Historic Hotel Putnam in DeLand recommended for demolition due to deterioration

DELAND — Downtown's historic Hotel Putnam should be demolished, according to a structural engineer's report.

The long-vacant building at 225 W. New York Ave., across from City Hall, "may collapse in part or whole" in the near future, Bora Erbilen, a professional engineer and president of BBM Structural, said Thursday in a letter to Joe Levrault, the city's chief building official.

Erbilen wrote that the east wing has deteriorated beyond repair, and even if it were demolished, the rest of the structure would "experience further deterioration" in the process.

"I don't believe it is salvageable," Erbilen wrote. "It is my recommendation to demolish this building in whole."

The recommendation comes following the city's request that Axia Partners, the Utah-based company that owns the property, have its own structural engineer assess the building after city staff identified "serious concerns with the structural integrity of the building," Mike Grebosz, assistant city manager, said in a news release late Thursday.

Grebosz said Levrault "may order the remedying of the dangerous conditions" in the event of an emergency, as permitted by the city's land development regulations.

Mayor Chris Cloudman stated in the release that the news was disappointing.

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"The building has stood for many years in the heart of our downtown, and it is my hope that the property will be redeveloped in a manner that pays homage to the once prestigious hotel," Cloudman said.

Axia Partners purchased the historic Hotel Putnam in November 2021 with the goal of converting the approximately 100-year-old building into a 62-unit apartment complex.

Jeremy Long, the company's asset management CEO, said via text message Saturday that the company was saddened by the outcome but committed to finding a use for the site in a way that serves as a tribute to the Putnam and DeLand.

Long said the engineer's suggestion wasn't a surprise given the age of the building.

"It was unfortunate, however," Long said. "We were looking forward to the historic preservation aspect of the rebuild."

He said the company is currently bidding out the demolition work.

Ownership on rotation

The Putnam property has changed hands multiple times over the past decade or so since falling into disrepair in 2011.

Longtime City Manager Michael Pleus views it every time he's in his office.

He said when Axia Partners entered the picture, it was the first time, in a long time, that he and others in the city were thinking things could finally change for the better.

The company performed some minor demo work on problem areas in the building in recent months.

"This summer was the closest we've ever come to seeing something positive happen there in the past 20 years," Pleus said.

It now feels like it's come to a screeching halt, Pleus said.

He said he doesn't know exactly what led to the recent rapid deterioration, but it could've been a number of things, like the demo work, the recent tropical storms and trespassers.

"I think from time to time they've probably found homeless people in there," Pleus said.

Axia Partners purchased the building for $2.3 million from Mohamed Rashad, property records show. Rashad's company, Big Bubba Investments, purchased the building in the spring of 2018 for $1 million from 225 West New York LLC.

Rashad also had hopes of renovating the property and turning it back into a hotel or apartments.

About a month into his ownership, someone started a fire in a storage room on the ground floor.

The state's investigation, which closed about six months later without any suspects identified, found the fire touched each of the six floors to some degree as it spread to the roof.

In 2017, a Sarasota-based developer proposed a plan to breathe new life into the Putnam but one that would require financial help from the city.

Tony Collins and the City Commission reached an agreement in early June 2017 that would see DeLand invest $500,000 over five years from the city's general fund upon issuance of a certificate of occupancy and the meeting of prescribed performance measures.

Later in August of that year, the commission gave Collins an additional 90 days to acquire the necessary financing, but he was unable to find enough investors before the agreement expired.

From the city's founder

The building that still stands at the site wasn't the original hotel.

In 1880, the city's founder, Henry DeLand, built the DeLand Grove House, an appropriate name for a structure surrounded by fields of citrus trees.

DeLand sold it to Alfred Putnam who renamed it the Putnam House. The property changed hands a few more times before burning to the ground in 1921.

A couple of years later, a new structure lauded as the state's first fireproof hotel was built for $433,000.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DeLand's historic Hotel Putnam may be demolished due to deterioration