Jacksonville is gaining its second Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel.
The 176-room property is planned in Glen Kernan Park, the 50-acre mixed-use development at northwest Butler and Hodges boulevards near Mayo Clinic in Florida.
Southern Ventures Corp. President and CEO Lowell Larson announced Aug. 18 that the company closed on the land purchase and was awarded the franchise for the hotel chain.
“We’re looking forward to being a part of the bustling growth of Jacksonville,” he said in an email.
Fort Walton Beach-based Southern Ventures is developing Glen Kernan Park with Jacksonville-based RISE - A Real Estate Company.
The hotel will be owned by Southern Ventures Corp. affiliate St. Johns Hotel LLLP.
St. Johns Hotel LLLP acquired the hotel site July 15 for $4.31 million from Hodges Properties I LLC.
A development plan for Glen Kernan Park shows the hotel site at about 3.66 acres.
Hodges Properties I and RISE share an address in Valdosta, Georgia.
St. Johns Hotel LLLP then took out a $2.5 million mortgage on the property with ServisFirst Bank.
The hotel will feature guest suites with living, bedroom and workspace areas.
“A two-story glass encased Atrium greets guests with a monumental staircase flanked with a water-wall on one side and the Grand Lobby Bar on the opposing side,” the company said in a news release.
The hotel will have more than 8,000 square feet of banquet room space, breakout rooms, a pre-function area and a boardroom.
Amenities include a fitness center, swimming pool, laundry and quick mart. A terrace will overlook a lake and features twin fire pits and lighted fountains.
Brickstones restaurant will offer breakfast and dinner.
Southern Ventures said the hotel development team includes Base-4 Architects, Prosser engineering and ACC Interior Design.
The Embassy Suites will be managed by Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based Strand Hospitality.
Founded in 1976, Southern Ventures says it develops hospitality projects across the Southeast. Past projects include the Embassy Suites in Destin; the Hampton Inn & Suites in Navarre; the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Crestview; and Courtyard by Marriott in Pensacola West.
The company says it has multiple hotel projects under development, including a Fairfield by Marriott in Conway, South Carolina, and a SpringHill Suites by Marriott in West Melbourne.
The company also develops residential projects in Northwest Florida.
Glen Kernan Park also will feature housing development, all for 55+ residents. RISE said in 2021 it plans to complete the development by early 2024.
A Culver’s restaurant and a Gate gas station and convenience store is under development there, the Daily Record reported in March.
Jacksonville’s first Embassy Suites is in Baymeadows. That seven-story hotel was built in 1985 and a four-story addition was developed in 1998, property records show.
