PAT RICE: Photos show state of Daytona Protogroup hotel construction
Last week, someone familiar with the behind-schedule Protogroup hotel and condominium project in Daytona Beach sent me photographs of the inside of the 27-story south tower under construction.
[READ MORE: Daytona Beach Protogroup developer asks for change to ‘condotel’]
The person sent the photos with the understanding that I would not reveal her or his identity out of concern for their job. I agreed, mainly because of the high public interest in the project.
The photos, taken on the first floor and the 22nd floor of the building, don’t reveal anything startling. They do give the public a better sense of progress on the south tower’s interior construction. To view the photos is to better understand why Protogroup’s owners recently asked the city for a one-year extension.
The photos of the 22nd floor show that wall framing between rooms seems to be largely complete. Drywall is stacked on the floor awaiting installation.
The first-floor photos are a little more revealing. The first floor has been open to the elements (meaning, salty air). Some piping that appears to be part of the sprinkler system is clearly rusted. Two escalators that have been stored under blue tarps also have acquired some surface rust.
What the photos indicate more than anything else is that the south tower has a long way to go toward completion. Whether it will it be finished in another year is unclear. What is clear is that a lot of internal work remains.
Everyone should hope that when the Protogroup project is completed it will be a great success that fuels other improvements in the core beachside area of Daytona Beach. If and when the north tower of the project is built, the $195 million hotel-condo complex at State Road A1A and Oakridge Boulevard would be the tallest, most expensive property on Volusia County’s beaches.
But the twists and turns related to the project have drawn deserved public scrutiny.
For starters, none of the big brand hotel names are affiliated with the project. That’s unusual.
In September 2018, Protogroup suddenly announced that the project’s general contractor had been fired. The project’s building permit was temporarily canceled. That’s also unusual.
The News-Journal also found a 2018 federal lawsuit a disgruntled associate filed against Protogroup’s main representatives. The lawsuit included a revelation that the IRS didn’t buy Protogroup spokesman Alexey Lysich’s claim to have purchased millions of dollars of “produce” from a Bahamas “shell company” that, according to the IRS, wasn’t in the produce business. That’s unusual.
Then there were the delays on construction, especially on the the north tower, which currently consists of concrete footings with rebar sticking out of them. And the clunky temporary beach access path built on the north edge of the property. And concerns about the unusual driveway planned between the hotel-condominiums on the east side of A1A and the parking garage on the west side of A1A. That’s all unusual.
In mid-December, Protogroup held a short “neighborhood” meeting inside the parking garage. Before the meeting, Protogroup stated they would ask for a three-year construction extension for the south tower from the Daytona Beach City Commission. At the meeting, Protogroup attorney Rob Merrell said the company would ask for just a one-year extension that required only city administration approval.
The extension is important to Protogroup because it protects their incentive agreement with the city. That agreement includes reimbursement from the city of $1.29 million for water and sewer utility improvements, and an estimated $450,000 for pedestrian beach access and storm water improvements. That’s according to an April 2019 email from Daytona Beach Chief Financial Officer Patricia Bliss to other city officials.
Again, here’s hoping the project is a resounding success. In the meantime, we will continue to follow it closely.
