Lake Wales city officials aim to redevelop historic hotel after lawsuit win
LAKE WALES, Fla. - The City of Lake Wales is on track to owning a historic hotel in downtown once again.
A circuit court ruled in favor of the city last week, bringing an end to a year-long contract dispute.
The Grand Hotel, formerly known as the Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, located at First St. and Park Ave., was the centerpiece of downtown Lake Wales in the 1920s.
"That was when people from the North came down to Lake Wales to not only visit but to purchase property, so this was the iconic building of the time," said Ronni Wood, Executive Director of Lake Wales Main Street, a non-profit. "This was during the land boom of the 20s."
The Grand Hotel sat vacant for years, so a previous city commission entered into a contract with Dixie-Walesbilt LLC in 2010 to renovate it, but city officials say the commission entered into the contract based on misrepresentations.
"Subsequent evidence determined those misrepresentations were in fact fraudulent," said Robin Gibson, Deputy Mayor of the City Commission.
The city filed a lawsuit against the hotel owner last year and the court handed down a summary judgment in the city's favor last week.
City officials now hope to restore the hotel to its original grandeur.
Redeveloping the hotel would compliment the revitalization that's already happening to downtown's historic core which includes replanting trees and upgrading streets to attract new residents and customers.
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"The economic impact not only is going to be in job employment but in the revitalization of the hotel and economic development once it's turned into a multi-use facility, whether that's a hotel or retail or all of the above," said Wood.
The circuit court could award the city more than $1.5 million, plus the cost of attorney fees.
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