PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — With the owner of the now demolished Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and Suits looking to build two smaller hotels on that same property, some residents are questioning the need for new hotels.
Fox 4 community corespondent Stephen Pimpo spoke with the people of Punta Gorda about what new hotels would mean for the city:
That includes residents like local attorney and commercial real estate appraiser Mike Polk.
“You've got three different groups proposing to build boutique to upscale hotels in the near future, in a market that's already saturated,” Polk said.
One of those groups includes Amer Asmar, who owned the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel, which was damaged in Hurricane Ian in 2022 before being torn down in 2024. Monday, Asmar’s attorney Derek Rooney told the city they want to build two smaller hotels on the same property during the Community Conversation Strategic Planning and Budget meeting.
Polk is skeptical about a new hotel being able to compete with the Sunseeker Resort across the Peace River, which has already struggled to fill rooms and turn a profit.
“When you have 785 rooms (at the Sunseeker), a mile and a half away, with a similar view, it really limits the viability of any more hotels to be developed in downtown Punta Gorda,” he said.
Other residents like Gary Skillcorn say the property at 300 West Retta Esplanade on the city’s Harborwalk has all kinds of potential.
“That’s a wonderful spot as far as land-wise,” Skillcorn said. “On the water, very little water front (property) available in our area any more.”
Skillcorn believes a better venture would be to build boutiques or restaurants there.
“I think that would be delightful and probably would be advantageous commercially-wise,” he said. “Building costs would be very low.”
Fox 4 reached out to Rooney but he said he cannot comment on the project at this time.
