Interior demolition can begin at the historic Ambassador Hotel Downtown at 420 N. Julia St.
The city issued a permit Thursday for SMC Construction Southeast LLC of Orlando for interior nonstructural demolition at a cost of $300,000.
Legislation will be introduced Tuesday to City Council for development incentives.
The property is owned by Axis Hotels LLC.
Augustine Development partners Bryan Greiner and George Bochis outlined their plans in July to renovate the Ambassador, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
An unsigned redevelopment agreement between the city, developer and the Downtown Investment Authority says that the historic building will house "what is expected to be a La Quinta brand hotel." The developers previous said they were in talks with several hotel chains, including La Quinta and Cambria.
They plan to renovate the Ambassador Hotel and add an apartment building called The Annex and retail space.
The partners purchased five lots totaling 1.5 acres for $5.4 million. The parcels make up the city block bordered by Duval, Julia, Church and Pearl streets north of the State Attorney’s Office.
They said The Annex would comprise 200 luxury one- and two-bedroom units and 15,000 square feet of retail space. They plan to demolish the former bank building at 404 N. Julia St., which they said doesn’t have historical significance. It was built in 1926.
Ordinance 2018-872 will be introduced Tuesday to council. The Mayor’s Budget Review Committee previously recommended approval of a $1.5 million Downtown Historic Preservation and Revitalization Trust Fund grant and a $4.9 million multifamily Recapture Enhanced Value grant for Augustine Development Group.
The historic preservation grant would not be issued until a certificate of occupancy is issued for the 127-room hotel, with an estimated construction cost of $15 million.
The REV grant would be applied toward The Annex, an estimated $38.1 million apartment building.
Bochis will be the CEO of the project, called Axis Hotels, but management of the facilities will fall to Integrity Hospitality Management, with whom the developers have an existing relationship.
On Sept. 19, the Downtown Investment Authority approved an incentives package for Axis Hotels LLC to redevelop the historic Ambassador Hotel as a 127-room hotel and create 200 units of multifamily residential on the vacant adjacent lot.