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Upscale Hampton Inn coming to Ulmerton

Another Hampton Inn nearby will change to a different hotel chain brand.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published October 12, 2006

A new old hotel is rising on Ulmerton Road and will be completed early next year in what the developer describes as a unique situation.

"This was a very unusual opportunity for us," said Corry Oakes, president and chief executive officer of OTO Development, which is building a new 128-room Hampton Inn to displace an existing Hampton Inn on Ulmerton. "Any time you have a chance to replace a brand that strong, it's special."

Oakes said the new six-story hotel at 4050 Ulmerton will be a new variety and service level for Hampton. An existing Hampton just east of the new building will change to the banner of another, as-yet-unnamed hotel chain. Oakes expects the new hotel to open in February.

"This market has a lot of things going on," Oakes said of the choice to buy property near St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. "There's 13-million tourists every year and a very strong commercial market, too."

OTO's decision was influenced by the site's position near the airport but also its access to beaches and to the corporate community in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, he said. The company bought the property in November for $2.25-million.

OTO was formed in 2004 after H. Wayne Huizenga and partners sold off Extended Stay America.

OTO is aimed at premier extended-stay hotels in what the company calls "high-barrier-to-entry" markets. Areas where land and construction are expensive and there already are other brand-name hotels are OTO's sweet spots.

"We want to be where it's tough to go," Oakes said, "because it keeps the competition out."

In a short time, OTO already has 14 hotels under construction throughout the country and a total of 45 in some stage of development.

Oakes said he may be looking for other properties in the Tampa Bay market, but he wouldn't say where. The company has projects under way in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie.

Hampton Inns are part of the Hilton chain, but OTO also works with Marriott, Starwood and Hyatt, Oakes said.

Other OTO properties are in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area, around Philadelphia and in Southern California.

The new Ulmerton Road hotel, which OTO will own and operate, will have a two-story lobby, stone surfaces, inlaid mosaics, water fountains and wood paneling.

"It's a long way from what a lot of people have in mind for a Hampton Inn," he said.

"The existing hotel does fine, but Hampton has changed so much."

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 11, 2006, 22:41:28]