Daytona Beach Shores gets a plan for a replacement hotel
- By Diane M. Carey dcarey@hometownnewsmediagroup.com
A hotel operator has submitted a plan to the City of Daytona Beach Shores for a new hotel to replace an existing one.
Daytona Ocean Investment Corp. & Hotel Motel Inc., led by Jai Motwani, wants to use four properties at 2601 to 2613 S. Atlantic Ave. to build a 101-unit, eight-story Cambria Hotel. The hotel will have a minimum of 75 parking spaces.
The 54-year-old Sea Scape Inn at 2601 S. Atlantic Ave. would be torn down.
Cambrias are upscale properties in the Choice Hotels chain and usually feature a curated selection of local craft beers, signature cocktails and Cambria Estate Wines, restaurant menus that capture the local flavor, stylish meeting and event rooms, spa-inspired bathrooms with Bluetooth mirrors and state-of-the-art fitness centers.
The hotel will be built on the Sea Scape property and two southerly nonconforming vacant lots between the Sea Scape and the Emerald Shores Hotel. The norther property line of the Emerald Shores Hotel would be shifted 11.7 feet south to accommodate the new development. There will no changes to the Emerald Shores property, which also is owned by Mr. Motwani.
A development agreement will address the site concept, entitlements and four Land Development Code deviations. The applicant is not seeking any economic development incentives.
The city’s Planning & Zoning Board May 13 recommended approval of the agreement, according to Stewart Cruz, community services director.
There will be public hearings for the agreement at City Commission meetings at 6 p.m. May 28 and June 11.
“If the agreement is approved by the City Commission, the applicant will subsequently submit detailed site development plans to the city for review,” Mr. Cruz said. “The site development plans will require public hearings for a recommendation and approval by the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Commission, respectively.”
The agreement states, “Numerous public benefits derive from the terms and conditions of this development agreement . . . additional hotel and commercial opportunities within Daytona Beach Shores that will result in greater tax revenue to the city, job production and revitalization and redevelopment of this portion of the city.”
Hotel guests are expected to also support businesses on the west side of State Road A1A and encourage additional businesses. The project will develop underused property and will create a modern destination center for visitors with more rooms and activities. The Cambria Hotel investment is expected to be worth 10 times the value of the antiquated motel on the site.
Attorney Glenn Storch, representing the owner, said the project is a great one for the city.
“The plans I have seen are top notch. The engineer is well into the site plan. I think we are about there. The Sea Scape is antiquated and is not doing anything for the economy of Daytona Beach Shores. It is not attracting the tourists that would be visiting Daytona Beach Shores and spending their money in the restaurants and the shops and everything else that we are trying to put on the west side of A1A. New hotels revitalize the market. It is a massive investment.”
The Emerald Shores Hotel was built in the 1990s while the Sea Scape Inn was built in the 1970s.
If everything goes smoothly, the Cambria Hotel could be built and open in 18 months.