City takes steps to tear down old Sheraton Hotel
Wichita Falls city councilors on Tuesday took the first step toward turning an abandoned hotel near the falls at the Wichita River into a public park.
Councilors passed an ordinance authorizing appropriation of the 12.5 acres by use of eminent domain, if necessary.
Eminent domain means taking the property even if the owner doesn’t want to sell, but paying for it.
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The ordinance passed Tuesday gives City Manager Darron Leiker authority to start condemnation proceedings.
Assistant City Manager Paul Menzies said the use of eminent domain would be a last resort.
“We set out with the owners of this tract almost a year ago and the level of responsiveness to those discussions is one of the reasons we are here today,” Menzies said. “Hopefully this will get everybody to the table and get us moving down the road on this project.”
Menzie said the city has a window of about 45 to 60 days to negotiate with the property owners.
“Hopefully to get a purchase price before we would have to potentially use those powers (eminent domain),” Menzies said.
Menzies did not say what the purchase prices might be, but the Wichita Appraisal District sets the value of the land and building at $1.5 million.
Councilor Michael Smith said the city has a draft plan for use of the property.
“We’re talking trails. Bike-riding areas which would add to activities that already go on on that side of the river,” Smith said.
The property is adjacent to land the city already owns, including an RV park and a 14-acre tract the city bought from a private individual earlier this year.
Ironically the now-derelict hotel was constructed because the City Council and the Wichita County Commissioners approved the sale of up to $10 million in industrial revenue bonds in 1983 for some Oklahoma developers.
It was originally a Sheraton Hotel when it opened in 1985 and was considered a luxury hotel in its heyday. It was built in what had once been designated as a floodway, defined as the channel and banks of the river that can convey floodwaters. Water from the river got into the building on at least two occasions.
The hotel changed hands and names several times over the years and eventually fell into disrepair. Owners racked up numerous ordinance violations. It was vacated in about 2012 and became a hangout for vagrants. Wichita Falls Police have made numerous calls to the location. It has also become a setting for You Tube videos made by urban-decay explorers.
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The Wichita Appraisal District lists the current owners as Wichita Falls Hospitality Inc. in Durant, Okla.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City takes steps to tear down old Sheraton Hotel by the falls
