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(60) stories found containing 'walesbilt hotel'


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  • Private Firms Set to Compete for Chance to Redevelop the Walesbilt Hotel

    Robert Connors|Updated Apr 16, 2025

    With the approval of a deal with Walesbilt Hotel owner Raymond Brown, the Lake Wales City Commission has cleared the way for the private redevelopment of the landmark building. The acceptance of the lawsuit settlement by the five-person commission, which also sits as the city's Community Redevelopment Agency board, ends a three-year battle over the building. The settlement brings the building back under city control more than a decade after it was given to Brown's Dixie...

  • Television News Stations Flock to Lake Wales to Cover Hotel Story

    New Staff Reports|Updated Apr 16, 2025

    Lake Wales received a wave of television coverage this week as area broadcasters sent teams to cover the big economic news of the settlement between Dixie Walesbilt LLC and the City of Lake Wales that will return ownership of the landmark hotel to the City after more than a decade. Interviews with City Manager James Slaton and Community Redevelopment Agency Chairman Robin Gibson were conducted Tuesday in front of the 10-story structure by four different Tampa Bay area...

  • City, CRA Reach Settlement to Obtain Walesbilt Hotel

    Robert Connors|Updated Apr 12, 2025

    The City of Lake Wales negotiation team has apparently approved a settlement agreement with Dixie Walesbilt LLC that will result in the return of the landmark Walesbilt Hotel to the City. The City Commission and CRA agendas Tuesday evening include the agreement which should end a two-year legal battle and set the stage for renovation of the 98-year-old hotel. The agreement attached to the meeting notices has already been executed by Dixie Walesbilt owner Ray Brown and City...

  • Downtown, Walesbilt Hotel Redevelopment Could Be Halted by Florida Legislature

    Robert Connors|Updated Apr 8, 2025

    The future redevelopment of the Walesbilt Hotel and the ongoing Lake Wales Connected effort would be placed at serious risk if the Florida Legislature adopts a pair of bills currently being considered. Florida House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1242 would put severe restrictions on Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) in Florida, effectively stopping their efforts to address declining neighborhoods. “This is serious,” said Lake Wales CRA chairman Robin Gibson. “It is incon...

  • Walesbilt Hotel Lawsuit Rumbling to a Conclusion

    Robert Connors|Updated Mar 16, 2025

    A ruling by Circuit Judge Jennifer Swensen this month has brought the City of Lake Wales and the city's Community Redevelopment Agency significantly closer to reclaiming the title to the landmark Walesbilt Hotel, bringing redevelopment of the building within reach. The legal battle over control of the historic structure began when the city filed the suit in February 2022. The most-recent ruling dismissed a counter-suit and appeal for summary judgement filed by defendant...

  • Projected Light Show to Illuminate Walesbilt Hotel Friday Night

    Robert Connors|Updated Jan 29, 2025

    A light spectacle in honor of the Lake Wales High School Class of '75 will guild the white limestone walls of the Walesbilt Hotel Friday night and the sponsor has promised that "as bright light will shine over uptown Lake Wales." A changing display of graphic images will be projected on the walls of the ten-story building in Lake Wales by River City Lights, a production company based in Decatur, Ala. The show will include school logos and 70's themed images with a "more...

  • City Files For Final Judgement to Regain Walesbilt Hotel Title

    Robert Connors|Updated May 8, 2024

    Attorneys representing the City of Lake Wales have filed a motion for final judgement in their two-year pursuit of a lawsuit against Dixie Walesbilt LLC. The motion seeks to dismiss all counts in the suit beyond the two already decided in favor of the city. The two counts already decided by the court concluded that Dixie Walesbilt principal Ray Brown had committed "fraud in the inducement" to trick the city into assigning the title to his firm. The city had granted title to th...

  • Court Clears Path for Redevelopment of Walesbilt Hotel, Rules in Favor of City

    Suzie Schottelkotte and Robert Connors|Updated Mar 12, 2024
    1

    BARTOW - A Circuit Court ruling Thursday has set the stage for reverting ownership of the historic Walesbilt Hotel in Lake Wales back to the city, ending a years-long legal battle for control of the 10-story building. Circuit Judge William T. Sites ruled that the current owner, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC's Raymond Brown, fraudulently induced the city into contracting with him to redevelop the property, and ultimately to sign the deed over to Brown, according to the ruling. The...

