Jax Pier Lodging LLLP plans a 136-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel and commercial space at the Jacksonville Beach oceanfront.
The five-story, 138,564-square-foot hotel with up to 2,000 square feet of commercial space is planned on 0.99 acres at 412 and 422 N. First St., next to the Jacksonville Beach Pier.
Plans show the ground floor will comprise retail space, hotel access and valet parking, with four stories of hotel rooms above it. The hotel lobby will be on the second floor.
Jax Pier Lodging is led by Chattanooga, Tennessee-based hotel developer Hiren Desai, CEO of 3H Group Inc. The group developed and sold the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 561 Chaffee Point Blvd. and is developing the Homewood Suites in St. Augustine.
The Jacksonville Beach property, south of the pier, now is used by The Pier Cantina & Sandbar restaurant and surface parking.
The landowners and applicants 412 Boardwalk Inc. and 422 Boardwalk Inc. submitted an application to the Jacksonville Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to rezone the property from a central business district to a redevelopment district.
The application, PC 10-19, is scheduled to be heard at a special meeting at 5 p.m. May 28 by the Jacksonville Beach CRA and at 7 p.m. by the Planning Commission.
The plan proposes a full-time valet service for 123 parking spaces of the 136 spaces required. The 13-space deficit will be offset by the “payment in lieu of” program for businesses in the central business district.
The proposal includes outdoor amenities east of the building within the required 35-foot setback.
The application is represented by Jacksonville-based attorney Steve Diebenow of Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow PLLC and Jacksonville-based civil engineer Connelly & Wicker Inc.
Planning department staff states the application is consistent with the Downtown Community Redevelopment Plan and recommends approval by the City Council.
The 3H Group Inc. was formed in 2000 and partners with brands like Marriott, Hilton, IHG and Choice. In Florida, it has developed and sold four hotels, is operating three and developing another three hotels.
Additionally, the 3H Group develops co-working, retail and residential space.
