ESA plans latest Florida project

US: Extended Stay America (ESA) is planning to open a 124-key property on Interchange Boulevard in Ormond Beach, Florida.

ESA says the property 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 neighbourhood meeting to get feedback from nearby residents on the project was held last week.

The site is owned by Charles Wayne Properties and a local investment group. ESA has a contract to buy the land if all permitting is received.

The Planning Board will consider the hotel development on January 10 and then it will appear before the City Commission in two readings.

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.

The average stay in the new property is expected to be will be 21 to 24 nights but one-night stays will be accepted.

Charles Lichtigman, of Charles Wayne Properties, said long-term stays are needed in the area. "It's an amenity for the community," he said.