CLERMONT, FL The City Council here has given Atlanta-based Atlantic Hotel Group permission to construct Champion s Inn Hotel and Conference Center next to the USA Triathlon National Training Center, despite residents concern about the level of development going on in the area. The three-story hotel is expected to house visitors to the training center as well as the under-construction Special Olympics Florida Headquarters, South Lake Hospital, the Diamond Players Club and the Lake Sumter Community College campus. The hotel will include a banquet room and meeting space. A parcel of land on the property will be used for a restaurant.
The height of the 72-foot-tall building is the topic that has become an issue for council members and the public since a city ordinance prohibits buildings that are taller than 45 feet. The only other building in the area that comes close in size is the neighboring South Lake Hospital, which is 60 feet tall. Representatives of Atlantic Hotel Group told the public the building itself is 72 feet tall in only one portion. The highest level at which it is occupied would by 55 feet. (1/31/01)
SOURCE:The Orlando Sentinel