Recommendation is for approval of the final conditional use for the expansion of the Alfond Inn, as presented, with one condition:

1. That Rollins provide stickers and R-Cards that will allow 20 Library employees to park in either the new Ollie garage or in the SunTrust garage, until such time as the new Library is completed.

Rollins College is requesting approval to amend the Conditional Use previously granted for the Alfond Inn at 300 E. New England Avenue, pursuant to the approved Development Agreement in order to expand the Alfond Inn with 73 additional hotel rooms, a 12,000 square foot spa/health club, and 2,140 square feet of new meeting/gallery space.

Prior Hotel History:  This Conditional Use request for the Alfond Inn expansion is a Development Agreement 'amendment' because the original project on the Langford Hotel site was approved in August, 2001.  As background, the original Langford Hotel was built and operated on this site based on the R-4 conditional use provision for “apartment hotels”.  That “apartment hotel” Conditional Use was defined as a project with at least 24 permanent apartments/condos and then the balance of the project could function as a commercial hotel.  Prior to the sale of the Langford Hotel, the 24 permanent units were across New England Ave. at the Langford apartments.  As the Langford apartments were not part of the sale in August, 2001, in order to fulfill the requirements for permanent units and to help defray the cost of the project, the City approved the condominium, “The Residences”, at the corner of Lyman and Interlachen Avenues.  

Over the intervening years, there were six different amendments approved to the original redevelopment plans.  Sometimes it was just a different internal makeup of the project and other times the building project was modified.  Those amendments changed the numbers of hotel rooms, physical area of spa/health club, restaurant and ballroom/meeting room areas.  At one time, the project was to be a condo-hotel.  Various changes transpired until the 6th amendment was approved in November 2007.  Rollins College purchased the property in 2009 and came to the City in 2011 for the approvals that resulted in the Alfond Inn, as we know it today.  That final Development Agreement 7^th Amendment is attached.  However, that 7^th Amendment operates under the entitlements granted by the 6^th Amendment which states that Rollins College “may apply to further amend the Conditional Use up to the entitlements granted by the previous Development Agreement amendments”. Those entitlements from the 6^th amendment were 75 feet of building height, 250 rooms, restaurant/bar of 4,395 sq. ft., spa/health club of 12,000 sq. ft., ballroom/meeting rooms space of 14,570 sq. ft and a six level parking garage of 436 spaces.  The current Alfond Inn is Phase I of the project, and this application is for Phase II, which is within the entitlements granted by the City in 2007.

Luxury Quality Hotel:  One of the provisions of the original Development Agreement approved in August 2001 and thereafter was that the proposed hotel would be a “luxury hotel”.  That was the one of the important rationales for the allowances for extra building height over that normally permitted by R-4 zoning.  Otherwise the hotel meets the other R-4 zoning criteria. Certainly nothing in the style and operation of the Alfond Inn has disappointed the City in terms of a luxury hotel experience.  

The Alfond Inn Expansion:  This Alfond Inn expansion takes place on top of the existing surface parking lot on the east side of the current hotel.  The first floor of the Alfond Inn expansion contains the new meeting space/gallery; some health club/workout space; a portion of the spa and back-of-house areas for deliveries and kitchen and other service needs. The new health club/spa along the New England Avenue frontage will encompass most of the second floor.  The new hotel rooms are on floors three through five. 

The hotel addition is maintaining the same five stories in height as the current Alfond Inn.  The proposed building height is 59 feet to the roof elevation and 69 feet to the top of the roof elements, same as the existing heights.  In all the previous hotel plans approved by the City since August, 2001, the building height, permitted was up to 75 feet with an additional 5 feet for parapet walls.  The proposed hotel then is within that allowance. 

This Alfond Inn expansion meets the existing R-4 compliant front setbacks of 20 feet from New England and Lyman Avenues, as well as the 20 foot setback from the eastern (Library) side.  It meets the R-4 impervious coverage code maximum of 85%.  The total expanded hotel building footprint of 79,143 square feet is 54.2% of the lot area versus the R-4 code maximum of 55%.  The floor area ratio on this 3.35 acre site for the original 104,176 square foot Hotel and this 146,323 square foot expansion is 171.5%, within the permitted 200% FAR.  Storm water retention and treatment already exists on-site.  This Hotel expansion occurs on top of the existing parking lot so there is no new added impervious coverage to the site.     