  • Gibson Lays Out History, City Position in Walesbilt Lawsuit

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2024

    Despite a significant ruling in favor of the city, the future of the Walesbilt Hotel still hangs in the balance of an active lawsuit, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson told the city commission during the boards' regular meeting Tuesday night. The ten-story boom-era hotel, constructed in 1926, is the dominant feature of the city's downtown and has been a topic of discussion by the commission for more than a decade. It has remained vacant since 1996. In a 33-minute presentation at...

  • Incumbents Are No-Shows at Commission Election Forum

    Robert Connors, managing Editor|Updated Mar 6, 2024
    2

    Three challengers seeking two seat on the Lake Wales City Commission held the stage at a Monday evening candidates forum after both incumbents failed to show up for the 90-minute event. The election is four weeks away, slated for Tuesday, April 2. Carol Gillespie, seeking seat 4 on the five-person commission, along with Brandon Alvarado and Crystal Higbee, both seeking seat 2, shared their ideas and responded to questions from the audience at the forum sponsored by the...

  • West Park Avenue Reopens to Traffic, East Park Closes as Project Advances

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 2, 2024

    While the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the newly reconstructed portions of Park Avenue and First Street remains in the planning stage, the newly-completed stretches of West Park Avenue and North First Street are now open to two-way traffic. The opening comes concurrent with the closure of the eastern portion of Park Avenue, a situation expected to last most of the year as the pavement is removed, utilities upgraded, and new sidewalks and brick streets are installed. Shoppe...

  • More Public Parking Downtown is Goal of CRA Purchase

    Robert Connors|Updated Jan 13, 2024

    More convenient public parking downtown, the subject of repeated merchant requests, will be addressed soon, according to city officials. Converting a private parking lot to a city-owned facility is on the agenda of the next meeting of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency The board will consider the purchase of the privately-owned lot at the corner of Park Avenue and First Street at their January 9 meeting. The move is viewed as part of the ongoing reinvigoration...

  • Lake Wales Highlander of July 4, 1923

    News Research Staff|Updated Jul 30, 2023

    Starting this week the Lake Wales News will begin publishing historic reproductions of the Lake Wales Highlander newspapers from 100 years ago. The images, retrieved from the digital archives of the Lake Wales Public Library, will portray the front page of each week's newspaper. The Lake Wales Highlander was a weekly publication that tracked the growth and progress of the fledgling community, which had only recently exceeded a population of 500. At that time it was poised for...

  • Park Avenue Will Remain "Open For Business" During Transformation

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jul 11, 2023

    Continuous access to downtown businesses will be maintained during construction of the transformative Lake Wales Connected designs, representatives of Gomez Construction assured gathered merchants at a Tuesday morning meeting. Project manager Mahmoud Heda said that, despite unavoidable traffic detours, "sidewalks will never be shut down during business hours." The 8:30 am gathering at The Marketplace Café allowed Heda and Main Street Manager Ronni Wood to explain the complex...

  • 100 Years Ago this Week is New Feature of Ridge Life Section

    News Research Staff|Updated Jul 4, 2023

    Starting this week the Lake Wales News will begin publishing historic reproductions of the Lake Wales highlander newspapers from 100 years ago. The images, retrieved from the digital archives of the Lake Wales Public Library, will portray the front page of each week's newspaper, and will be published in a new subsection of the Ridge Life section. The 1923 Highlander was a weekly publication that tracked the growth and progress of the fledgling community, which had only...

  • City Moves For Summary Judgement of "Fraud in the Inducement" to Reclaim Walesbilt Hotel

    Suzie Schotelkotte and Robert Connors|Updated Jul 3, 2023

    Lawyers for the city of Lake Wales are asking a circuit judge to rule that Ray Brown lied to city commissioners about his financing and progress in redeveloping the historic Walesbilt Hotel and that those fraudulent representations led commissioners to deed the hotel to him in 2011. If Circuit Judge William Sites rules for the city, it would pave the way for returning the partially renovated hotel, dating to 1926, back to the city. The city is suing Brown's company, Dixie Wale...

