Two Hotels Planned for Florida’s Martin County

Palm Beach, FL–Plans are in the works for two new hotels in Martin County, which some say are a needed addition after last years hurricanes soaked several of the Treasure Coasts hotel rooms, the Palm Beach Post reports. Gerald Smith has plans for a three-story, 100-room hotel just west of Floridas Turnpike on Martin Highway in Palm City. The developers 11-acre Turnpike Plaza would also include two office buildings. “Itll be something that Palm City hasnt seen for a while,” Smith, owner of Palm City-based Smith & Sons Development and Management Corp, told the newspaper, adding “They need some services so they dont have to go across the bridge into Stuart.” Smith is talking with a couple of national hotel chains but hasnt finalized his plans. Hes also scouting for restaurants, hoping to nab a national chain, maybe a steakhouse. Smith, who presented plans to the county last week, hopes to start construction this fall on the $25 million project. Slated to go up in four phases starting with the hotel, the plaza will probably take two years to complete, Smith said. And in Stuart, a Lake Placid hotelier is seeking city approval for an 83-room Hampton Inn and Suites on the corner of U.S. 1 and Fischer Street. Ram Patel, president of Seacoast Hotels Inc., hopes to open the inn by fall 2006.”We picked the right site for the hotel business,” Patel said, pointing to several neighboring restaurants and Stuarts limited hotel space, the newspaper reported. Seacoast, a three-partner group that owns about a dozen hotels, is spending about $5 million on the project, Patel said.