IMG Academy breaks ground on new five-story boutique hotel

IMG Academy broke ground on a 150-room upscale boutique hotel on the northern edge of the 500-plus acre campus at 5450 Bollettieri Blvd.

The Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy will serve guests and clients of the training institution, including visiting teams, coaches, athletes, staff and parents. The five-story hotel, slated to open in the fall of 2018, will also provide a go-to destination for visitors to the surrounding Bradenton community.

IMG Academy applied for a commercial permit in March to build the hotel with a declared value of $13.3 million.

“The Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy will support the continued growth on our campus and increasing demand for first-class accommodations,” IMG Academy co-managing director Chip McCarthy said in a press release.

“This development significantly enhances our campus, furthers our long-term development plans and gives us a tremendous opportunity to better service our guests. We look forward to bringing this new upscale lodging to those visiting the Bradenton area,” McCarthy said.

IMG Academy hosts thousands of clients and guests from around the world for its boarding school, youth and adult camps, college and professional athletic training, team training, group outings and events. The Legacy Hotel will complement the Academy’s existing accommodations, which include the Academy Park Villas, the Lodge at IMG Academy and the Bollettieri Resort Villas.

The Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy will provide accommodations adjacent to the campus while offering convenience and a destination getaway to nearby beaches, shopping and other attractions. Its architecture is a complement to the modern campus structures and buildings while having its own individualized theme, drawing inspiration from movement. The hotel will showcase a mix of patterns, hues, varied reflectivity and geometrical elements that creates a sense of motion, according to a press release.

“Sports-related tourism has become one of our area’s top drivers of economic impact, and we expect the opening of The Legacy Hotel to further aid our efforts to attract world-class athletes and events to the Bradenton area,” Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Elliott Falcione said.

“Having a conveniently located hotel focused on wellness next to IMG Academy – and still within close proximity to the area’s outstanding beaches – will undoubtedly help set the Bradenton area apart from its competitors and help us further capitalize on the growing sports tourism sector,” Falcione said.

Dallas-based Woodbine Development Corporation is developing the hotel. Tandem Construction is the general contractor, and other consulting partners for the project include architecture by 5G Studio; interior design firm Edge ID; and global landscape design firm SWA.

Beyond its contemporary and upscale guestrooms, The Legacy Hotel at IMG Academy will include an elevated lobby lounge and bar, as well as a massage and fitness facility. The hotel also will offer 5,060 square feet of flexible meeting space for seminars, specialized training and other functions.

A resort-like backyard will include a large outdoor swimming pool, along with spacious outdoor event and breakout spaces located on the south side of the hotel. While close to the hotel building and the rest of campus, this alfresco gathering area is designed to feel like a secluded oasis.

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 12:35 PM with the headline "IMG Academy breaks ground on new five-story boutique hotel."