A new hotel by St. Pete-Clearwater airport is in the works

A new 132-hotel may rise at a vacant property near the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, providing more accommodation options to travelers. 

Pinellas County Commissioners unanimously approved a zoning request and development agreement from Miami-based Baywood Hotels to develop the 2.78-acre portion of the property at the northeast corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and Ulmerton Road.

The property, adjacent to the Cracker Barrel restaurant, is leased by Pinellas County to the Pinellas Park-based private Brookline PIE entity. The group, which leases approximately 21 acres and has held the lease rights for the property since 2019, applied for a Transient Accommodation Overlay and zoning map amendment for the limited-service hotel. 

A rendering of the project shows it would be a Residence Inn by Marriott flagged hotel. 

The subject site for the future Marriott hotel. All images: Pinellas County documents.

As the property is encumbered by a master lease between Brookline PIE and the county, the group submitted a request for authorization from Pinellas County and a tenant improvement form to the airport, according to filed documents. 

The Development Review Committee and Local Planning Agency recommended approval of the project. 

Baywood Hotels is working with engineering firm Landon, Moore and Associates on the five-story, 21,793-square-foot hotel. 

An airport spokesperson said it may be at least two years before construction work commences.  

A site plan for the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel.

Marriott’s Residence Inn brand, created for extended-stay customers, specializes in larger suites with separate living, working and sleeping areas, and complimentary grocery delivery service. The rooms are equipped with fully functional kitchens.  

Per the overlay zoning, the development group cannot convert the future hotel units into permanent residences, Pinellas Zoning Manager Glenn Bailey noted. 

There are several existing lodging establishments near the airport, including Marriott’s SpringHill Suites and Courtyard flagged hotels, as well as a Hampton Inn and Suites, a Holiday Inn, a Sleep Inn hotel and The Karol Hotel. 

The Baywood Hotels development team previously filed a stormwater permit application to also develop a Home 2 Suites by Hilton hotel project at 4485 Ulmerton Road.