Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Historic Property Expected to Become Boutique Hotel
After a long but successful legal battle over the title to the historic Walesbilt Hotel, the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is wasting no time moving to begin their efforts to see the building redeveloped.
The CRA has approved the hiring of the engineering firm of Kimley-Horn to conduct an evaluation of the hotel that will include a structural property condition report and a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The report the firm will generate will be included in packets prepared for the several companies that has stepped forward to express interest in the hotel.
The report, which will cost $60,000, will also include a limited "NESHAP Asbestos Survey."
City Manager James Slaton, who also serves as the executive director of the CRA, has said that at least eight different firms are interested in returning the building to service as a hotel. The city has yet to initiate an expected nationwide advertising of the property to reach other potential bidders. A hotel is the required outcome of the rehab project, according to city officials.
A conceptual redesign of the hotel and surrounding properties created by architect Rick Gonzalez more than three years ago incorporated the existing Care Center building as a conference center with a new parking garage in between. The American Legion Building was intended to be an annex to the hotel with additional rooms.
The 99-year-old hotel has not been used as a hotel since the mid-1990s, when it was sold at auction. It passed through the city's hands after a foreclosure for unpaid code violation liens in 2006-2007 before the city gave the building to a Winter Haven firm.
Ray Brown, the principal of Dixie Walesbilt LLC, had promised to create condominiums in the building, but that plan never came to pass, leading the city to sue to reclaim the title. That legal battle ended last week with the transfer of title in exchange for a $450,000 payment to Brown.
With lessons learned from that experience, city leaders are designing a tight set of provisions to include in any future agreement. That is likely to include bonding requirements to ensure timely completion.
The 10-story landmark hotel is a key element of the CRAs plans to reinvigorate the historic city center. The recently completed Park Avenue Streetscape project included work on both the east and north sides of the hotel, contributing to its appeal.
The once-spectacular interior of the Walesbilt Hotel is expected to be returned to its former glory as the building is restored for use as a boutique hotel.
Slaton acknowledged that the return to service as a hotel is likely to require the construction of an adjacent parking garage. That issue has been discussed as a long-term project, but may now be accelerated, according to Slaton and commissioners. The parking facility would be sized to accommodate additional parking for downtown shoppers and business needs.
Brown is also the listed owner of the former American Legion building located on the western end of the same block as the hotel. That property, recently offered for sale, is reportedly already under contract.
Between those properties lies the Care Center Thrift Store and its large parking lot. That property has now become the most likely site for a new parking garage, leading to discussion among members of the Care Center board about the potential sale and relocation of the facility. Executive Director Rob Quam has told Lake Wales News.net that he is certain that his board "will not stand in the way" of the rehabilitation of the hotel.
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