DAYTONA BEACH — After years of setbacks — hurricanes, economic crises, shuttered stores and crumbling husks of closed hotels — the struggling beachfront along State Road A1A might have found its way forward.
A wave of new hotel construction and reopenings — including the building of a $150 million condo-and-hotel complex — is set to sweep over the tourism-dependent strip, giving tourism officials and industry watchers hope that a revitalized beachfront is within grasp.
“Finally, we have someone willing to come in and put improvements on the beachfront, and we haven’t seen that in quite a while,” said Morgan Gilreath, Volusia County property appraiser. “This could do a reset for the better part of the area.”