Parking Allocation and the Parking Management Plan:  In 2011, just as with today, the Parking Code requirement for the Alfond Inn is based on the cumulative requirement of one space per room, one space per every 4 restaurant/bar seats and one per 250 square feet for the retail and ballroom meeting space. That parking requirement was 235 spaces.

Given the existing 115 spaces on-site, Rollins College submitted in 2011, a Parking Management Plan (PMP) to explain to the City how the Hotel would function to meet Code using spaces at the Sun Trust garage (based on unused spaces in the garage) and how the Alfond Inn would function for peak usage events and at nights based on valet operations.  The parking management plan was subsequently reinforced with the arrangement with All Saints, for joint use of their parking lot on Lyman Avenue (post approval).  The PMP was a reassurance document that normal and peak parking could be accommodated and specifically how that could occur.  The applicant has provided updated parking materials from the Olympia Companies that manages the Alfond Hotel related to the actual parking use statistics that they experience which is valuable in terms of the real world operational characteristics of the Alfond Inn. 

The City Parking Code based on the cumulative formula above requires 130 spaces for the Expansion.  The new total parking requirement is 365 spaces, which is 235 for existing Alfond Inn, plus 130 spaces for the Phase II Expansion.

The new submitted plans indicate 28 parking spaces on-site in the small surface parking lot on the east side. The City agreed in 2011 that 120 spaces can be counted from the SunTrust garage.  The applicant is asking to increase that reliance upon the SunTrust garage up to 258 spaces.  The balance is the 80 spaces in the All-Saints lot which makes up the difference. No one has questioned the adequacy of this parking arrangement during normal weekday and weekend occupancy. Any parking issues up to this point relate to the adequacy of parking during special events using the ballroom meeting space.  That peak demand is not changing because the new smaller meeting rooms are not utilized if there is a function in the main ballroom. 

The key question is whether there are 138 more empty parking spaces available in the SunTrust garage or asked differently, are there 258 total spaces open in the SunTrust garage to be used by the Alfond Inn.  The answer is that right now that is not the case, but when the new Rollins College Ollie parking garage comes on line within the next few years, that will shift hundreds of cars into those 589 “net” new parking spaces.

The operators of the Alfond Inn, the Olympia Companies, has surveyed the actual parking numbers in the existing surface parking at the Alfond Inn.  This is for the typical day and does not include when there is an event.  Their data indicates that the daily numbers are far below what the Code would indicate as necessary.  Keep in mind that the staff parks at SunTrust and many local people avoid the ‘valet parking’ when spaces are open nearby. Those averages are presented in the table below.

Parking Enforcement by the City:  The conditions of approval of the Alfond Inn from 2011 remain in place and provide the City the ability to require operational changes should the Alfond Inn parking become an issue. Those conditions allow the City to request amendments to the Parking Management Plan and operational standards at any time as conditions warrant to include:

i)       Methods of enforcement to assure compliance with the commitment that the hotel employees will park off-site at the SunTrust Garage or other off-site property;        

ii)       Methods to provide the 20 parking spaces on-site to staff at the Winter Park Public Library during library operating hours;

iii)      Operational standards (staffing and hours) of the valet parking service;

Existing Parking for the Library:  The existing Development agreement provides for the Winter Park Library to park 20 employee cars in the Alfond Hotel parking lot.  That will not be possible when that lot is reduced to 28 spaces.  As a result, the alternative is to provide Rollins stickers and R-Cards that will allow those 20 Library employees to park in either the new Ollie garage or in the SunTrust garage, until such time as the new Library is completed.

Construction Parking:  During the time period when this hotel expansion is underway, there will need to be alternative parking arrangements so that the hotel can operate and to accommodate hotel and construction materials deliveries and construction worker parking.  In order for a building permit to be issued, a detailed construction management plan will need to be submitted and approved by the Building Department.  What may help significantly, is again have the new Ollie parking garage completed in order to add more usable parking inventory.