  • Retail Business Recruitment is Focus of Downtown Lake Wales Effort

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Jun 12, 2023

    A downtown business improvement effort "focused on asset development and retail recruitment" was outlined to a large group of downtown property owners at a Wednesday luncheon. Elliott Cook of Retail Strategies told those in attendance that his purpose was to gather information from them that would be used in their efforts. Cook promised that his firm would provide owners with the tools for success. Retail Strategies was hired by city government to help recruit new business...

  • Significant Ruling in Walesbilt Lawsuit Favors City of Lake Wales

    Suzie Schottelkotte and Robert Connors, Lake Wales News staff writers|Updated Apr 12, 2023

    The year-long lawsuit between plaintiffs the City of Lake Wales and defendants Dixie-Walesbilt LLC of Winter Haven has taken a significant turn. The future potential redevelopment of the 11-story hotel, a Lake Wales landmark, hangs in the balance. A ruling issued by Circuit Judge William Sites on Wednesday denied the defendant's motion for summary judgement on each of the five points. The suit filed by the city and the Community Redevelopment Agency alleges that...

  • City Commission Meets "in the Shade" to Discuss Possible Settlement Terms for Walesbilt Hotel Lawsuit

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 8, 2023

    A recent private meeting, held out of the reach of Florida's "Sunshine Law," allowed city commissioners and their legal counsel to discuss the ongoing mediation in their lawsuit seeking title to the Walesbilt Hotel. The Florida law permits such meetings only in the case of such matters which would otherwise reveal the city's negotiating position. The long-festering issue of needed restoration of the eleven-story structure, which dominates views of the city, came to a head just...

  • Walesbilt Hotel Lawsuit Inches Forward

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 5, 2023

    The long, seemingly endless tale of the Walesbilt Hotel continues to make its way toward an eventual settlement, although it's a process Walesbilt Hotel LLC seems determined to extend. Lake Wales Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson briefed City Commissioners on the state of the lawsuit following a court-required mediation session that took place Tuesday. That process is confidential, so Gibson was barred from sharing what was discussed or proposed, and will be until any additional...

  • City, CRA Give Go-Ahead to $18.5 Million Bond Issue

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 27, 2022

    An $18.5 million bond issuance received final approval from the Lake Wales City Commission on Tuesday, completing the funding of the award-winning Lake Wales Connected project. The approval in back-to-back meetings of the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City Commission was the final step necessary for the city's bond counsel firm of Ford and Associates. It is expected that the bonds will be offered on the market almost immediately. Ford and Associates has guaranteed...

  • Walesbilt Lawsuit Conclusion Chances Raised by City Commissioner

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Dec 15, 2022

    A quick end to a lawsuit over title to the Walesbilt Hotel was raised as a possibility during a meeting of the Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday. "There is a good chance that the city will once again have title to the hotel, and I think we should notify everybody out there...that there may come a time when that hotel will be on the market," Chairman Robin Gibson told the commissioners. The city has been locked in a legal battle with Walesbilt LLC since...

  • Five City Candidates Discussed Issues At Monday Forum

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 21, 2022
    1

    More than 70 guests gathered Monday evening at the Lake Wales Woman's Club to hear all five candidates for election to two city posts discuss issues and answer questions. Speaking from the stage all five candidates received polite applause following most of their answers, but there were also moments of division. All five candidates were asked the same questions. Mayoral candidates Curtis Gibson, Jack Hilligoss and Tammy James generally agreed on most issues, including that...

  • City Proceeds With Suit Against Dixie Walesbilt LLC

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 17, 2022

    Following the collapse of negotiations Lake Wales Community Redevelopment Agency is proceeding with a lawsuit against the Dixie Walesbilt LLC. That action is expected to filed by Monday. The 96-year-old building has been the subject of an ambitious redevelopment proposal that would bring a luxury hotel chain to the building while redeveloping the adjacent properties. Negotiations have taken place during the past three weeks, but failed to reach an agreement which would...

  • City, CRA File 12-Count Lawsuit Against Dixie Walesbilt LLC

    Robert Connors, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 8, 2022

    The fate of the storied Walesbilt Hotel has been placed in the hands of the courts after the City of Lake Wales and the Community Redevelopment Agency filed a twelve-count lawsuit in Circuit Court. The lawsuit effectively deters any immediate work to rehabilitate the structure, which has been the focus of interest by a team of developers working with current owner Ray Brown. The lawsuit alleges that Brown, through his corporation Dixie Walesbilt LLC, defrauded the City and...

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