More motel rooms could be on the way to Wildwood after two projects along U.S. 301 were recommended for approval Tuesday at a meeting of the city Planning and Zoning Board.
Special Magistrate Lindsay C.T. Holt recommended approval of site plans for Oxford Overnight near the intersection with County Road 462 East and for expansion of the Comfort Inn & Suites near the Florida Turnpike. The City Commission may consider both projects later this month.
The precise number of new motel rooms is not included in either plan.
Oxford Overnight would include four buildings of 5,501 square feet and one building of 6,197 square feet on 6.9 acres south of Darrell’s Diner. Renegade Properties #1 of Ocala owns the property and the applicant is Chap Dinkins of Dinkins Construction also of Ocala.
The cluster of buildings will be constructed around a parking area at the rear of the site. Three buildings each 200 feet long and more parking are planned closer to the highway in a future phase.
Dinkins Construction also is involved in a proposed 21,282-square-foot addition to the Comfort Inn & Suites, also located on the east side of U.S. 301 near the turnpike.
Besides building construction, the four-story expansion on 7.7 acres will require work on sewer and water lines, storm sewers and relocation of a fire hydrant, according to the site plan.
Comfort Inn & Suites is a national chain owned by Choice Hotels International of Rockville, Md., which also operates Clarion Hotels, Quality Inn, Econo Lodge and others.
Choice Hotels was founded in 1939 in Florida, when several motor court owners came together to form the nation’s first motel chain.