BY KRISTI REED
Three years after being purchased by the City of Winder, the Granite Hotel remains a work in progress.
The Granite Hotel in Winder.
UPDATED: Financial partner sought for Granite Hotel project
Initially slated for demolition, the hotel was saved after area residents campaigned to preserve the building for its historic significance.
Built around the turn of the century, the Granite Hotel is the last remaining granite hotel of its size in the state. Current proposals call for the building to be restored as a downtown residential space, a retail center or a combination of a hotel and retail center.
Winder City Administrator Bob Beck said the decision regarding which option to pursue will rest with the Downtown Development Authority, the mayor and city council once additional financial backing for the project has been secured.
To date, the city has spent approximately $456,000 on the project. These costs include property acquisition and associated expenses. A private investor, New Urban Solutions, has committed over $300,000 so far to redevelop the property. The total cost of the project remains unknown.
“The amount of money needed will be determined by what the ultimate use of the facility is,” Beck said.
Developer Wayne Sisco of New Urban Solutions has begun the process of seeking financial partners to help fund the project.
Thanks to recent legislation passed by the general assembly and signed into law by Governor Sonny Purdue, Sisco’s job will be easier now that investors will be able to receive a larger tax credit for historic renovation projects. The legislation will increase the available credits from $25,000 to $300,000.
“That’s a big incentive for financial partners,” Beck said. “With the tax credits, there will be a substantial return on investments to those people that are involved.”
Once investors are found, the renovation can resume. Beck said he hopes to receive a status update from developer Sisco by the end of the week.
“Hopefully it’s back on the drawing board. It’s not happening as quickly as we hoped it would,” he said. “It has been a slow, long, drawn-out process.”
Beck said that had the city pursued its original plans for the property, a parking deck would have been constructed by now. Though disappointed by the delay in the project, Beck said the city is looking forward to a successful completion of the historic renovation.
“We are still committed to renovating the building and keeping it as a nice, destination point in downtown Winder.”
Built around the turn of the century, the Granite Hotel is the last remaining granite hotel of its size in the state. Current proposals call for the building to be restored as a downtown residential space, a retail center or a combination of a hotel and retail center.
Winder City Administrator Bob Beck said the decision regarding which option to pursue will rest with the Downtown Development Authority, the mayor and city council once additional financial backing for the project has been secured.
To date, the city has spent approximately $456,000 on the project. These costs include property acquisition and associated expenses. A private investor, New Urban Solutions, has committed over $300,000 so far to redevelop the property. The total cost of the project remains unknown.
“The amount of money needed will be determined by what the ultimate use of the facility is,” Beck said.
Developer Wayne Sisco of New Urban Solutions has begun the process of seeking financial partners to help fund the project.
Thanks to recent legislation passed by the general assembly and signed into law by Governor Sonny Purdue, Sisco’s job will be easier now that investors will be able to receive a larger tax credit for historic renovation projects. The legislation will increase the available credits from $25,000 to $300,000.
“That’s a big incentive for financial partners,” Beck said. “With the tax credits, there will be a substantial return on investments to those people that are involved.”
Once investors are found, the renovation can resume. Beck said he hopes to receive a status update from developer Sisco by the end of the week.
“Hopefully it’s back on the drawing board. It’s not happening as quickly as we hoped it would,” he said. “It has been a slow, long, drawn-out process.”
Beck said that had the city pursued its original plans for the property, a parking deck would have been constructed by now. Though disappointed by the delay in the project, Beck said the city is looking forward to a successful completion of the historic renovation.
“We are still committed to renovating the building and keeping it as a nice, destination point in downtown Winder.”
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