Compass by Margaritaville: Hotel to break ground in Flagler Beach. Here's what's planned.

FLAGLER BEACH ― Construction is set to begin on a Compass by Margaritaville Hotel along the south side of Moody Boulevard/State Road 100, one block from the beach, west of Flagler Beach's Veterans Park.

Some palm trees on the site were cut down on Oct. 20. Developer Manoj Bhoola said that was for a "private photo op" and not an actual ground-breaking which he expects to occur sometime this week.

Here's what we know about the project:

It's licensed by the late Jimmy Buffett's company

The three-story 100-room hotel at 111 S. Daytona Ave. will be a franchise location for the Compass by Margaritaville chain.

Margaritaville Holdings is an Orlando company part-owned by the family of the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett who died Sept. 1 at age 76. The family's stake in the company is estimated to be around 28%, according to Forbes magazine.

Margaritaville Holdings licenses products, resorts, restaurants and even 55-and-older communities, such as the Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach where Buffett owned a house.

All are inspired by Buffett's music, most notably his 1977 hit song "Margaritaville." The song depicts a laidback tropical lifestyle where the most important things in life are "strummin' my six-string" and "that frozen concoction that helps me hang on."

The franchise operator for the hotel in Flagler Beach will be Ormond Beach-based Elite Hospitality, doing business as Sun Partners LLC, under a license agreement with Margaritaville Holdings.

Bhoola is both the CEO of Elite as well as managing partner of Sun Partners LLC, a limited liability company formed solely for the Flagler Beach project.

Elite owns and operates the Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton Inn at Daytona Beach International Airport, the Best Western International Speedway Hotel at 2620 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach, the Courtyard by Marriott, Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn in St. Augustine Beach, and the Hilton Garden Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn at Jacksonville Airport.

Bhoola's company also owns two Margaritaville Holdings-licensed businesses in Jacksonville Beach: an eight-story 202-room Margaritaville Beach Hotel and a two-story LandShark Bar & Grill restaurant, both at 715 1st St. N. The resort and eatery opened in late January 2021.

What are Compass hotels?

The website for Compass by Margaritaville hotels describes the chain as bringing "the fun and flavor of our full-scale resorts to nearly any available accommodation space."

Translation: The hotels are scaled-down versions of Margaritaville Resorts.

The closest Compass by Margaritaville hotel to Flagler Beach is the Anna Maria Sound location in Bradenton. Another is expected to open either late this year or in early 2024 in Naples.

The travel website booking.com on Tuesday listed a standard king room available that night at the Compass by Margaritaville Hotel in Bradenton for $143 a night. The hotel's website states that Florida residents can receive a 12% discount if they can show proof of residency.

What will the hotel in Flagler Beach offer?

Amenities at the 84,000-square-foot Compass by Margaritaville hotel in Flagler Beach include a restaurant, a pool with a tiki bar, meeting and retail space, a fitness room and a rooftop terrace, according to plans presented to the city on Aug. 2.

The restaurant will be called Salted Rim Bar & Grill.

The hotel will employ 25 people.

The developers bought the property in 2021

According to Flagler County property records, Sun Partners LLC paid $3.85 million to acquire the lot where the Compass by Margaritaville hotel is planned on July 22, 2021. The seller was Geraldine Charles LLC of Flagler Beach.

How much is the project expected to cost?

Flagler Beach City Manager Dale Martin said the building permit application for the project states that the new hotel is expected to cost $17 million to build.

Bhoola said his company now has all the necessary permits to begin construction.

The property was once home to another hotel

Flagler Beach Mayor Suzie Johnston said the 1.3 acre property where the Compass by Margaritaville project is planned was once the site of the Flagler Beach Hotel, which opened in 1925 and was torn down in early 1972.

The Flagler Beach Hotel was developed by Dana Fellows Fuquay, one of the city's early developers, and George Moody, who became the city's first mayor when it incorporated in 1925. Moody Boulevard is named after George Moody's brother Isaac, who led the effort to create Flagler County in 1917.

The lot has been vacant since the Flagler Beach Hotel was torn down, said Johnston. It served at one time as the site of the weekly Flagler Beach Farmers Market, but the farmers market ceased operation several years ago, she said.

"I'm very excited for the project," said Johnston, who works as a Realtor, partner and chief marketing officer for Grand Living Realty. The lifelong Flagler Beach resident is also a local history buff.

"It's been a long time coming for Flagler Beach," she said of the planned Compass by Margaritaville hotel. "That lot's been zoned for a hotel since the '70s."

Thursday's City Commission meeting to address 'minor' details

The agenda for the Flagler Beach City Commission meeting on Thursday, starting 6:30 p.m., includes an item on the Compass by Margaritaville hotel project.

Johnston described the item as "minor details" related to the project, including the exact placement of the construction fence. Those details had already been reviewed by the city staff, but not yet been given a formal vote of approval from the commission, she said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: A Margaritaville hotel is coming to Flagler Beach. Here's what we know