Hotels approved to expand Ellenton Premium Outlets. How will it impact parking?
Manatee County commissioners unanimously approved an updated development plan for the Ellenton Premium Outlets that will add two hotels to the property.
On Thursday, the commissioners reviewed the new development plan that will add two hotels — one with up to 122 rooms, and another with up to 124 rooms. The hotels could add 110,060 square feet of new development on the Ellenton Premium Outlets property.
The hotels will take up part of the outlet’s parking lot, located on the northeast corner of I-75 and U.S. 301, closest to 29th Street E. in Ellenton.
According to the new development plan, the hotels will decrease the outlet’s overall parking by 197 spaces, bringing the total available parking spaces to 2,235.
Developers have established franchise agreements with the hotel companies, locking in those brands for the project, representatives said at the meeting.
Hilton LivSmart Studios will be the 124-room hotel, located in the parking lot area south of the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex. The 122-room hotel, the WoodSpring Suites hotel, will be to the east of the ice rink. Neither hotel will be taller than four stories.
Hilton’s LivSmart Studios caters to longer stays for travelers. The rooms incorporate the style of a studio apartment with the hospitality of a hotel, a release from the company states. A video of existing rooms in Tennessee show the rooms have a sink, dishwasher, stovetop and microwave.
WoodSpring Suites is a similar extended-stay experience, with suites that include in-room kitchens at “affordable rates,” the website states.
“I think this is a good use, that we need more hotels,” Commissioner George Kruse said. “I think this is a good use of over-built parking, honestly.”
Opening is expected to be in the third quarter of 2027, according to the plan’s records.
Commissioners find little concern with project
The updated development plan passed unanimously, but not before commissioners raised a concern about the intersection of 29th Street E. and 60th Avenue E.
County staff assured commissioners there is a plan to include a traffic signal at that intersection, which eased the minds of commissioners like Commissioner Tal Siddique.
“I think the hotel adds something to an area that could continue to be served a little bit better,” Siddique said. “So I’m in support of the project.”
Commissioner Carol Ann Felts brought up some concerns about crime in the general area, but ended up voting with the rest of the commission for approval.
