Beachside renewal: Vacant Daytona oceanfront lot getting 25-story, 270-unit condo-hotel.

DAYTONA BEACH — It took more than 18 years, $12 million, multiple meetings with city government staff and local residents, and a nearly four-hour discussion at Wednesday night's City Commission meeting.

At long last, Miami-based developer Eddie Avila and his partners have the city's blessing to build a $120 million condo-hotel on the long-vacant oceanfront property on the southeast corner of State Road A1A and Silver Beach Avenue.

It was a hard-fought battle to the end, with a few city commissioners saying they still weren't sure how they were going to vote after hours of listening to attorneys and 27 local residents who spoke both for and against the plan to build a 25-story luxury high-rise with two pools.

When it came time to make a decision on the rezoning Avila needed to build the structure the way he wanted, the only no votes came from city commissioners Monica Paris and Ken Strickland, who have been lobbied for months by their beachside constituents vehemently opposed to the project.

That was good enough for a 5-2 victory to change the zoning on the 2.66-acre oceanfront site from tourist accommodations to a planned development.

Residents who live on the west side of A1A told commissioners the new building would make beach erosion worse and become a shade umbrella they don't want. They argued the condo-hotel, its six-story parking garage and a possible restaurant and bar would generate too much traffic.

Flagler Beach land use attorney Dennis Bayer, who represented members of the Sons of the Beach group that's immersed in beach access and development issues, maintained another 27.5 feet of open property should be required on both the north and south sides of the condo-hotel building.

Bayer also argued that the building is 70 feet taller than should be allowed on the 2.66-acre site.

"You're trying to put 20 pounds of potatoes in a 10-pound sack," Bayer told commissioners before they voted.

He said it could set up the city for a precedent that would create a wall of oceanfront condos. But a majority of commissioners saw an opportunity they didn't want to pass up.

"We have to stop being afraid of change," said City Commissioner Paula Reed.

Resident outcry spurred building redesign

Avila and his investors began assembling property on the oceanfront just south of Silver Beach Avenue in the summer of 2005. The property they targeted was the home of two shuttered 1950s-era motels, the Copacabana and the Lido.

Both motels were in rough shape after being walloped by the three hurricanes that swept through Volusia County in 2004, and they were torn down in 2007.

Avila said he's waited since then for the right time to make a move on developing the land, and earlier this year he jumped in with the city government rezoning process.

When residents complained the building was too tall and was going to block ocean views, he redesigned the tower.

He reduced the condo-hotel design from 27 stories to 25, and he pared the maximum building height from 350 feet to 265 feet. The total number of hotel rooms planned for the 8,900-square-foot building also dropped from 300 to 270.

The building design has also been revised to accommodate a more narrow base for the structure to expand ocean-view corridors from A1A and adjacent properties.

What Daytona Beach is going to get now will be a first-class addition to the city's shoreline, said Cobb Cole law firm attorney Rob Merrell, who represented Avila on the project.

"If there's ever a chance Daytona is going to be on the cover of Architectural Digest, this is it," Merrell told commissioners before they voted.

Debating government rules

A lot of the meeting was spent debating property lines, how far the building should be from the property lines, and the allowable height of the building.

Beachside resident Sandy Murphy said the tall building would be out of place in a stretch of the beach with much lower structures.

If the planned condo-hotel was a 350-foot-tall man, other nearby hotels would be up to its ankles and calves Murphy said. A 13-story building would reach its knees, she said.

With the now reduced maximum height of 265 feet, that would still put the top of the building at the shoulder level of the 350-foot man, she said.

Avila still could have built a hotel with the tourist accommodation zoning. But instead of the 60-foot gap between the building and north and south property lines commissioners approved with the new planned development zoning, he would have needed 87.5-foot setbacks to build up to 260 feet.

The original plan was to leave only 20 feet of open space between the building and the southern property line, and just 40 feet on the north side. But an outcry from residents led to the compromise to make it 60 feet on both sides.

Cobb Cole attorney Jessica Gow noted the project will include a complete seawall restoration and a dune restoration.

Condo-hotel's supporters and opponents

City Planning Director Dennis Mrozek said the new development will have a significant economic impact on Daytona Beach, with hotel guests crossing the Orange Avenue bridge and spending money on Beach Street. The new development will also generate an estimated $3 million or $4 million in local tax payments each year.

He said it will also show "Daytona Beach takes good projects seriously."

Local beachside resident Kevin Manley echoed that sentiment, saying "We need to send a message to other savvy investors."

"It's also an opportunity to clean up a vacant site," Mrozek said, noting that could reduce homelessness and crime around it.

Frank Molnar, a local commercial and business property Realtor, said the new tax revenue will help the city cover its operating costs.

Molnar had the 45 people at the meeting who support the project raise their hands to highlight the show of force among those who want to see the condo-hotel built.

One speaker at the meeting attacked the economic impact argument, asking "What is the economic impact if the beach continues to erode?"

A local resident said he thinks it's "a beautiful building" planned for a "horrible location." Paris said the project isn't a good fit for the area, and could set a bad precedent.

Of the 27 residents who spoke at Wednesday night's meeting, 10 said they're opposed to the project.

"It's saddened me to watch high-rises destroy our beach," a woman who has lived in Daytona Beach for more than 50 years said. "We have a breathtaking asset, but we're losing it to greed. Ian and Nicole could not have made erosion any more clear. Coastal development and seawalls are the cause for erosion."

Daytona condo-hotel teed up for vote: Proposed oceanfront condo-hotel on Silver Beach Avenue draws resistance from residents

Beachside resident Amy Pyle said the building will be too tall.

"There has to be something between naked and nasty properties and Miami Beach," Pyle said.

Longtime beachside resident Paul Zimmerman said he's heard too many promises for the oceanfront that weren't kept.

One too many times, he's heard the refrain, "If we build this monstrosity our lives will be improved," he said.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach getting new oceanfront $120 million condo-hotel tower