Demolition day nears for Dania Hilton

Demolition day is nearing for the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport hotel.

The 388-room property at 1870 Griffin Road near Interstate 95 is expected to close permanently March 31 and later razed to make way for the completion of the new south runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

As of Tuesday, reservations were still being accepted for that final night according to a front desk agent who said it was the hotel's last day for accepting guests.

Tourism officials say the Hilton's loss is a blow to room inventory in Broward County, which hasn't grown dramatically in recent years. The county had 33,294 available hotel and motel units in 2012, versus 34,976 in 2011, data from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) show.

"This will absolutely have an impact on our available group inventory and makes the need for a Convention Center hotel even more critical," CVB President Nicki Grossman said. "Fortunately there are some proposed properties scheduled for development over the next two years which will make new inventory available, but we will certainly feel the pinch now."

The hotel's loss is also likely to put on dent in tourist tax collection with fewer hotel beds available to accommodate overnight visitors.

In 2012, Dania Beach was the third-largest municipality behind Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood for tourism tax collection, according to the latest CVB data. It generated $3.4 million (or 7.8 percent0 of the $43.8 million in tourism taxes collected that year, which is derived from the 5 percent 'bed tax' levied on overnight hotel visitors.

In January the Hilton's operator informed state officials that its 63 full-time and part-time employees would be laid off effective April 1 due to its permanent closure. The affected jobs ranged from general manager to restaurant food servers and room attendants, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed.

Last year, Broward County bought the Dania Hilton for $62 million after filing a condemnation lawsuit to take possession under eminent domain. It then hired The BG Group of Boca Raton to tear it down to clear the path for the new runway that's expected to open in September.

The aviation department will assume possession April 7 and BG Group will take about 6-to-8 weeks to assess and prepare the site for demolition, airport spokesman Greg Meyer said Wednesday. The entire structure should be demolished by early June, then filled in and sodded by August, authorities have said.

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Demolition day nears for Dania Hilton