Restoration St. Louis and the Lake Wales CRA have reached a preliminary agreement that will lead to the redevelopment of the Walesbilt Hotel. The agreement will be considered at Tuesday’s meeting of the CRA board.
Redevelopment of the historic building, which was under construction 100 years ago, has been high on a list of goals shared by city staff and commissioners for several years. The reopening of the hotel, which will become part of the Marriott Tribute Collection, is expected to have enormous economic impact upon the downtown area and the entire city.
The plan is moving forward after a year-long effort by City Manager James Slaton and city staff following the CRA victory in a lawsuit against a former owner, allowing the CRA to take the title to the ten-story hotel. The process has since included a nationwide search for a qualified redeveloper. Restoration St. Louis emerged at the top of the list based upon their experience in concluding hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of similar restoration projects.
“We’ve done it!” Slaton told Lake Wales News.net. “It’s a big deal. It’s historic. It’s actually going to get done. We’ve been working hard these last five or six years to create a destination downtown, but the Walesbilt was the missing piece. It’s going to change the future of downtown forever.”