Cocoa Beach Hotelier’s Law Firm Delivers Letter To Brevard County Commission In Opposition to $30 Million Driftwood Developer Grant

Cocoa Beach Motel, Inc. d/b/a Radisson Resort at the Port has submitted a letter of legal argument

WATCH: You Decide! Should the hotel developer Driftwood receive $30 million of local tourism tax from Brevard County for their Westin Hotel project in Cocoa Beach? Space Coast Daily’s Giles Malone explains the details so you may decide and contact your Brevard County Commissioners to let them know your opinion.

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA – Cocoa Beach Motel, Inc. d/b/a Radisson Resort at the Port, has submitted a letter of legal argument through its law firm in opposition to the $30 million grant agreement between the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners and Driftwood Capitol (DAD 1300 N. Atlantic Cocoa, LP).

The subject Grant Agreement if approved would commit Brevard County to a grant of up to $1,000,000 annually to DAD or its successor entity as part and conditioned upon DAD’s construction and operation of an 800,000 square-foot mixed-use destination resort, including a hotel, 120,000 square feet of convention space, a spa and fitness center, multiple food and beverage and retail venues and a parking facility.

The proposed agreement commits the County to fund the grant annually for thirty years for a total grant commitment of up to $30,000,000.

The “grant” would be funded by a rebate from the County of the Tourist Development Tax collected by DAD’s destination resort from taxpayers staying at the resort and/or using the facilities.

The money generated from the tourist development tax funds beach renourishment, arts and culture marketing, the Indian River Lagoon, the Brevard Zoo and Aquarium, sports marketing, as well as promotion of the Space Coast which benefits all hotels and motels, etc.

Driftwood Capital/Westin Cocoa Beach Resort is requesting the County gift $30 million to their corporation at the expense of all of these programs currently funded by the TDC.

CLICK HERE to see the letter to the Brevard County Commission from Cocoa Beach Motel Inc.

CLICK HERE to see the legal opinion from the Brevard County Commission’s attorney.

According to feedback in a Space Coast Daily Facebook post and the response of Space Coast hotel and business community, this is a highly controversial issue that the public and business community opposes almost unanimously.

The issue will be decided when the Brevard County Commission votes on the proposal on July 19 at 9 a.m. at the Brevard County Government Center in Viera.

In a letter to Brevard County hoteliers, hospitality workers, the business community and the public, Eric Garvey the COO of Radisson Resort at the Port, Spring Hill Suites in Cape Canaveral, TownePlace Suites Cape Canaveral, Four Points by Sheraton Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Suites, Cocoa Beach Surf Company, Starbucks Cocoa Beach and Park Port Canaveral said:

It is the opinion of most of us in the industry that this is a misuse of TDC funds for the benefit of a single private developer.  If passed, the agreement represents a drastic change to Brevard County’s Bed Tax Ordinance and will have negative impacts to our tourism community – and all the programs that benefit from tourist tax – for a generation.

WATCH: An Emergency Space Coast Tourist Development Council meeting in underway at the Government Center in Viera to address the $30 million tax request from the Driftwood Project.

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