- April 26, 2024
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After being shown a virtual presentation using renderings of what the proposed beachside hotel development will look like, the City Commissioners praised the project, leading to the unanimous approval of four items related to the development on first reading at their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
When the time to speak came for attorney Rob Merrell, of Cobb Cole, who represents the developer, he didn’t have much to add.
“This is a home run, if not a grand slam,” Merell said.
Commissioners agreed.
“Compliments to the architecture,” City Commissioner Lori Tolland said. “I mean, you really captured Ormond Beach. When I saw that rendering, I thought of The Casements, and I think that’s very attractive.”
The hotel development at 264 S. Atlantic Ave. is planned to be a 137-room, five-story building spanning 95,700 square feet. It will be a Residence Inn by Marriott, and will have 108 parking spaces on 2.19 acres of currently vacant oceanfront land. The building will also occupy now vacant land, as it will be built in the former site of the Surfside Hotel, which was demolished in 2019 after being heavily impacted by the 2004 hurricanes.
Across the street, the project will also include some of the former hospital land for 62 more parking spaces; the land was made vacant after the Florida Hospital Oceanside was demolished in 2019.
In addition, the developer seeks to construct a 15-home subdivision, to be known as “Tide’s Edge at Ormond Beach” on the remaining former hospital parcel along Valencia Drive.
At its meeting, the City Commission approved a comprehensive land use amendment; a rezoning from B-6 Oceanfont Tourist Commercial and B-1 Professional Office/Hospital to Planned Business Development; a development order; and a second rezoning for the residential portion of the project from B-1 Professional Office/Hospital to R-3 Single-Family Medium Density.
A preliminary plat request for Tide’s Edge will be reviewed by the commission at its meeting on Jan. 24.
The development will be an improvement to the A1A corridor, Commissioner Harold Briley said.
“As far as the residential on the west side of the road, I think we would rather see single-family homes — 15 single-family homes — than a T-shirt shop,” Briley said.
Tolland added that the public access pedestrian ramp the developer will add to the Seminole Beach approach, as well as the new crosswalk across A1A, are welcome improvements. She also agreed with Briley at the residential development on the west side of A1A makes sense and is contiguous with the existing neighborhood.
Only one resident spoke at the commission meeting, citing concerns with the city’s public hearing notices, and not the project itself. The resident felt the city should consider expanding the mailed notices to residents past the current 300 feet limit from proposed developments.
Though commissioners felt that the city’s neon yellow signs were hard to miss, commissioners agreed to discuss the matter in the near future.
The Florida Department of Transportation will hold two community listening sessions next week on potential options to repair and strengthen a 13-mile stretch of A1A in Flagler and Volusia counties after the recent hurricanes.
The first community listening session will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens, located at 78 E. Granada Blvd. The second session will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Parish Hall at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church, located at 915 N. Central Ave. in Flagler Beach.
A press release by FDOT states the government agency and its partners — city of Flagler Beach, Flagler County and Volusia County — formed the SR A1A Resiliency Strike Team after hurricanes Ian and Nicole. The 13-mile stretch the strike team is focusing on begins at Roberta Road in Volusia County and runs north to Osprey Drive in Flagler County.
The goal is to make the road, beaches and dunes “serviceable, functional and resilient,” according to FDOT.
The city is aiming to reopen sections of Andy Romano Beachfront Park “as soon as possible” to allow residents and visitors to utilize the parking lot and access the beach, City Manager Joyce Shanahan said at the Jan. 10 City Commission meeting.
The park, which sustained significant damage during Hurricane Nicole, has remained closed due to extensive seawall damage, and lack of stairs to access the beach. Shanahan estimated repairs will be “upwards of $3 million to $5 million.”
The city is working with a contractor to fence off areas that shouldn’t be accessed by the public. Residents will need to use the ramps beside the park to go down to the beach. The playground and splash pad will be closed, once the park reopens.
