An affiliate of Kansas-based hotel company Woodspring Hotels paid $1.225 million on Thursday for 2.79 acres in Belle Isle near Orlando International Airport, where it plans to break ground within weeks on a 109-key extended stay hotel.
Woodspring has more than 200 hotels across the country, with 15 in Florida and one in Orlando, an extended-stay Value Place at 216 S. Goldenrod Road. The company both owns and franchises out its extended-stay flags Woodspring Suites and Value Place.
The land purchase in Belle Isle will be for a corporate-owned WoodSpring Suites, the company’s first in Orlando. A second property with that flag will be located near the University of Central Florida in the future by a franchisee, Crystal Franz, vice president of communications, told GrowthSpotter on Friday.
The Belle Isle property lies 3.6 miles from the airport, and will neighbor the Comfort Suites Orlando Airport hotel.
Construction on the new three-story hotel should begin within a few weeks, pending site plan and permit approval by the city of Belle Isle, with a nine-month build time projected, Franz said.
A development plan, drainage count and traffic analysis for the hotel were submitted on Dec. 2 to Belle Isle for planner review. The property is zoned C-1, which includes hotel use.
Plans for the hotel will be reviewed by city staff and then taken to the city commission for preliminary approval, likely within the next 30 days, said Richard Anderson, interim city manager. Kimley-Horn is civil engineer on the project.
The hotel company acquired a $5.9 million loan from Bank VI, out of Salina, Kansas, to help finance the acquisition and future development of the property.
Woodspring Hotels promotes itself as the nation’s fastest growing value segment extended stay hotel brand. The company offers developers and franchisees its own real estate and construction services, including site selection, construction advisement, project and FF&E management.
The seller was United Aircraft Services, Inc., out of California, which has a one-story office building on the property.
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