One of the oldest and tallest buildings in Ocala is in the midst of a complete renovation that will see it converted into a 55-room hotel with historic flare and world-class amenities.
Marion Hotel Ocala is currently under renovation at 108 N Magnolia Avenue in downtown Ocala. The building that will house the hotel is undergoing extensive internal and external renovations, including the demolition of most of its interior.
The property is owned by Marion Opportunity Zone Investment, which is a company registered to local attorney and businessman David Midgett. According to property records, Midgett spent years acquiring the condominium units that comprise the building.
Midgett will partner with ARK Hospitality, which is led by president Aaron Walker and chief operating officer Jeff Bailey, to create a boutique hotel that is part of the Hilton Hotels “Tapestry” Collection. The new hotel is being developed by Collage Design and Construction Group, which is based in Lake Mary, Florida. The architect on record is Donahue Architecture.
The hotel has been a mainstay on Ocala’s skyline for decades. Plans to construct the Marion Hotel originally came about in the early 1920s, after a group of local business and civic leaders determined the need for a premier hotel in the area to meet the demands of tourists and traveling salesmen.
Over 400 miles of paved county road improvements, aggressive initiatives by the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, and interest from Hollywood movie companies in Silver Springs led those leaders to hire a consulting firm to look into the feasibility of developing a hotel.
The Pennsylvania-based consulting firm that was contracted prepared a feasibility study that recommended the construction of a 100-room hotel that would be financed by the community.
According to a filing in the National Register of Historic Places, a hotel committee established by the chamber formed a 140-volunteer crew to sell stock in the building in order to finance the project.
“Using the sales slogan, ‘What Ocala Builds, Builds Ocala,’ the sales organization sold stock in units of $300 for three shares,” reads a nomination form filed with the NRHP in 1980.
In fewer than six weeks, the committee raised $500,000 to finance the project – $50,000 for the land and $450,000 for the hotel. Most of the stock was purchased by local citizens.
The seven-story hotel was designed by Virginia-based architectural firm Peebles and Ferguson and was built by Day and Zimmerman, Inc. between 1926 and 1927.
The Marion Hotel opened in March 1927 with a gala that was attended by over 300 of the county’s business, professional, and social leaders, according to the NRHP.
Records show that the building was owned by Ocala Hotel Corporation from 1965 until it was purchased by Francis Marion Joint Venture around the Summer of 1980, when the hotel was nominated to become part of the NRHP. It was entered into the register on October 16, 1980.
In the 90’s, the hotel was turned into office condominiums. Over the years, those condominiums were all purchased by Midgett to move the project forward.
The building had emptied out over the years, with Symmetry Coffee Company leaving its space behind in October 2023 to move elsewhere in downtown.
During a presentation to business leaders earlier this year, ARK Hospitality’s Bailey briefly shared details about the new development.
Bailey indicated that food and beverage would be a “prominent part” of the building, citing a breakfast cafe with a bakery that will serve fresh pastries to guests and locals. The design of the property will maintain a historic feel with modern touches.
Hilton’s Tapestry Collection hotels are billed as having their own “vibrant personality,” each with a “unique story to share that comes to life through uplifting design and unique food and beverage.”
According to Bailey, the group is hoping to open the new hotel in the third quarter of 2025. Just a couple of years after it opens, the hotel will celebrate its 100th birthday.
The revitalization of yet another property in downtown Ocala demonstrates the continued investment in the heart of the city by local companies and residents like Midgett and others.
The Forge, a new dining space that will feature multiple restaurants, is under construction at the former WMOP Radio building just a couple blocks away from the hotel.
In April, 18 South unveiled its new, premium bar located on the Historic Downtown Square.
Watula South Townhomes and Lamplighter Legacy Apartments both added to the residential offering in downtown this year, and last December, Mellow Mushroom opened a location in the newly built Goldman Peek Building.
Constructed in 1891, the original building was historically known as the “Davis/Goldman Block Building” before it was demolished in 2020 to make way for the current multi-story development.
Just a block away from the Goldman Peek Building, the District Bar and Kitchen built a new restaurant from the ground up in the former site of Pi on Broadway.
Other projects over the years that have changed the commercial landscape of downtown Ocala include Cantina Tex Mex & Tequila, which opened in late 2021, the Hilton Garden Inn, which opened in 2020, and Bank Street and Black Sheep, which both opened in 2019.