Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel proposal not resonating with some Sebastian residents

SEBASTIAN − A three-story, 98-room hotel along Indian River Drive in unincorporated northern Indian River County is proposed near the Sebastian city line.

The 2.8-acre parcel at 11360 S. Indian River Drive is owned by Wynne Building Corporation in Miami and includes 50-feet of beachfront directly on the lagoon.

The hotel would be branded as Home2 Suites by Hilton, according to Indian River County’s Interim Community Development Director Andrew Sobczak.

A similar hotel has already been built at the intersection of State Road 60 and I-95 in Vero Beach, and another in Stuart.Sebastian resident Terry McGinn spoke out against the project at the April 26 City Council meeting, citing ecological concerns with the lagoon and traffic along Indian River Drive.

“This is a humongous, 35-foot tall, three-story, 97-parking space, cul-de-sac to the beach, with no traffic egress to (U.S.) 1 except at (Kroegel Homestead Produce) fruit stand,” said McGinn. “It’s already a dangerous intersection ..."

McGinn said the developer has already made multiple trips to the county’s Technical Review Committee and will appear at another meeting on May 10. He asked city officials to relay their concerns about the project to the county because the county holds the ultimate approval on whether the project moves forward.

Councilman Ed Dodd said Sebastian’s opposition to the hotel needs to be conveyed in writing and in person to the Indian River County Commission.

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“This is the kind of thing that we need to take a stand and tell the county we’re not very happy about this just like they take a stand when they’re not happy about stuff,” said Dodd. “They don’t have any boat parking; there’s not a single county boat ramp within that marina. Is the county planning on sharing their tax money that they get for the hotel tax with the city to maintain and enhance our boat ramps that they’re going to destroy when they launch their boats?”

City Manager Paul Carlisle said he has addressed these issues with the new county administrator, John Titkanich, who is now aware of the city’s concerns with the hotel project.“The things you’re saying are the same things I mentioned to the county manager today,” said Carlisle. “He’s new. He doesn’t understand all of the nuances about it - the traffic on Indian River Drive, the dangerous intersection at U.S. 1 and Indian River Drive, the fact that these people are going to come in, use our shops, our recreation facilities, our parks. We don’t gain any benefit from it, but we get the cost of maintenance and the cost of repairs.”

McGinn said he plans to attend the May 10 Technical Review Committee meeting at 1:30 p.m. at County Administration Building A, 1800 27th St.

The Committee is made up of staff members representing the Indian River County Planning Division, Public Works Department, Traffic Engineering Division, Engineering Division, Utility Services Department, and the Department of Health. The Indian River County community development director chairs the Technical Review Committee.

Sebastian Planning Manager Dorri Bosworth said it could still take months for the project to be reviewed by the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

Janet Begley is a local freelance writer for TCPalm.com. If you like articles like this and other TCPalm coverage of Treasure Coast news, please support our journalism and subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Home2 Suites by Hilton proposed for Indian River Drive near Sebastian