Florida hotel eyed as demo candidate

Although about to celebrate its centennial in 2023, the Hotel Putnam in DeLand, Florida, may instead be dismantled before the year is out.

The government of DeLand reportedly has issued an engineering assessment of the vacant property that characterizes it as structurally unsound and too costly to repair. The hotel opened in 1923 and became “a winter destination for prominent winter visitors who were entertained by many celebrated entertainers of the period,” according to a biography of Hotel Putnam architect William J. Carpenter.

A report from the West Volusia Beacon says the hotel was purchased in 2021 by Axia Partners for more than $2.3 million. An Axia investor says it has spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to try to restore the property.

The same report says from 2018 to 2021, the Hotel Putnam was owned by an Orlando resident who paid just $1 million for the property but invested another $1 million to try to renovate it. Prior to that, the building had been vacant since 2011 and suffered a fire in 2018.

As of late 2022, the engineer who prepared the assessment wrote in part that one section of the building had been “damaged beyond the point of repair” while “the remainder of the building should also come down, as in my professional opinion during the demolition of the East Wing that the remainder of the building will experience further deterioration as well. It is my recommendation to demolish this building in whole.”

One of the prior owners had planned to redevelop the building into apartments, according to the Beacon. A 22-page document posted to the city of DeLand website spells out what such a renovation might look like.

Although a city spokesperson says the developer is likely to agree to demolition, the report also quotes Axia Partners as saying they are “committed to finding a use for the site that pays tribute to the hotel’s history.”