Gulfstream Hotel finally changes hands. What's next for this historic Lake Worth Beach property?

After years of negotiations, The Gulfstream Hotel in Lake Worth Beach finally is under the control of Restoration St. Louis, a Missouri-based firm specializing in historic restoration.

"It's been a slog, as everyone knows, with Covid and interest rates," said Amy Gill, co-owner of Restoration St. Louis with her husband, Amrit.

Restoration St. Louis' acquisition of the property from CDS International Holdings of Delray Beach marks a new start for the aged property, which is about to undergo a $100 million restoration project.

"It is literally a miracle to get it done at a time when people are not able to finance (projects)," Gill said in an interview on Wednesday, March 27. "But it's also a testament to our team's commitment to the city of Lake Worth Beach."

More: Redo of historic Gulfstream Hotel begins. What did developers find when they started work?

The Gulfstream Hotel is at 1 Lake Avenue, across from the Intracoastal Waterway and Bryant Park. The hotel opened in 1925 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

But the hotel closed its doors in 2005 in what was a blow to the seaside city's downtown district. The property is considered the only viable hotel option for tourists to downtown Lake Worth Beach and potentially is a major economic boost to nearby businesses.

A redo of the hotel, set to open as a Marriott Bonvoy property, is expected to take about 15 months, Gill said.

More: Candy-cane dreams: Could the historic Gulfstream Hotel finally sell in December?

Gulfstream's new owner first became involved in project in 2019. Then came the pandemic

In 2014, a group tied to CDS International paid $7.2 million for the hotel.

Solid plans for a redo of the hotel finally began to take shape in August 2019 when CDS brought Restoration St. Louis to the venture. In addition to restoring the hotel, plans also include the addition of 50 hotel rooms, plus 85 apartments and a parking garage in an eight-story building.

But then the coronavirus pandemic killed off financing for a couple of years, putting a temporary freeze on the hotel's redo.

A sale of the project to Restoration St. Louis finally was set for October 2023. But that deadline was delayed so the city could approve an updated plat for new entrances and exits and utility easements at the site.

The plat also separates the hotel property and an approved hotel addition into separate parcels. The plat approval was granted by the city in early December.

Even before the transaction closed on Tuesday for undisclosed terms, St. Louis Restoration had been doing early work on the hotel's interiors as it completed its project financing.

The city issued a demolition permit for the project on Dec. 22, prompting the arrival of a dumpster at the site. The dumpster's appearance was cause for celebration by residents eager to see the hotel restored.

The property subsequently was tented for termites, some of which had decimated the hotel's original wood bar.

Gill said the project's building permits will be submitted to the city later this week or early next week. The city already has been reviewing draft construction plans submitted last year.

Alexandra Clough is a business writer and columnist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. Twitter: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lake Worth's Gulfstream Hotel's new owner handles historic restoration