First hotel on beachside in three decades seen as economic engine

NSBNews.net video by Sera Frederick and photos by Henry Frederick / Heavy equipment operators excavate the site on western end of Flagler Avenue where the long-anticipated $16 million Hampton Inn and Suites, drawing the attention of a baby in her stroller while a couple hundred people listen to speeches from dignitaries with ceremonial golden shovels for the groundbreaking Monday.

Editor's Note: First in a series 

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- While officials gave speeches and community leaders posed with golden shovels this afternoon on Flagler Avenue, 1-year-old Bailie Keaton ignored the talk and turned her head in favor of the sound coming from bulldozers and other heavy equipment well into the groundbreaking for the Hampton Inn and Suites, the first major hotel to be constructed on the beachside in three decades for a seaside community that relies on tourism as its lifeline.

NSBNews.net video by Henry Frederick / Jim Kosmas, chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency of New Smyrna Beach, speaks favorably of the Hampton Inn (as it will look in the architect rendering) and the grassroots efforts to make it a reality. The CRA contributed $1 million in incentives for the hotel.

The hotel is expected to be completed within 11 months, said David Swentor, the chief developer of the $16 million project. More than 200 people showed up for the 4 p.m. groundbreaking ceremony led by Mayor Adam Barringer.

NSBNews.net photo by Sera Frederick / All was golden at Monday's groundbreaking for the Hampton Inn. Among the dignitaries in this photo were (from left to right) Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority Director Nicole Carni, developer David Swentor, Mayor Adam Barringer, City Commissioners Judy Reiker, Jim Hathaway and Jack Grasty, and CRA Chairman Jim Kosmas.

Many of the city's most prominent municipal government, business and civic leaders were on hand to greet Swentor and thank him personally for persevering after a nightmare of bureaucratic snafus in the city's planning department and heated opposition from nearly a dozen neighbors on Florida Avenue, whose homes are on the rear side of the project.

The mayor reminded every one of the long and arduous process of getting approvals for the site, adding much credit goes to Swentor for his "perseverance in sticking with it." South Carolina-based Swentor, who grew up in New Smyrna Beach, told the enthusiastic crowd: "You're going to have a beautiful hotel here in New Smyrna Beach."

Swentor credited the Community Redevelopment Agency of New Smyrna Beach with "polishing the corners" with financial incentives.

FAST FACTS 

The Hampton Inn, part of the Hilton family of hotels, will be constructed in the 200 block of Historic Flagler Avenue. The 112-room, three-story inn will lie between Flagler and Florida avenues on more than 2 acres and will employ an architectural design in keeping with its location in the Coronado National Register Historic District. The project is expected to be completed in a single phase before the end of next year, according to the master development agreement.

FUN FACTS

Bailie Keaton, the 1 year-old baby in the stroller, is the daughter of Sean Keaton and Megan McClanahan, shown here with her during the Hampton Inn groundbreaking. The parents are planning to wed Oct. 22. Sean Keaton is an executive with Regions Bank in New Smyrna Beach and vice president of the Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce. McClanahan is full-time mom and homemaker for Bailee.

 

NSBNews.net has extensive coverage of the Hampton Inn project planned through the week with a timeline that includes three dozen videos, plus:

• On-site interview with David Swentor

Interview with the lone commissioner opposed to the project

SE Volusia Chamber of Commerce reaction

A look back at the NSB planning planning fiasco and its impact on this project and others

A look at the economic impact of the hotel

A description of the CRA incentives

The sentiment of neighbors opposed to the hotel

NSBNews.net, also known as VolusiaNews.net, provides Volusia County 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage, 100% free with breaking news, news of record and investigative reports from New Smyrna Beach, FL, for a 21st-century digital world.