Two downtown Ocala development projects still in the works
Developers are continuing to explore the feasibility of building a hotel and renovating the former Sprint building, two projects that could change the face of Ocala’s downtown.
“We are still in the due diligence period,” said Albert Peek of Ocala Development, who, along with his son, Bryce, and Kirk Boone and Sandy McBride, is considering building a boutique hotel on the former Chamber of Commerce site just east of the downtown square.
“I will say all the information we have received so far is favorable, but there’s still a lot of moving parts and a lot of requirements and necessities that require further analysis, so we have to continue to do that,” Peek said.
The group is exploring developing an 82-100-bed hotel with 10,000 square-feet of retail, food and beverage space. Also included would be 10,000 square-feet of conference space to be owned by the city, similar to the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis. The city would own the conference center, but it would be managed by a separate agreement.