A new AC Hotel appears close to approval along Fort Lauderdale beach.
“It’s very much passed all of its hurdles and just needs final city commission approval,” said Dan Teixeira, vice president of business development at Douglas Elliman Florida, who brokered the land deal for the hotel. “I feel very good about how this project is going.”
City commissioners will consider the proposal Nov. 3. The developer, OTO Development of Spartanburg, S.C., declined to comment during the approval process, but Teixeira said: “We successfully got the neighborhood approval and just passed planning and zoning. We’ve been moving in a very positive direction.”
Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2016, with a targeted opening in the fourth quarter of 2018, Teixeira said.
The hotel will be built on a nearly 1 acre stretching from 3017 to 3029 Alhambra Street, behind the Casablanca Café.
The lot at 3029 Alhambra St. was previously targeted for a 13-story, 61-room boutique Hotel Vintro project. The city commission rejected the plan in 2013 because neighbors were concerned about traffic and the height of the building.
Teixeira, who lives in the Central Beach area where the AC Hotel is planned, said he worked with the developer to secure the adjacent properties at 3017 and 3021 Alhambra St. in order to lower the height of the new hotel and allow for the creation of green space around it.
OTO Development already has five South Florida hotels, including Hyatt House and Hyatt Place properties in Fort Lauderdale and a Homewood Suites in West Palm Beach, according to its website.
The company was co-founded by South Florida entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga in 2004.
The Marriott-branded AC Hotel hotel is considered a “lifestyle” property, part of a chain but with features of smaller boutique hotels. Each AC Hotel is customized to its geographic location and highlights local artists and culture.
The AC Hotel will have an exterior design reflecting the Mid-Century Modern architecture of the Central Beach and North Beach Village areas, Teixeira said.
The hotel will include a tapas-style restaurant and elevated pool and deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, he said.
The architect for the Fort Lauderdale is Jorge Garcia of Garcia Stromberg of West Palm Beach, which also designed the luxury 12-room Royal Blues hotel in Deerfield Beach, which opened in October 2014.
AC Hotels by Marriott was launched as a joint venture between Marriott International and AC Hotels of Spain in 2011. The brand is aiming to attract millennials including younger business travelers and trend-setters in search of design-led hotels.
The AC Hotel Fort Lauderdale will join four other Marriott-branded hotels along Fort Lauderdale beach including The Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale, Residence Inn Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal/Il Lugano, Courtyard by Marriott and Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa.