MILTON — Navarre Beach has been without a hotel since Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Holiday Inn in September 2004.
Although nothing solid has been announced, there are signs that a new hotel could be on the way.
Santa Rosa County commissioners hosted a public hearing Thursday to discuss rezoning the former Holiday Inn property to make it consistent with the county’s latest Land Development Code and correct a past oversight.
However, much of the talk focused on renewed plans to build a hotel on the parcel.
Commissioner Jim Melvin has been in contact with Marilyn Hess, who owns the lease for the property, and said plans are in the works to bring a new hotel to Navarre Beach.
“We are on the cusp of getting the hotel back on Navarre Beach,” Melvin said. “It was the heart of Navarre Beach. It’s what built the entire community and it’s sorely needed.
“I’m not at liberty to disclose what the owner intends to do, but I can tell you they plan to build a first-class hotel with some other related amenities just like you see in other high-end (hotels) you see up and down the state,” Melvin added. “It’s going to be a tremendous asset for this community.”
Beckie Faulkenberry, the county’s planning director, said under the existing Land Development Code, the new hotel could be 16 stories and have one more story for parking.
Melvin said the project could end up being several buildings — a large hotel surrounded by several smaller buildings that could house restaurants, clothing stores and other retailers.
Several residents at Thursday’s meeting spoke in favor of a new hotel on Navarre Beach.
“We truly look forward to a hotel,” said Caroline Mays, vice president of the board of directors at Navarre Towers. “I’ve probably spent more money over at the Holiday Inn at that little gift shop than my husband will probably ever forgive me for. And I look forward to doing that again.”
Commissioners voted in March 2012 for their staff to develop an incentive package to help persuade a developer to build a new hotel on Navarre Beach.
No time frame has been announced on when plans for a new hotel will come to the County Commission for approval, let alone when something will be shown to the public or when construction could start.
“It’s important to keep in mind that we have a property owner who is very, very interested in investing $18 to $20 million in Santa Rosa County on the beach to give us back what we all agree was the greatest thing that ever happened on Navarre Beach,” Melvin said.
“Mrs. Hess is intending to rebuild,” he added. “She has made no commitment to the brand name. It probably will be a Holiday Inn and it will have some out buildings on the back side that would provide restaurant, lounge, shopping, outdoor seating… All of the ordinary things you find up and down Florida in a nice hotel.”
Contact Daily News Business Editor Dusty Ricketts at 850-315-4448 or dricketts@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @DustyRnwfdn.