Palm Beach hotel receives inaugural Elson Award from Preservation Foundation
In 2018, when the Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed renovation plans for an overhaul of the historic hotel that has since become the White Elephant, several board members noted that the building had long been off the radar of many island residents.
The 1924 structure for years was a dulled-with-time workhorse that registered barely a blip among drivers who passed the old hotel daily as they traveled busy Bradley Place or headed to the Publix supermarket on the opposite side of Sunset Avenue.
No more.
The four-story building has been revitalized under new ownership, its Mediterranean-style exterior restored with a small swimming pool added to the front courtyard, and its interiors updated with high-end finishes for a sleek, modern feel.
Formerly the home of the Bradley Park Hotel, the building at 280 Sunset Ave. changed hands in April 2018. And the new owner, Boston-based New England Development, soon announced plans to revitalize the building, inside and out. The Boston-based company is headed by Stephen R. Karp, who shares a Palm Beach home near the property with his wife, Jill.
The hotel re-opened in late 2020, rechristened with a name identical to the one held by its sister hotel in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
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On Monday, the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach recognized the renovation efforts with its inaugural Elson Award, which was established to honor an outstanding new construction project or a major rehabilitation project at a commercial or public space on the island, said foundation President and CEO Amanda Skier.
The award is named for a longtime Palm Beach couple — the Hon. Edward E. Elson, a retired businessman and a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark; and his wife, mental-health advocate Suzanne G. Elson. The award complements several other honors bestowed by the foundation that recognize architectural and landscaping projects, typically on private property.
The award presentation took place on a rooftop terrace at the hotel, which offered a view of the courtyard on one side and a view of Bradley Park and the setting sun over the Intracoastal Waterway on the other.
“The Elson Award allows us to fully appreciate the impact of a building in the public realm,” Skier said in her opening remarks. “In doing so, we are able to promote projects that positively impact the town’s unique sense of place, as well as promote economic or cultural vitality in the community.”
Representing the hotel’s ownership was Khaled Hashem, managing director of hospitality for New England Development.
“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Elson, for this amazing recognition,” Hashem said, adding that the Karps and their son, New England Development President Douglass E. Karp, wanted to convey their gratitude to the foundation.
“Steve (Karp) had a vision when he bought the property to renovate it and keep all the historical (elements),” Khaled said.
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In his remarks, Edward Elson addressed Hashem and hotel General Manager Bernhard Duerrmeier when he described the hotel project “as a marvelous reconstruction, truly. When I walked into the lobby, I was taken by the taste and careful planning that went into your reconstruction.”
The Elson Award honors the property’s owner, the building itself and the architect, Skier said.
The building’s transformation took more than a year after redevelopment work began in May 2019. Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the project, and GliddenSpina+Partners of West Palm Beach served as the architect of record.
Among the many changes made during the renovation, the hotel lost its nondescript tan paint job. Instead, the building is painted a light cream — complemented by striking black trim and striped awnings — and crowned by a new terracotta tile roof.
In addition to the pool, the courtyard offers outdoor seating for the hotel’s signature restaurant, LoLa 41, in the space previously occupied by Trevini Ristorante, which moved into a building just down the street.
Palm Beach’s White Elephant hotel has 32 guestrooms and suites
Inside the hotel, the lobby hints at the hotel’s overall interior design approach — a neutral color palette mixed with metal accents, splashes of color, hardwood floors, Carrara marble, tiles and woven rugs.
The hotel has 32 guestrooms and suites — the same number as before the renovation — that range in size from 510 to 3,000 square feet.
A metal sculpture of a stylized elephant greets visitors at the main entrance and lobby, which were moved from the central section of the U-shaped building to the east wing, which once housed the popular C’est Si Bon gourmet shop.
A series of air-conditioning condensers on the roof eliminated the window units that used to cool rooms. The roof project also removed an screened enclosure that disguised mechanical equipment.
The improvements were noted in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards for 2022. In September, the magazine ranked the hotel No. 1 in Florida, No. 2 in the country and No. 19 worldwide.
White Elephant hotel in Palm Beach has a rich history
The building was originally built as the Rosemary Apartments, the first of several names it would have over the years, according to research by architectural historian Augustus Mayhew. Other early names included the Rosa May Apartments and the Algemac Hotel. It was known as the Palm Beach Plaza Hotel from the mid-1930s until its sale in 1967, when it was renamed The Bradley House Hotel and later, the Bradley Park Hotel.
The town designated the property a landmark in 1980. The report prepared as part of the designation process says the building was constructed by E.R. Bradley, who owned and operated his Bradley’s Beach Club gambling establishment nearby on land that is today Bradley Park. Bradley and his brother, J.R. Bradley, owned large swaths of land on Sunset Avenue that they redeveloped as the Floral Park subdivision.
But a close examination of contemporary newspaper accounts of the building’s planning and construction never mention E.R. Bradley’s involvement. Instead, articles say it was designed by architect Martin L. Hampton and built by the Campbell Building Co., which was run by principals J.H. Scott, J.R. Anthony and W.D. Manley.
“Many of the landmarks reports were prepared before (digitized versions of) newspapers were easily searchable,” Mayhew said when the hotel changed hands four years ago.
Mayhew noted that E.R. Bradley’s name became “erroneously” associated with the hotel after the 1967 sale. “The name change helped spur the hotel’s association with Bradley and his famous gambling club,” Mayhew said.
He noted that one of the hotel’s previous names, “Algemac,” was later transposed as “Algomac,” the name that appears throughout the landmark designation report. “The Bradley House’s cocktail lounge was reportedly to be named the Algemac Room but was instead named the Algomac Room as a confounding historical nod,” said Mayhew.
New England Development, a real estate development and management company with retail, mixed-use and hospitality assets, purchased the hotel property for a recorded $15.4 million from an entity controlled by Gayla Sue Levin of Fort Lauderdale.
The Elson Award is among five awards presented by the Preservation Foundation. The Robert I. Ballinger Award honors restorations or rehabilitations of landmarked estates; the Polly Earl Award, honors restorations or rehabilitations of smaller-scale properties in Palm Beach neighborhoods; the Elizabeth L. and John H. Schuler Award honors new architecture with exemplary design that also complements Palm Beach's historical architecture; and the Lesly S. Smith Landscape Award honors excellence in landscape design.
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Previous reporting by writers M.M. Cloutier and Kristina Webb contributed to this story.
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Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call (561) 820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Which Palm Beach hotel just earned a new preservation award?
