Colony coup with St. Regis

If a deal to include a St. Regis Hotel within a revamped Colony Beach & Tennis Resort on Longboat Key comes to fruition, it would be a true coup for the 19-acre property.

That's because St. Regis, the luxury brand under the Starwood umbrella — now a part of the world's largest hotel company, Marriott International Inc. — is fairly discriminating when it comes to new properties.

The brand is only attached to 16 hotels in North America, for instance, and just 60 worldwide.

There is just a single St. Regis in Florida at present, the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, north of Miami Beach.

Moreover, there don't appear to be any other new St. Regis hotels planned for the U.S. in the foreseeable future. Only three new such hotels are in development in North America, according to the company's website, in Bermuda and a pair in Mexico.

St. Regis and developer Unicorp National Developments Inc., which is moving ahead with plans to re-open the resort closed since 2010, are working to formulate a term sheet for the deal now, says Unicorp President Chuck Whittall.

Last year, Unicorp unveiled plans for a redevelopment that included a 180-unit luxury hotel and 180 upscale condos on the property.