Signs of Life? Daytona Beach oceanfront condominium project working to get back on track

Eileen Zaffiro-Kean, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·3 min read

DAYTONA BEACH — A month ago, city Chief Building Official Glen Urquhart was losing his patience yet again with an unfinished oceanfront condominium tower that's been stalled out over the past few years.

A worker on Tuesday sandblasts rust off of the rebar of the oceanside condo project being developed by Protogroup.
A worker on Tuesday sandblasts rust off of the rebar of the oceanside condo project being developed by Protogroup.

Urquhart said in mid-June that if he didn't see a real attempt to get the $100 million project back on track, he was probably going to hit the construction site with a condemnation and demolition order.

But after a few meetings between city and project officials, Urquhart is seeing developer Protogroup make moves toward restarting construction on the proposed 31-story tower at the eastern tip of Oakridge Boulevard.

Urquhart has decided to give the beachside venture a stay of execution, the same thing he did last fall after slapping the project with a condemnation and demolition order, and then withdrawing the order.

An oceanfront condominium project in Daytona Beach that was supposed to have opened three years ago remains in the early stages of construction. But in the past few weeks the developer, Protogroup, has made moves to get the venture at the eastern tip of Oakridge Boulevard back on track.
An oceanfront condominium project in Daytona Beach that was supposed to have opened three years ago remains in the early stages of construction. But in the past few weeks the developer, Protogroup, has made moves to get the venture at the eastern tip of Oakridge Boulevard back on track.

Readying for more construction?

The condo site still only has a cluster of concrete columns poking out of the sand at 500 N. Atlantic Ave. That lack of progress, and the rusted rebar that's been on top of those columns for about three years now, are what have had Urquhart concerned.

A week ago, Protogroup got to work sandblasting the rust off the rebar. Urquhart expects the sandblasting to wrap up in about a week, and then he wants Protogroup to have two engineering firms do an assessment of the thickness of the rebar.

After that, Urquhart wants to see plans showing how Protogroup will tie the column tops that have been exposed and weathered to the first two floors they'll need to support.

Those plans, which will be drawn up by structural engineers and design professionals, will determine whether the city grants Protogroup a new building permit to replace the one that expired while construction screeched to a halt.

"It'll all feed off the engineers' reports, which I expect to get in the next few weeks," Urquhart said. "Construction won't move forward until all this happens."

There's new hope that the stalled-out Protogroup condominium project is about to get back on track with building the 31-story tower on Daytona Beach's oceanfront.
There's new hope that the stalled-out Protogroup condominium project is about to get back on track with building the 31-story tower on Daytona Beach's oceanfront.

Urquhart said he's much less concerned about the structural integrity of the building stories that will go on top of the first two floors. He's also not worried about the foundation.

"The foundation is one of the best built I've ever seen," he said. "It's just a matter of what's exposed to the elements."

To steer the condo project back where it needs to be, two weeks ago Urquhart met with the construction superintendent, design professionals, and Alexey Lysich, the registered agent for the property owner. Deputy City Manager Jim Morris also met recently with top Protogroup officials.

Tower completion could be seven years late

The city pulled the project's work permit in April because so little work had taken place. Then the site permit for the 500 Atlantic Condominium project expired on June 2.

The condo tower was originally slated for completion in 2020, but the city has agreed to several extensions.

It could be up to four more years before people will be closing on their condo sales and moving in. Buyers who've made deposits had been told the new building completion date was December 2024, but at the beginning of June, they were informed they could be waiting until the spring of 2027.

Rusted rebar on the Protogroup condo tower site in Daytona Beach as it appeared in March.
Rusted rebar on the Protogroup condo tower site in Daytona Beach as it appeared in March.

The Protogroup condo building was promised to be the tallest structure ever built in Volusia County.

The unfinished condo tower is part of a $192 million twin-tower hotel-condominium project on a 4.6-acre site that launched about 10 years ago.

Protogroup project struggling: Unfinished Daytona Beach condo project could get second condemnation and demolition order

Excavation work began in March 2017, with an initial projected completion date of summer 2019 for the 28-story hotel south tower. The 455-room Daytona Grande hotel had its construction deadlines extended several times, and it finally opened in June last year.

Work on the north tower's foundation began in December 2018, and it now has piles driven 100 feet down into the sandy oceanfront property.

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

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Protogroup trying to dodge second condemnation and demolition order