Summary and Recommendation:  The City has been fortunate to have Rollins College as the “owner/developer” of the Alfond Inn.  The quality of the Hotel and of the operations have been a great reflection on the College and the City.  The Alfond Inn has been a boost to the economy of the City and of the Central Business District/Park Avenue area that has resulted from this quality hotel bringing a steady stream of guests/visitors with disposable income to spend during their stay in the City.  This expansion is proposed to meet the demand for Hotel stays.  The expansion is within the entitlement of the Development Agreement and in conformance with the R-4 Code, including meeting the City’s parking code requirements.  

STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS FOR APPROVAL OF THE FINAL CONDITIONAL USE FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE ALFOND INN, as presented, with one condition:

1. That Rollins provide stickers and R-Cards that will allow 20 Library employees to park in either the new Ollie garage or in the SunTrust garage, until such time as the new Library is completed.

Planning and Zoning Board Minutes – February 5, 2019:

REQUEST OF ROLLINS COLLEGE FOR: CONDITIONAL USE APPROVAL FOR PHASE TWO OF THE ALFOND INN (PURSUANT TO THE DEVELOPER’S AGREEMENT, AS AMENDED BETWEEN THE CITY OF WINTER PARK AND ROLLINS COLLEGE, DATED DECEMBER 16, 2011) TO BUILD 73 ADDITIONAL HOTEL ROOMS, 12,000 SQUARE FEET OF NEW SPA/HEALTH CLUB SPACE AND 2,140 SQUARE FEET OF ADDITIONAL MEETING SPACE/GALLERY, ADDED TO THE EXISTING ALFOND INN AT 300 East NEW ENGLAND AVENUE.

Planning Manager, Jeff Briggs presented the staff report and explained that this Conditional Use request is for Phase 2 of the Alfond Inn expansion pursuant to the Developer’s Agreement that has been in place since December of 2011. The request is to build 73 additional hotel rooms, a 12,000 square foot spa/health club, and 2,140 square feet of new meeting/gallery space.

Mr. Briggs provided the board with a history of the property from the initial approval in 2001 of a hotel to replace the Langford, through the various permutations until the 2011 approvals that resulted in the Alfond Inn, as it is known today.  The important part is that this project is within the entitlements previously granted. 

Mr. Briggs explained that the Alfond Inn expansion takes place on top of the existing surface parking lot on the east side of the current hotel.  The hotel addition is maintaining the same five stories in height as the current Alfond Inn.  The proposed building height is 59 feet to the roof elevation and 69 feet to the top of the roof elements, same as the existing heights.  In all the previous hotel plans approved by the City since August, 2001, the building height, permitted was up to 75 feet with an additional 5 feet for parapet walls.  The proposed hotel then is within that allowance. 

This Alfond Inn expansion meets the existing R-4 compliant front setbacks of 20 feet from New England and Lyman Avenues, as well as the 20 foot setback from the eastern (Library) side.  It meets the R-4 impervious coverage code maximum of 85%, building lot coverage and FAR.    Storm water retention and treatment already exists on-site.  This Hotel expansion occurs on top of the existing parking lot so there is no new added impervious coverage to the site.     

Mr. Briggs reviewed the parking allocation and parking management plan, City parking enforcement, existing parking for the library and construction parking.

Mr. Briggs summarized by stating that the City has been fortunate to have Rollins College as the “owner/developer” of the Alfond Inn.  The quality of the Hotel and of the operations have been a great reflection on the College and the City.  The Alfond Inn has been a boost to the economy of the City and of the Central Business District/Park Avenue area that has resulted from this quality hotel bringing a steady stream of guests/visitors with disposable income to spend during their stay in the City.  This expansion is proposed to meet the demand for Hotel stays.  The expansion is within the entitlement of the Development Agreement and in conformance with the R-4 Code, including meeting the City’s parking code requirements.  

Mr. Briggs concluded that the staff recommendation was for approval of the Alfond Inn expansion, as presented, with one condition:

1. That Rollins provide stickers and R-Cards that will allow 20 Library employees to park either in the new Ollie garage or in the SunTrust garage, until such time as the new Library is completed.

