First hotel on beachside in three decades seen as economic engine


NSBNews.net video by Sera Frederick and photos by Henry Frederick / Heavy equipment operators excavate the site on western end of Flagler Avenue where the long-anticipated $16 million Hampton Inn and Suites, drawing the attention of a baby in her stroller while a couple hundred people listen to speeches from dignitaries with ceremonial golden shovels for the groundbreaking Monday.
Editor's Note: First in a series
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- While officials gave speeches and community leaders posed with golden shovels this afternoon on Flagler Avenue, 1-year-old Bailie Keaton ignored the talk and turned her head in favor of the sound coming from bulldozers and other heavy equipment well into the groundbreaking for the Hampton Inn and Suites, the first major hotel to be constructed on the beachside in three decades for a seaside community that relies on tourism as its lifeline.