New owners will turn iconic Magic Beach Motel in Vilano into a boutique hotel

Just after the sale of the assets to one more developer fell by following a pretty community fight with neighbors, the Magic Beach front Motel in Vilano Beach has been marketed.

But the new owners — a boutique hotel management business — say they have no ideas at this time to alter the iconic vintage motel, apart from some standard repairs and renovations.

“At the instant, we’re just concentrated on working the house,” claimed Sonny Bhikha, a principal with Shivam Properties.

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Important International, a Miami-based developer, experienced planned to buy the Magic Seaside Motel and transform it into the 194-home Vilano Seashore Lodge. The company backed out of the deal very last December following the St. Johns County Commission voted 4- to deny its style software. Critical International is the very same organization behind the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine Seaside.

On May 9, Shivam Qualities finalized the $3.8 million transaction to buy the 24-home motor lodge at 50 Vilano Highway from Earl and Remy Jensen who have owned it given that 2010.

The company also manages motels and resorts in Jacksonville Beach front, the place it is based, as perfectly as the Rodeway Inn on Ponce de Leon Blvd. in St. Augustine.

Commonly, Shivam Houses purchases a franchise of a countrywide chain and then refurbishes it with modern, modern-day facilities.

“You will find this sort of a demand from customers for motels that are not cookie-cutter,” Bhikha explained. “We observed the possibility here and just form of moved on from there.”

Shivam Attributes has now taken above administration of the Magic Beach front Motel and is continuing operations as usual, which include honoring prior reservations.

Magic Seaside Motel got its name from its use as a set spot for the 1999 Warner Brothers Television set sequence “Safe Harbor,” starring Emmy winner and Golden World nominee Rue McClanahan. Also featuring Gregory Harrison, the collection was about a sheriff and father of 3 boys dwelling in Magic Beach, Florida, a fictional city.

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The motel, built in 1951, options Art Deco design and style and has turn out to be a local community fixture in Vilano.

Neighbors established the North Seaside Community Alliance, a team of citizens and local little businesses, in 2021 to tackle considerations above a enhancement they thought could negatively affect the surroundings and high-quality of life.

Past August, the group place out a petition inquiring the county suspend permits for business and blended-use developments in Vilano Seaside Town Center which garnered practically 700 signatures. Neighborhood residents also spoke out at the initially arranging conferences where by Key Worldwide floated the notion of the 194-home lodge.

Michael Clare-Salzler, a 10-calendar year Vilano resident who does not belong to the North Seashore Local community Alliance but is worried about overdevelopment, spoke to The File on Wednesday.

Clare-Salzler mentioned he not heard about the acquire of the Magic Beach front Motel by new homeowners. When given a description of the new owner’s designs for the residence, Clare-Salzler explained, “Nicely, that’s excellent news to hear.”

In recent many years, the Vilano place has develop into a lot more commercially designed.

In addition to current motels and Airbnb rentals, the 50-room Holiday Inn Express has opened and a Hyatt Put 120-room resort will open this tumble.

To Bhikha’s mind, levels of competition is excellent and he can realize why visitors locate the space desirable.

“The complete Vilano Beach front is walkable, safe and a position wherever folks want to occur disconnect,” Bhikha stated.

This write-up at first appeared on St. Augustine Document: Magic Seashore Motel in Vilano will be turned into a boutique lodge