(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)

CLEARWATER, FL-American Hotel Development Partners says it will build a 106-room Staybridge Suites Hotel at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. The $13.2-million project is slated to begin construction in August with an anticipated opening late next year.

Sarasota-based AHDP is timing the hotel's development with the airport's $10-million renovation project, which follows a runway extension to accommodate larger aircraft and international flights. The airport, which has PIE as its three-letter code, has also received a $1.5-million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for safety and security upgrades.

Staybridge Suites, an extended-stay concept of InterContinental Hotels Group, complements the improvements to the St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport, says Bob Humberstone, the airport's director of properties. "The convenience of having such a preferred brand of lodging on airport property is sure to suit both seasonal vacation and business travelers," he says.

Clyde Harris, AHDP's president in Hilton Head, SC, says the firm is working directly with airport officials to build the on-site hotel. The company has 12 hotels currently in development, with locations including Columbia, SC, Savannah, GA, Tampa, FL and Hazleton, PA.

"We are involved in the communities in which we build. We seek to be good neighbors and a welcomed addition to each community," Harris stated in a release. He noted that Harris Hotel Group, an affiliate of AHDP, will manage the St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport hotel.

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