BostechComputers
07-20-2006, 03:50 AM
Starwood eyes First Coast
Sheraton hotel and Shula's 347 restaurant to open in Jacksonville in fall of 2007.
By ALISON TRINIDAD, The Times-Union
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. - one of the world's largest hotel and leisure companies - plans to open a full-service Sheraton hotel next year about five-minute's drive from the St. Johns Town Center.
The 159-room hotel is expected to open in the fall of 2007, along with a 140-seat Shula's 347 restaurant.
Starwood, a public company based in New York, operates high-end hotel brands like Sheraton, Le Meridien, St. Regis, W Hotels and Westin. The new hotel would be the only Starwood franchise in the area.
The hotel's developers say the location - southwest of the Butler Boulevard and Gate Parkway interchange and sandwiched between the town center and numerous office parks that are home to companies like TNT Logistics North America and Vistakon - is ideal for the project, which is targeting the high-end business traveler. The Sheraton will include about 1,800 square feet of meeting space upon opening, with plans to build about 4,000 square feet more in the future, according to the developer.
More Starwood Hotels & Resorts coverage
Current stock quote
Key SEC filings
Insider activity
Balance sheet
Charts
Headlines
History on Wall Street
Donald Harris, president of the Jacksonville Hotel and Motel Association, said construction of the hotel is a testament to the growth surrounding the town center.
"That area is just blowing up," Harris said. "It's growth, not in rooftops but in corporate business parks, all the way down that road. You have the entertainment and shopping there that allows the corporate businessperson something [else] to do."
Harris said the addition of a Starwood property to the region likely will attract more travelers, especially those who are loyal to Starwood's hotel brands or who are members of its rewards program.
Shula's 347 is the newest restaurant concept of father and son Don and Dave Shula, both former NFL coaches. The Jacksonville location would be the fourth to open; others are in Los Angeles; Norfolk, Va.; and Providence, R.I. Unlike the company's flagship Shula's Steak House, Shula's 347 is a tad less upper crust, with lunch tabs averaging $20 or less. The restaurant's atmosphere is similar to that of a Houston's or J. Alexander's, Dave Shula said.
Site clearing at the 3.7-acre site on Deerwood Park Boulevard began this month, nearly 10 years after initial plans for the project were submitted to the city.
Developer Jeffrey Long, president of Long and Cox Properties in Atlanta, said issues with financing and finding partners delayed the project, which was first proposed in 1997 as a 184-room Four Points by Sheraton, according to Times-Union archives. Four Points is a smaller, cheaper version of a Sheraton. Long has since recruited Driftwood Hospitality Management LLC to manage the hotel. Jupiter-based Driftwood owns and operates a range of hotel brands (including Radisson, Wyndham, Crowne Plaza and Sheraton) across the country, although they don't manage any in the Jacksonville area.
Deerfield Hospitality Properties LLC, the name under which the partners are operating, secured a $15 million loan in May, with the possibility of borrowing up to $10 million more for the project, according to real estate records. Deerfield bought the property in July 2004 for $1.2 million, according to the property appraiser's office.
alison.trinidad@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4268
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072006/bus_3939320.shtml
Sheraton hotel and Shula's 347 restaurant to open in Jacksonville in fall of 2007.
By ALISON TRINIDAD, The Times-Union
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. - one of the world's largest hotel and leisure companies - plans to open a full-service Sheraton hotel next year about five-minute's drive from the St. Johns Town Center.
The 159-room hotel is expected to open in the fall of 2007, along with a 140-seat Shula's 347 restaurant.
Starwood, a public company based in New York, operates high-end hotel brands like Sheraton, Le Meridien, St. Regis, W Hotels and Westin. The new hotel would be the only Starwood franchise in the area.
The hotel's developers say the location - southwest of the Butler Boulevard and Gate Parkway interchange and sandwiched between the town center and numerous office parks that are home to companies like TNT Logistics North America and Vistakon - is ideal for the project, which is targeting the high-end business traveler. The Sheraton will include about 1,800 square feet of meeting space upon opening, with plans to build about 4,000 square feet more in the future, according to the developer.
More Starwood Hotels & Resorts coverage
Current stock quote
Key SEC filings
Insider activity
Balance sheet
Charts
Headlines
History on Wall Street
Donald Harris, president of the Jacksonville Hotel and Motel Association, said construction of the hotel is a testament to the growth surrounding the town center.
"That area is just blowing up," Harris said. "It's growth, not in rooftops but in corporate business parks, all the way down that road. You have the entertainment and shopping there that allows the corporate businessperson something [else] to do."
Harris said the addition of a Starwood property to the region likely will attract more travelers, especially those who are loyal to Starwood's hotel brands or who are members of its rewards program.
Shula's 347 is the newest restaurant concept of father and son Don and Dave Shula, both former NFL coaches. The Jacksonville location would be the fourth to open; others are in Los Angeles; Norfolk, Va.; and Providence, R.I. Unlike the company's flagship Shula's Steak House, Shula's 347 is a tad less upper crust, with lunch tabs averaging $20 or less. The restaurant's atmosphere is similar to that of a Houston's or J. Alexander's, Dave Shula said.
Site clearing at the 3.7-acre site on Deerwood Park Boulevard began this month, nearly 10 years after initial plans for the project were submitted to the city.
Developer Jeffrey Long, president of Long and Cox Properties in Atlanta, said issues with financing and finding partners delayed the project, which was first proposed in 1997 as a 184-room Four Points by Sheraton, according to Times-Union archives. Four Points is a smaller, cheaper version of a Sheraton. Long has since recruited Driftwood Hospitality Management LLC to manage the hotel. Jupiter-based Driftwood owns and operates a range of hotel brands (including Radisson, Wyndham, Crowne Plaza and Sheraton) across the country, although they don't manage any in the Jacksonville area.
Deerfield Hospitality Properties LLC, the name under which the partners are operating, secured a $15 million loan in May, with the possibility of borrowing up to $10 million more for the project, according to real estate records. Deerfield bought the property in July 2004 for $1.2 million, according to the property appraiser's office.
alison.trinidad@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4268
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072006/bus_3939320.shtml