By Tim Pallesen
The downtown’s third new hotel is described by its developer as a “funky-looking establishment that fits funky Delray.”
Plans to build the 120-room hotel on southbound Federal Highway two blocks south of Atlantic Avenue will be submitted to city officials this month.
The new hotel will join the recently added Seagate Hotel on East Atlantic and Hyatt Place in Pineapple Grove to the city’s vibrant entertainment district.
The first two hotels were constructed during a recession when $429 million was invested downtown by developers.
Delray Beach currently has 10 hotels with 954 rooms, according to the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
A new Fairfield Inn on West Atlantic Avenue is expected to open in December with 95 rooms.
“Clearly we’re blasting out of the recession now,” said city planning and zoning director Dana Little, who cited six downtown projects under construction. “There’s a lot of interest downtown.”
Samar Hospitality, a family-owned hotel chain on Long Island, N.Y., paid $2.5 million for the hotel site that sold for only $950,000 two years before.
Jim Knight, the commercial real estate broker, continues as Samar’s development adviser.
Samar president Alan Mindel had been searching for a hotel site in Fort Lauderdale when his brother suggested he look at downtown Delray Beach. “I spent one night on Atlantic Avenue and fell in love with the place,” Mindel said.
The as-yet unnamed hotel will be managed by a rapidly growing chain of select-service hotels similar to Hyatt Place, Mindel said. “It’s a very post-modern feel where people will hang out for the social environment,” he said.
The “funky” hotel will cater to tourists who might have gone to South Beach or Fort Lauderdale before they heard about Delray’s beach and downtown, he said.
The mixed-use project also includes 35 condos and 6,800 square feet of retail space.
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