A major hotel development is planned for a site on the edge of downtown Fort Myers, the second major lodging initiative to be launched within two years, the News-Press reports.
In December, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank sold three parcels totaling close to 90,000 sq. ft. at Cleveland Avenue and McGregor Boulevard to a subsidiary of HOS Management, a Georgia company that develops and operates hotels.
Another HOS subsidiary purchased the Hotel Indigo, the only operating hotel in downtown Fort Myers, for $9.3 million in June.
“Fort Myers is growing in downtown,” Kris Patel, HOS Management’s chief financial officer, was quoted as saying. “They have done a very good job redeveloping so we felt it was an opportunity for us to put a hotel on that site.”
HOS expects to break ground for the new four-story hotel in the first half of the year. The new hotel will operate under the Hampton Inn brand of the Hilton Resorts and Hotels chain.
Meanwhile, Tampa-based Mainsail Development and Lodging has recently stepped up work on construction of the Luminary Hotel near the Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers.
The Luminary Hotel construction started last March, as part of a project including a renovated event center and a downtown amphitheater.
“If you look at other cities’ downtown markets, these primary markets typically have more hotel rooms and that’s not the case here,” Patel said. “We feel there is a demand for it, we think downtown Fort Myers will be a really good destination for people to look at.”
Some issues remain to be resolved before work can begin on the hotel, but Patel said the process of securing city approval has moved smoothly and he expects some minor zoning variations may be needed to finalize the site, the News-Press has reported.