Sam Stark, Chief Marketing and Community Relations Officer at Rollins College represented the Applicant. He remarked that the expansion of the Alfond Inn will help Rollins continue to offer the students to attend Rollins College through the Alfond scholarship program. 

Architect, Tim Baker of Baker Barrios, 189 S Orange Ave #1700, Orlando, FL gave a presentation outlining the Developer’s Agreement from Phase 1 in 2001 to the proposed plans for Phase 2 of the Alfond expansion. He discussed the valet parking route, the new lobby expansion and new spa and meeting space areas. In addition, Mr. Baker reviewed project design concepts, landscaping. 

Attorney Rebecca Wilson of Lowndes, Drosdcik, Doster, Kantor & Reed, 215 N. Eola Drive, Orlando, Florida, represented the Applicant. She answered questions from the Board related to the parking agreement that Rollins has with All Saints Church of Winter Park. Mrs. Wilson reviewed the Developer’s Agreement slide in the presentation. She noted that based on the Developer’s Agreement, the Alfond is not using its maximum entitlements, the Alfond will still have 65 rooms remaining under the agreement with the City, along with just over 5,000 square feet of ballroom and banquet space and the Alfond is staying under the height maximums.

Mrs. Wilson reminded the Board that as part of the Development Agreement, Rollins College committed to continue to own the property until at least 2037. She stated that it is a unique commitment that the college made, that they are not building this for profit, they continue to own and operate it for the benefit of the college and scholarships. Mrs. Wilson reviewed code required parking. She stated that the existing required parking for the Alfond of 235 parking spaces, with the proposed Alfond code requirement of 127 spaces with 28 of those spaces provided on-site, the applicant is able to provide 334 spaces in Sun Trust. She remarked that the current trend that hotels are seeing in relation to meetings and events in banquet halls is that the demand for parking spaces has decreased. She stated that the applicant is not asking for a waiver or variance with their Conditional Use request as the project meets the requirements. She stated that from a practical standpoint, now that the hotel has been open and operating for 5 years and in the evening and overnight there are approximately 70 cars and 55 cars when just the bar and restaurant is being used. When there are events, the peak number of cars has been 125-150. She remarked that nowadays people are using Uber and Lyft more than driving themselves or using valet services and based on that trend, the applicant is comfortable that the Alfond will provide sufficient parking for continued operations with the 362 spaces provided with the expansion. Mrs. Wilson closed by stating that Mike Zimmerman was present to answer any questions related to parking and that she would like an opportunity to respond to any questions or concerns from the public, if needed.

Mike Zimmerman, Vice President of Development with Olympia Companies, who manages the Alfond Inn, answered questions from the board related to overnight parking usage and how it correlates to the parking demand of the hotel.

The Board heard public comment from Betsy Gardner-Eckbert, 541 Fairfax Avenue. Mrs. Eckbert explained that she was addressing the Board in her capacity as CEO of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and was speaking as a representative of the Chamber of Commerce Board. Mrs. Eckbert stated that the Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically supports the project.

The Board also heard public comment in support from Matt Williams, 1441 Place Picardi, Winter Park, FL; Blair Cox, 2832 Rapidan Trail, Winter Park, FL; Sigrid Teidtke, 1760 Gaines Way, Winter Park, FL and Bob Pointer, 1540 Grove Terrace, Winter Park, FL. The residents were all in favor of the expansion and felt that the additions will be a welcomed benefit to Winter Park.

No one else wished to speak. The public hearing was closed. The Board agreed with Staff’s recommendations.

Motion made by Sheila De Ciccop, seconded by Ray Waugh, for Conditional Use approval for Phase Two fo the Alfond Inn (Pursuant to the developer’s agreement, as amended between the City of Winter Park and Rollins College, dated December 16, 2011) with the following condition:

1. That Rollins provide stickers and R-Cards that will allow 20 Library employees to park either in the new Ollie garage or in the SunTrust garage, until such time as the new Library is completed.

The motion carried with a 6-0 vote.