The estimated 180-room project is one of three separate hotel projects applying for property tax exemptions through the Miami-Dade County Commission in exchange for investing and hiring workers from within the county's enterprise zone.

"Last year, three or four hotel projects applied for enterprise zone credits," Ignacio de la Campa, Miami-Dade Country director of the economic development division, tells GlobeSt.com. "Already this year we have three."

Separate from the Summerfield Suites application, developers are asking the county commission to approve tax exemptions on two smaller hotels near one another on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. The value of the proposed improvements on each project is estimated at $400,000. The developer of the 26-room McCalpin Hotel, 1424 Ocean Dr., seeks about $1,086 in property tax exemptions. The developer of the 26-unit Ocean Plaza Hotel, 1430 Ocean Dr., wants about $2,173 in exemptions.

Each of the three projects also could qualify for a number of economic development incentives available through the state, in addition to proposed tax exemptions. The Miami-Dade enterprise zone is one of the most active in the state in the total number of development applications approved, according to state legislative reports. Out of 34 enterprise zones in Florida, the Miami-Dade zone accounted for about 11% of all program benefits approved in the state during fiscal 1998-99.

Officials for the Wyndham subsidiary, who were unavailable for comment, proposed the development of a 180-room hotel at 5710 Blue Lagoon Dr., about a 10-minute drive from the international airport. The company's application estimated the hotel would hire at least 64 workers.

The proposed Summerfield Suites hotel would become one of more than 303 hotels and 73,000 rooms that operate under the Wyndham corporate ownership. In the Miami area, the company operates several hotels, including the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort, the Wyndham Gateway-Miami Airport, Grand Bay Coconut Grove, Summerfield Miami and Doubletree Miami Airport.

Instant Insights /

Wyndham Unit Proposes $17-Mil Hotel in Exchange for $28,000 Tax Break

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