By Dick Hogan
Originally posted on April 16, 2006
Bonita Springs-based developer Gates McVey is taking a different approach to the venerable condominium hotel concept.

Most condo hotels have been waterfront properties - built new or converted from older standard hotels.

But Gates McVey is betting that there's a market for renovating and re-marketing inland motels if they're near amenities such as golf and shopping.
Its latest project is the 106-room StayBridge Suites in Bonita Springs, purchased in November for $9.3 million. Its new name will be Inn at the Springs.

Scott Lodde, president of Gates McVey Hospitality, said rooms are being renovated now and will be available for purchase in a few weeks.
He's focusing on four groups of potential purchasers, Lodde said: "working professionals" who will stay there only occasionally and rent out their units the rest of the time; "guest house buyers" who want a place to stash company from out of town; "snowbirds" who are typically retired or semi-retired and would stay there for longer periods; and foreigners, who typically would stay there in the summer for vacations.

A two-bedroom, two-bath unit will cost about $350,000 and a 400-square-foot efficiency will cost $200,000, well below the higher prices for beachfront condo hotels, he said.

That's key to Gates McVey's strategy, Lodde said. "Our niche is existing motels, smaller hotels with good locations" that can be renovated.
The Inn at Pelican Bay in Naples was the company's first condo hotel project, bought for $13.3 million in October and already 40 percent sold, he said.

Gates McVey expects to do more condo hotel projects in the future, Lodde said, although "we wouldn't rule out building a new hotel."

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