DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Seabreeze Boulevard beach approach ramp in Daytona Beach will temporarily close Friday night following safety concerns tied to the nearby Plaza Hotel, a landmark property that has sat vacant since 2022 and was recently declared non-compliant over a long list of code violations.
The closure comes after residents raised concerns to city leaders about the ramp, which requires drivers to pass through a tunnel beneath the Plaza Hotel — a building now flagged for public health and safety issues.
“I wouldn’t have driven under if I knew that,” said Reina, a visitor. “They need to put out signs and stop people.”
News 6 was on scene as Daytona Beach inspectors and building owner Jonathan Eid went inside the closed hotel. Eid declined to speak with reporters on camera.
The Plaza Hotel has been closed since 2022, when back-to-back hurricanes caused extensive damage to the property. News 6 interviewed Eid shortly after the storms.
“The mixture of the rain and the flood water, the salt water infiltrated about 161 [to] 170 of our guest rooms,” Eid told News 6 at the time.
On Tuesday, the building was officially declared non-compliant due to numerous code violations and public health and safety concerns. The Plaza Hotel operates as a condo-hotel with nearly 600 unit “owners,” several of whom attended a special magistrate meeting this week to voice their frustrations.
“We keep ending up in the same boat — paying more money and chasing a ghost,” said one unit owner at the meeting.
Unit owners told the magistrate they have paid Eid thousands of dollars but have seen little to no repairs, leaving the building uninhabitable. They also said they have been paying significant homeowners association dues toward a milestone inspection that never took place.
Records obtained by News 6 show the property completed its first state-required milestone inspection for condo buildings but failed to complete a second required inspection by its July deadline.
“Tens of millions of dollars have been paid through the insurance companies, through assessments that were sent to us and through our monthly HOA fees,” said another unit owner.
The city says Eid will need to pull a new permit for tunnel work before the ramp can reopen. The special magistrate has given Eid until Sept. 2 to bring the rest of the building into compliance. If he fails to meet that deadline, he will face fines of $1,000 per day.