FORT WALTON BEACH — City Manager Michael Beedie plans to ask the City Council on Feb. 13 to approve moving the old Gulfview Hotel building to a more visible site near the west side of the Indian Temple Mound Museum.
The proposed site is the 0.54-acre city-owned parking lot that stands next to Harris Insurance Services at 123 Miracle Strip Parkway S.E. and across Eglin Parkway from the De’ France Indoor Fleamarket Antiques and Collectibles parking lot.
The new lot is a little more than 400 feet west of the city’s initially-approved, 0.73-acre site, which is a vacant, city-owned parcel on the northwest corner of Miracle Strip Parkway and Florida Place. The vacant parcel is used for major-event parking and is the former site of Joe and Eddie's Family Restaurant.
City officials propose converting the relocated, 111-year-old Gulfview Hotel building into the first-ever Fort Walton Beach Welcome Center.
"We’ve always said (the old hotel would go to) the old Joe and Eddie's site, but one of our local architects, Jason Floyd, wants the building moved to the middle of downtown," Beedie said Thursday. "He drew up a plan showing the Gulfview Hotel on that site (west of the insurance office) and it makes perfect sense."
Floyd, the owner of Shalimar-based JDF Architecture, has helped the city on its downtown master plan. About a month ago he presented officials with a drawing of the old hotel at its newly proposed site, Beedie said.
"At the old Joe and Eddie's site, it would be tucked into a corner," Beedie said of the building. "At the Harris Insurance site, you have Eglin Parkway and (U.S. Highway) 98 come together. It’s a great site that is very visible, and kind of an entry point for those coming from the west. The building spot is still being finalized, but we hope it can face 98."
He said the city would lose some paved parking spots if the building is moved to the lot by Harris Insurance instead of the one by Florida Place. The lot by the insurance office currently has more than 30 parking spots.
"We’ll lose some parking but will gain a more visible site for the Gulfview Hotel," Beedie said. "We might lose about 15-20 parking spaces, but I think the benefits outweigh that."
Between the city lot and Eglin Parkway is an 0.9-acre, vacant parcel that is owned by local attorney Vince Bruner. City officials have not approached Bruner about possibly buying that parcel, Beedie said.
If the council approves the new location, the city lot along Florida Place would continue to serve as parking, Beedie said.
The city hired Marianna-based Ducky Johnson House Movers last fall to move the two-story, roughly 5,500-square-foot hotel less than a half-mile to the lot at Florida Place. The company faces a city deadline of March 5 to move the building.
Beedie said the company is still working with the Florida Department of Transportation on the temporary relocation of utility lines and traffic lights that will be needed to move the old hotel down U.S. 98. Based on the company’s request, Beedie said he plans to ask the council to extend the relocation deadline to April 5. The move will occur late at night.
The slightly shorter moving distance in the new site will require fewer utility line relocations, which is expected to save money, Beedie said.
The city’s original estimated cost for the relocations was $60,000 to $100,000. Beedie plans to provide the council with the updated cost.
The city has $300,000 in Community Redevelopment Agency money set aside to move the building and set it up in its new spot. Ducky Johnson's moving/setup cost of $149,800 will not change, even though the company might be asked to haul the building a shorter distance, Beedie said.
"Most of (the company’s) expense was doing the building prep to move it," he said.
The proposed welcome center would be operated by the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce. The building also could feature a history museum, a café or deli and leased office space.
Beedie said the city so far has heard from only one company that replied to the city’s request for proposals to manage the building.
Last January, the council accepted the donation of the building from its previous owners, Tom and Nicole Rothrauff and the Wyninegar family. The Rothrauffs plan to build a new home on the hotel’s original site after the building is moved.
The Chamber of Commerce has raised a little more than $5,000 toward its goal of $50,000 for the overall relocation project.
Last November, Cty Councilman David Schmidt cast the lone vote against hiring Ducky Johnson House Movers to move the old hotel. Schmidt has concerns about the use of any type of city funding for the relocation, setup and maintenance of the building.
Preserving history such as the Indian Temple Mound and the adjacent Camp Walton Schoolhouse is important, Schmidt said Thursday.
"But it’s just not the goal of the taxpayer to move an ancient building off the family’s land, plus the cost of maintaining a building that’s more than 100 years old," he said of the hotel. "I don’t think a welcome center is a wise use of spending thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money. Even my 87-year-old grandmother uses the Internet to gather information instead of going to a welcome center."
Schmidt added that downtown needs each of the parking spot available.
Councilman Mike Holmes said he looks forward to looking at the proposed plan to move the building to the lot next to Harris Insurance.
"I’m glad that they’ve looked at alternatives to see if there’s a better fit for that building," he said.
Holmes also said the possible extension of the relocation deadline must be discussed with the Rothrauffs and the Wyninger family.
"They’ve been more than gracious" while waiting for the building to be moved, he said.