KEY WEST COMES NORTH GIANT VOYAGER MOTEL GOES LUXURY TIMESHARE

	The 33-year-old Voyager Motel will be virtually unrecognizable when its $6 million renovation to a timeshare resort is complete in two years.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The Voyager Motel, built in 1954 and perhaps the granddaddy of the big beachside motels, is undergoing a $6 million, two-year renovation into the Grand Seas timeshare resort with a Key West theme.

The 251-room hotel, owned by the Madorsky family, area hoteliers since 1953, will be converted into 158 timeshare condominiums to include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, according to Barry Freedman, whose company, Accumen Sales and Marketing, has formed the Grand Seas Resort Partnership with the Madorskys. It is their second collaboration and second chance at turning a rundown hotel into a profitable new resort. Conversion of the Americano Motel into a timeshare resort began in 1992 and is expected to be sold out and gross $45 million by the end of this year, Freedman said.

The Voyager and Americano are part of a larger conversion movement along the beach that is revitalizing the strip's image and adding millions to the tax base and tens of thousands in tax revenues.

Freedman estimates that upon completion in 1998, the Grand Seas Resort will pay more than $502,000 annually in property taxes. The Voyager currently pays annual taxes of approximately $88,000.

The Grand Seas conversion also is expected to provide 200 jobs and utilize dozens of local contractors over the two-year construction period, Freedman said.

For its Key West design, the Grand Seas partnership looked south, to the Hollywood, Fla. architectural firm of ARC Avenue.

The result is a resort along 800 feet of oceanfront that will present a look unlike any other on the beachfront.

The Key West style brings shutters, faux porches and other features of older island homes to a massive structure. The south tower is being rebuilt first, and the motel will remain in operation.

In back along the beach, the resort will offer family attractions such as a miniature golf course, two pools and a tiki bar for mom and dad. Inside, there'll be a restaurant and lounge, indoor lap pool, steam room and fitness center.

The Grand Seas Resort is one of five motel conversions currently underway locally, at a total cost of about $20 million.