A local developer said the City of Lake Wales would get a better bang for the buck if they demolish the nearly century-old Seminole Hotel downtown and build something new.
Lake Wales Way was the sole bidder for the city’s Request for Proposals for the rehabilitation of the Seminole Hotel, located at 207 North 1st Street in Lake Wales. The three-story, 14,776-square-foot building sits on a quarter-acre lot on the edge of Lake Wales’ downtown district and has been vacant since 2017, falling into a state of disrepair.
The RFP detailed the city’s desire for a firm to restore and revitalize the current structure, instead of demolishing the current building and moving forward with a new construction. “The highest priority is placed on adaptive reuse of the structure to support the activation of downtown and 1st Street…the Seminole Hotel is a prime example of a building that is ripe for renovation, rehabilitation, and re-purpose,” the RFP said.
The developer noted that the city likely wants to renovate the building into residential with ground-floor retail. They are skeptical of that vision, noting that the structure doesn’t provide enough square footage for the number of residential units needed to offset the cost of revitalization and that the building doesn’t have any historically significant features other than its age.
“The project has a lot of long-term potential, but considering the extent of its current structural deficiencies, it is the developer’s opinion that on its face, the best project value would come from demolishing the structure and building a new one, or possibly changing the property’s use”, according to their proposal.
“Rehabilitation of the current building and repurposing it to a mixed-use project is likely a more expensive and more risky approach than demolition and reconstruction”, the proposal continued.
Instead of renovating the current building, the developer proposed a couple of alternative solutions. The first potential use is complete demolition and construction of a new structure with a historic façade. This mixed-use building could include ground-floor retail and provide a similar architectural façade while allowing for enough residential units to make the project feasible with less risk.
The developer also argued that other uses could become more attractive pending the completion of other nearby projects. The different uses for the property could include fully commercial, fully residential, and even a park or a parking garage.
“Once the new Grove Manor is constructed and a redevelopment plan is proposed for the Walesbilt Hotel, other uses for this property may become more attractive”, according to the proposal.
The developer noted that they understand and are open to the city’s wishes to retain and repurpose the current structure if it is financially feasible. To determine the most appropriate reuse for the Seminole Hotel site, the developer proposed using a “Cost-Plus” approach. This approach would begin by determining the cost of repairing the current structure and comparing it against the cost of constructing a new building. After this step, the developer would further assess other uses.
City staff have not met yet to discuss the proposal but will do so late next week. Benjamin Wiles, Managing Partner of Lake Wales Way, told Growthspotter that he hopes to speak with city officials about the proposal very soon.
“We sent in a proposal that gives the City some options, and one that will hopefully allow the project to get done. I hope to talk through the details with them over the next week or two, then settle on an approach. The Grove Manor apartments look like they’re getting funded, so I think that might help move this one forward too”, Wiles said.
Wiles said that his firm was interested in submitting a proposal for the Seminole Hotel site because of their commitment to revitalizing downtown Lake Wales.
“The community has put a lot of effort into developing a vision for downtown, which is the Lake Wales Connected Plan. The city is putting the Plan into action, and the old Seminole Hotel is one part of it”, he explained. “The goal here is to…bring more business to the downtown core, and also help connect the commercial downtown with the residential Northwest Neighborhood. We have a very nice downtown with some great restaurants and shops, and the city is making a lot of progress [towards] rebuilding the infrastructure.”
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