Lake Wales is on the verge of reclaiming one of its most important downtown assets.
The city and its Community Redevelopment Agency reached an agreement Friday with the owner of the Walesbilt Hotel to end a three-year legal battle. Under the agreement, the city will pay $450,000 to Raymond Brown, owner of Dixie Walesbilt LCC, to transfer ownership of the hotel to the Lake Wales CRA.
The deal only needs the approval of the Lake Wales City Commission and the CRA board, which consists of the five city commissioners.
“My reaction is: Finally, finally, finally,” said City Commissioner Robin Gibson, the chair of the CRA board. “It is going to mean a lot to the town and particularly downtown. Our expert witness who was going to testify at trial had validated the economic consequences of not having the hotel renovated, and that is loss of tax revenue and all the surrounding property values not going up. And now we can turn that coin over.”