US: The construction of Home2 Suites by Hilton in Gulf Breeze, Florida, has cleared the first of the city’s three-step planning process.
The four-storey, 109-room extended-stay hotel is planned for a site next to U.S. 98. Gulf Breeze community services director Shane Carmichael said the hotel was approved by the city’s Architectural Review Board in late August and now has two more phases to pass before construction can get underway on 2.07 acres at the east end of the Publix complex and just to the west of McClure Drive right on U.S. 98.
The parcels are currently vacant and are owned by GB Hotel III LLC. Plans for the 64,000-square-foot hotel include a pool and fitness centre, but there is no estimate on when construction might begin, Carmichael said. “It’s too early for me to even guess,” he said.
Following evaluation by the city’s development review board and the City Council, both scheduled in October, the project from Banyan Investment Group will then go to Santa Rosa County.
The only other Home2 Suites by Hilton in the area is located at 7753 N. Davis Highway in Pensacola. Carmichael said the design of the Gulf Breeze hotel will be distinct. “I can tell you, if you go out and look at other Home2 Suites and the architectural style, it’s going to look a lot different and not fit into the corporate mode,” he said. “That’s why we have architectural standards.”
