Tru by Hilton is targeting a site at San Jose Boulevard and Interstate 295 for its Mandarin hotel, one of five that the brand intends to open in the area.
Tru by Hilton says it was developed using consumer and owner feedback and focuses on a cross-generational appeal focusing on a “new, affordable hotel experience.”
JEA issued a letter of utility service availability to the project agent, Matthews Design Group of St. Augustine.
The Tru Hotel Mandarin site is identified as 2960 and 2970 Hartley Road, property owned by affiliates of Stellar, a Jacksonville-based global design, engineering, construction and mechanical services company.
The JEA letter says two buildings will be removed for construction of a 100-room Tru by Hilton hotel.
Property records show the two two-story buildings to be removed are a 5,405-square-foot office building developed in 1985 and a 9,248-square-foot structure built in 1987. The project site is 2.16 acres.
Property records show that Stellar is headquartered nearby in more than 80,000 square feet of office space on about 4 acres at 2900 Hartley Road.
A Stellar representative was not immediately available Tuesday.
A Tru by Hilton representative said in January that the brand opened its first area hotel in Town Center Promenade; will start development on one at Merrill Road and Southside Connector; plans hotels in Mandarin and near Jacksonville International Airport; and wants to open in St. Augustine.
The 98-room, four-story Tru by Hilton Jacksonville St. Johns Town Center at 4640 Tropea Way in Town Center Promenade has opened. It is owned and managed by Kana Hotel Group. Its general manager is April Erstad.
An 82-room hotel along Merrill Road near I-295 is anticipated to open in 2021. That four-story Tru by Hilton is planned at 2700 Jane St., east of I-295 in the Arlington area.
A 105-room, five-story Tru by Hilton hotel is planned at northeast Ranch and Airport roads, according to site plans in city review and a JEA service availability letter.
The Tru by Hilton representative did not have details about the St. Augustine location.
The Tru by Hilton brand says it’s “vibrant, affordable and young-at-heart.” It offers free breakfast and Wi-Fi; coffee service; a fitness center; and a 24/7 “Eat. & Sip.” market.
The lobby includes a table and board-game center and workspaces along with the ability to “print from anywhere in the hotel with free wireless printing.”
Guests will stay in “smaller, more efficiently designed rooms with space for everything you need and nothing you don’t.” The rooms include “comfortable beds,” 55-inch TVs, mobile desks, large bathrooms and more.