Article and Video Courtesy of Daytona Beach News-Journal By Jim Abbott Published November 10, 2020

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DAYTONA BEACH — A new permit application has been filed for construction of a controversial valet parking lane at the $192 million Protogroup hotel-condominium project, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
 

The new application was filed by the developer after Protogroup started work on that portion of the project in October in violation of an expired permit. The new permit request is under review, said Allison Colburn, FDOT spokeswoman. “After Protogroup was notified of the permitting issue, all construction work within the right-of-way was halted,” Colburn said by email. “Discussions with the contractor are ongoing.” The issue with the construction of the valet lane — a 50-foot-long westbound lane on the north side of eastbound Oakridge Boulevard at North Atlantic Avenue — is the latest in nearly a decade's worth of controversies and delays tied to the twin-tower hotel-condominium project, the biggest, most expensive development project in Daytona Beach history.

It comes as the project faces a crucial Jan. 28, 2021 deadline for substantial completion of its 27-story South Tower.

The proposed valet lane has sparked outrage for more than a year from residents.

Construction workers were observed in early October removing sections of sidewalk to make way for the parking lane along the north side of Oakridge Boulevard, just west of the intersection of North Atlantic Avenue. A raised concrete barrier also had been constructed to separate the far left lane of Oakridge Boulevard for hotel traffic that would flow against existing eastbound lanes.

The plan for the parking lane, decided years ago with little fanfare, calls for the addition of a 50-foot-long westbound lane on the north side of Oakridge Boulevard, enabling easier access to a parking garage constructed opposite the hotel on the west side of State Road A1A.

Construction crews work on a controversial valet parking lane for the $192 million Protogroup hotel-condominium project near the intersection of Oakridge Boulevard and State Road A1A in Daytona Beach. The Florida Department of Transportation has informed the developer that its permit for the work has expired.

The valet lane, a 50-foot westbound stretch to be separated from three eastbound lanes by a concrete barrier, was approved by FDOT in July 2017 as part of a development agreement for the project between the city of Daytona Beach and Protogroup, according documents provided by FDOT.

However, the permit was effective for only one year and had never been renewed.

“It is imperative that you cease and desist from any construction activity within the Florida Department of Transportation right-of-way unless and until a Driveway Connection Permit is applied for and approved,” said Ron Meade, FDOT DeLand operations engineer wrote in an Oct. 1 letter to Alexey Lysich, president of Protogroup, the Palm Coast-based developer of the project.

Work has stopped on the lane for the time being, Colburn said.

According to FDOT’s Oct. 1 letter to the Protogroup, the developer had 21 days to submit an application for a new permit for the work. If the new permit is approved, work must be completed within 90 days of the approval date, FDOT said.

If the developer fails to obtain a new permit or complete newly permitted work according to plans, the lane construction will be closed and removed by FDOT at the developer’s expense, the document states.

Lysich could not be reached for comment by telephone or text message. Protogroup’s attorney, Rob Merrell, also could not be reached by email.

Deadline looms

Although initially approved in 2017, the plan for the valet lane sparked outrage when it came to wider attention of residents in August 2019.

The permit violation related to the valet lane comes in the wake of news that Protogroup cut ties in August with the project’s general contractor, Port St. Lucie-based Gryffin Construction Corp.

It’s the second departure of a general contractor on the project.

Gryffin took over construction of the Protogroup’s twin tower project in October 2018, following the abrupt departure of the original contractor, Mississippi-based W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Company.

In a transfer request filed with the city of Daytona Beach, the contractor is now listed as the developer, Protogroup Inc., the family-run Palm Coast company whose Russian owners are developing the massive twin towers project.

There are now three months remaining for the developer to meet the latest deadline for completion of the South Tower by Jan. 28, 2021.

Signs alert drivers to road closures tied to construction of a valet traffic lane for the $192 million Protogroup hotel-condominium project in Daytona Beach. The developer had started work on the valet lane in October on an expired permit, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. The work has stopped for now, but Protogroup has applied for a new permit, FDOT said.

That date was set following an application by Protogroup in December 2019 for a one-year administrative extension, an option included in the project’s Planned Commercial Development agreement with the city.

According to the agreement, approval of that extension didn’t require putting the request before the city’s Redevelopment Board, Planning Board, or the City Commission.

At stake is about $1.6 million in taxpayer funding the city will pay Protogroup for beach approach work and utility improvements outlined in an agreement between the city and developer.