LAKE WALES, Fla. (WFLA) — “Other than Bok Tower, it’s the tallest structure in town,” said Brandon Alvarado, the president of the Lake Wales History Museum.
According to Alvarado, the Dixie Walesbilt Hotel on 1st Street in Lake Wales was home to a grand entryway, businesses and 110 hotel rooms after it opened in 1927.
It closed in the 1990s.
“Kind of like what it represented in ‘27 and what it represents almost 100 years later is progress, the idea of what Lake Wales can be,” said Alvarado.
In 2010, Raymond Brown entered into a redevelopment agreement with the City of Lake Wales to develop what was then called the “Grand Hotel” into residential units.
In 2022, after years of the hotel sitting largely untouched, the city sued Brown.
In a ruling last week, a judge found Brown had made false statements when entering the agreement involving the pre-sale of units and a multi-millionaire investor.
In making his decision, Judge William Sites stated Brown admitted in depositions that he had never sold any units and that investor Rajesh Kumar was never a member of the Dixie Walesbilt LLC nor contributed any capital.
Because of this ruling, the city could potentially regain ownership.
“We appreciate the court’s ruling and we think it is eminently correct,” said Lake Wales Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson.
Gibson said more details on the court case and the future of the Walesbilt Hotel will be discussed at Tuesday night’s commission meeting.
Brown’s attorney, Brent Geohagan, said he plans to appeal the ruling.
“With the utmost respect, we disagree confidently and vehemently. We think this is the wrong decision for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is the statute of limitations,” he said in a phone interview.
Geohagan pointed out only one commissioner provided testimony saying her decision to approve the agreement would not have happened without the false statements.
“My client has a heart for this project and wants to do everything he can to make it what it should be,” said Geohagan.
“The hotel is iconic to Lake Wales,” said Ronnie Wood, executive director of the Lake Wales Main Street program.
She said the success of the Walesbilt Hotel is a part of the city’s downtown revitalization plan.
“The opportunity of the city regaining the hotel would be a dream come true,” said Wood.