Weekly Progress Report, Gulfstream Hotel, Lake Worth, Florida.

Week ending Sunday, July 16th, 2017: Once again, there is no progress to report.

Remember, Hudson Holdings* purchased the Gulfstream Hotel in May 2014.

From an article published in The Palm Beach Post shortly afterward:

It’s not yet clear what Hudson paid for the Gulfstream, or what it plans to do with it. But it seems as if Hudson is looking to bring in additional investors to redevelop the property, which it calls a “history landmark redevelopment hotel project” on its website.

Remember this recent ‘news’?

“Our plans are to rehabilitate this hotel [and] bring it back to its historic significance in the public areas, the lobby, corridors etc.,” said Steven Michael, principal of developer Hudson Holdings during a tour Friday. “We’ll do a complete rehabilitation of the whole building from top to bottom.”
—Quote from this article in the Sun Sentinel datelined April 14th, 2017.

So. Remember. Hudson Holdings purchased the Gulfstream Hotel in May 2014:

Then, following 15 months of no progress renovating this historic hotel, Hudson Holdings holds a public meeting for their re-development proposal for the Lake Worth Casino at the Beach on August 24th, 2015.

At this meeting, Hudson Holdings did receive much “open and honest feedback” from the public (see image below).

The public came, they listened, and then they said: “NO. Leave our Beach alone.”

Following that meeting — held nearly two years ago — Hudson Holdings then wrote they were, “hard at work refining a proposal that we believe will work for everyone . . .”, because their idea for a “Better Beach” was rejected by the public.

Click on image to enlarge:

On January 17th, 2017, an excerpt from an article in the Post titled, “Real estate company considers selling historic Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth”:

. . . City Manager Michael Bornstein, who called Hudson Holdings’ decision a “huge” disappointment, disputed [Steven] Michael’s characterization, saying more than $100 million worth of new private investment and projects are underway in Lake Worth.
     “This is from a city that seven or eight years ago had no commercial permits pulled to now over $100 million,” Bornstein said. “(Michael’s comments) don’t match up with the realities.”
     Bornstein also pointed out Lake Worth has $116 million in upcoming infrastructure improvements, including road, sewer, water and electric work.

The public was listening to Hudson Holdings back in 2015. Then Hudson Holdings asked the public to come out and speak.

And the public did — in big numbers — they came and kept on coming. Crowds of people in cars and on bikes and by foot over the bridge. And they spoke at our Beach. Many were asking this question: “Why isn’t the Gulfstream Hotel being renovated? What is the delay?”

When the public speaks you need to take the time and energy, and try to listen, and try to understand what they have to say:

So, where are we now?

How the historic Gulfstream Hotel looks today:

Title of Hudson Holdings’ press release cited above from last April: “National Historic Real Estate Property Developer, Commences Historic Gulfstream Hotel Project”.

Going forward, the ‘Progress Reports’ for the Gulfstream Hotel will be weekly, until of course, there is any “progress” to report.

Below are the previous “Daily Progress Reports”:

• Thursday, July 13th: “[T]he claim by Hudson Holdings they paid to demolish the dilapidated structures on the west of the Gulfstream Hotel property last April is FALSE — the CRA paid for that work ($30,000) — not Hudson Holdings.”
• Wednesday, July 12th: “[T]he Gulfstream Hotel is a glimpse into the past . . . undergoing a multi-million dollar face lift.”
• Tuesday, July 11th: Recall the popular 4-part series in the Coastal/Greenacres Observer (Oct., 2015), “Dog Days and Glory Days”? Six hundred and sixty-four (642) days later not much has changed at the Gulfstream Hotel.
• Monday, July 10th: This “Daily Progress Report” has information from Senior Reporter Brian Bandell at the South Florida Business Journal.
• Sunday, July 9th: “Will next year be another Street Painting Festival, one more festival or big event in our City’s Downtown, with the Gulfstream Hotel closed and shuttered?”
• Saturday, July 8th: “Maybe it’s our Gulfstream Hotel, still an eyesore in our Downtown following all that excitement in January 2016, that stands a constant reminder what historic preservation cannot do. What needs to happen is not happening.”
• Friday, July 7th: Email from Hudson Holdings dated March 31st, 2017, “More good news from Hudson Holdings. The Gulfstream Hotel is a GO!”, following District Court of Appeals ruling.
• Thursday, July 6th: “This sidewalk is nearly impassable due to all the unkempt vegetation and weeds.”
• Wednesday, July 5th: “I do not believe anything Hudson Holdings says,” one resident posted on the Facebook page Lake Worth Local. “Look at how they let the property deteriorate.”
• Tuesday, July 4th: “Once referred to as the ‘Jewell of Lake Worth’ . . . this elegant property is undergoing a multi-million dollar face lift.”
• Monday, July 3rd: “A tree growing out of the structure cannot be good for this ‘elegant’ structure. Simple pruning shears would help this ‘multi-million dollar facelift.’ ”
• Sunday, July 2nd: Special treat, “Preserving Tomorrow”. Watch this video, Hudson Holdings “is a national historic property developer”.
• Saturday, July 1st: “[T]his elegant property is undergoing a multi-million dollar face lift”, according to Hudson Holdings’ website.
• Friday, June 30th: “5 Star Luxury - Coming Winter 2015”.
• Thursday, June 29th: “Grand Reopening of Lake Worth’s Historic Landmark”.
• Wednesday, June 28th (windows left open all the time and plywood for security of the structure).

*To contact Hudson Holdings, a company specializing in “adaptive reuse of premier historic structures”, use this link or call 561-768-7621. For the Gulfstream Hotel’s Facebook page use this link. Email: info@hudsonholdings.com