- November 22, 2024
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A new hotel is likely coming to Interchange Boulevard, just west of Interstate 95, that will offer a new option for travelers. Extended Stay America hopes to build a hotel that will focus on long-term stays for those visiting local colleges, hospitals or relatives.
Each suite in the four-star hotel will have a kitchen, and rates will be about $100 per night.
It would be located at 175 Interchange Blvd., south of the present Baymont Inn, where a neighborhood meeting to get feedback from nearby residents on the project was held Dec. 6. Only a couple of residents showed up and there were no objections. The small conference room was filled with representatives of the hotel operator and land owners, including Paul Holub who is part of the investment group that owns the land along with Charles Wayne Properties. Also attending was Bryan Shaffer, son of Holub.
“It’s an amenity for the community,”
CHARLES LICHTIGMAN, of Charles Wayne Properties
“I’m here to support for the project,” Shaffer said.
Residents within 600 feet of the project were notified about the meeting by the city.
The Planning Board will consider the hotel development on Jan. 10 and then it will appear before the City Commission in two readings. Jim Alderman, chief development officer for the hotel chain, said that number of meetings was typical for Florida but higher than other parts of the country.
The only concern from a resident was about traffic, and Alderman said a traffic study had been done and no changes, such as a traffic light, were planned at the intersection Granada Boulevard and Interchange Boulevard.
The hotel is a permitted usage for the now-wooded area. The only reason city approval is necessary is that the developer requested a Planned Business Development so that fewer parking spaces can be provided than required in the city code. The parking spaces will be reduced from 186 to 137.
Alderman said the parking space requirement in the city is higher than their other hotel locations and more than they need. The company will be able to save trees by not building unnecessary parking, he said. They also plan to save some large trees in the parking lot area with permeable paving around them so they get water.
The hotel company has a contract to buy the land if all permitting is received.
The hotel will be located where an affordable housing development was proposed but fell through when the project failed to get tax credits.
The average stay in the four-story, 124-room hotel will be 21 to 24 nights but one-night stays will be accepted.
Extended Stay America has 627 hotels in the U.S. with an older one in Daytona Beach near the Speedway. Alderman said 20 more are planned for Florida.
Charles Lichtigman, of Charles Wayne Properties, said long-term stays are needed in the area.
“It’s an amenity for the community,” he said.
AVID Group, civil engineers, presented the plans for the hotel at the meeting.
