Holiday wishes could come true for Lake Worth Beach residents hoping to see the historic Gulfstream Hotel reopened and restored to its former grandeur.
In mid-December, the hotel and vacant land at 1 Lake Ave. are expected finally to transfer from CDS International of Delray Beach to Restoration St. Louis, a firm specializing in historic restoration.
The sale will consist of the land and a separate entity awarded rights to restore and expand the hotel, according to Amy Gill, chief executive of Restoration St. Louis. These rights include money incentives and entitlements that allow for renovation of the hotel and construction of a hotel addition.
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Restoration of the Old Florida landmark could begin immediately after the closing, with completion of the hotel slated to take about 15 months, Gill said. The hotel would be done first, followed by the additional portion.
Financing issues have delayed the project's redo for the past three years, but Gill said all funding is in place now.
Final details delayed Gulfstream Hotel's sale in October
Although a sale had been expected to take place in October, Gill said a final detail needed to be completed before the purchase could be completed. That detail involves submission of an updated plat that establishes new entrances and exits and utility easem*nts for the site. The plat also separates the hotel property and the hotel addition into separate parcels.
The Lake Worth Beach City Commission is expected to vote on the plat redo Dec. 5, according to Lauren Bennett, director of the city's leisure services department. Once that vote clears, Gill said her company can complete the purchase "and we're off to the races," she said.
Still, Gill hedged on whether a closing will definitely take place on Dec. 12 as planned.
"Now it's getting everybody to the table at the same time," Gill said.
Regardless, preliminary construction documents already have been submitted to the city, and its staff has reviewed them and made comments, Gill said. This means that when the final documents are submitted soon after the sale closes, approval should be swift.
If the sale takes place as planned, a formal building permit should be filed by year-end, with a groundbreaking expected to take place in early 2024.
Once the sale closes, work could begin immediately on the hotel's water and sewer lines, Gill said.
A fresh start for Old Florida landmark property that dates back almost a century
The sale would mark a new start for the aged property, which opened in 1925 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
In 2005, the waterview property across from the Intracoastal Waterway and Bryant Park closed its doors, marking a blow to the downtown district. TheGulfstream is the onlyhoteloptionfor tourists in downtown Lake Worth Beach and potentially could be a major economic boost to nearby businesses.
In 2014, a group tied to CDS International paid $7.2 million for the hotel. CDS is a company owned by vitamin kingpin Carl DeSantis, who died in August at age 84.
Solid plans for a redo of the hotel finally began to take shape in August 2019 whenRestoration St. Louis became involved in the venture.
CDS found Restoration St. Louis, led by the husband-and-wife team of Amrit and Amy Gill, after a search for a company skilled in historic preservation.The St.Louis-based companyhas renovated more than 400 historic properties, primarily in the Midwest.
In 2020, the Gills said they planned to buy the property from CDS.But thenthe coronavirus pandemicdried up construction financing,and the Gills never completed the purchase.
Instead, in March 2021, Restoration St. Louis and CDS Holdings announced they were entering into ajoint ventureagreement to reopen the hotel, with CDSprovidingthe construction financing.
Under this latestarrangement, the property once again is a sale, with CDS still providing some construction financing.
Incentives from the city sweetened Gulfstream Hotel project
To help sweeten the deal, Lake Worth Beach City Commission approved economic incentives for the project. This includes a 10-year tax abatement on the historic hotel, believed by some to be worthin excess of$10 million.
Restoration St. Louis said an expansion of the hotel also was necessary to make the project financially feasible.
This led to city approval of a 165,000-square-foot annex that would be built on the six parcels west of the hotel and feature anadditional50hotelrooms,plus85 apartments and a parking garage in an eight-story building.
The annex also would include a restaurant, rooftop pool, banquet room, salon and gym.
The entire project is expected to cost $135 million, with the historic restoration alone costing $45 million to $50 million.
Alexandra Clough is a business writer and columnist atThe Palm Beach Post.You can reach herataclough@pbpost.com. Twitter:@acloughpbp.Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
