Luxury hotel coming

Luxury hotel coming



By MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 02/28/08

A luxury hotel on the San Sebastian River should be a reality by the fall of 2010, say project developers.

Jacksonville-based The Devlin Group Inc. and Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital Corp. have announced an agreement to co-develop The Westin St. Augustine Hotel & Residences.

The Devlin Group has been working on the project for several years and recently announced that Westin Hotel would anchor its San Sebastian Harbor Resort project. Gatewood is the upscale hotel company that Devlin has been negotiating with to bring the project to St. Augustine.

Westin Hotels & Resorts is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. That's one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world.

Wallace Devlin, CEO of The Devlin Group, has described Westin as a "perfect fit" for his San Sebastian Harbor Resort project.

"This will be the first Starwood product in Northeast Florida," said Marty Collins, president and CEO of Gatehouse. "St. Augustine is a popular destination that draws more than six million visitors annually, providing a built-in market that we hope to elevate with this resort."

The project will include a 225-room luxury, full-service hotel on the 11-acre San Sebastian Harbor Development site off King Street.

Included in the hotel will be 20,000 square feet of meeting space as well as retail space, signature restaurant and bar, spa, fitness center, two heated swimming pools and a poolside caf.

A lounge and bar will be adjacent to the 65-slip marina with boardwalk promenade, Collins said.

Also included in the development will be at least 50 branded three-bedroom homes that will be known as The Residences at The Westin St. Augustine.

Gatehouse is a real estate investment and advisory services firm that specializes in brand hospitality-centered, mixed use developments.

Founded in 1995, they use partners to design, build and operate their properties that include W San Diego, W Silicon Valley, W Dallas - Victory Hotel and Residences, Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego, Westin Hotel and Residences and an aloft Hotel in Arlington, Texas and the Palomar Hotel and Residences in Milwaukee.

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