte Harbor.”

For now, Allegiant says it is working with structural engineers and other specialists to evaluate the damage and to see how it will proceed.

In an effort to reassure investors, the company says in the filing says that it “maintains robust insurance coverage against damage from hurricanes and will be pursuing claims to recover losses.”

“The company intends to update investors from time to time as it gains more information about the damage incurred and the time needed to complete the resort.”

Construction of the resort was previously delayed when work stopped March 2020 because of COVID-19. That closure lasted 17 months.

When it is complete, Sunseeker is expected to have 785 rooms, two pools, a spa and salon, a 117,000-square-foot “ground level experience,” an adults-only rooftop retreat, 60,000 square feet of meeting space, a harbor walk and an 18-hole golf course.

Included in the room mix will be 189 luxury one- to three-bedroom suites that will range in size from 875 square feet to 1,700 square feet and come with chef-level kitchens, private balconies and separate check-in, services and private lounges. The company calls this hotel-within-a-hotel concept Sunsuites.