Proposed $160-Mil Beach Resort Hotel to Operate as a St. Regis

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-John McDonald will franchise the St. Regis name and operating style for a 234-room hotel that he has been seeking to build at Fort Lauderdale Beach.

The developer had received local approvals in January for a hotel that was then called the Castillo Grand, with 265 rooms and a projected construction price of $143 million. As a St. Regis, the hotel’s room count has been reduced but the expected development cost has risen to $160 million.

Although McDonald has not nailed down his financing, he still plans to get into the ground this November, with completion slated in late 2002. Starwood Hotels & Resorts of White Plains, NY, which franchises the St. Regis luxury brand, has agreed to flag its initial beach property in California. The local facility would be its first hotel asset in Florida.