DeLAND, Fla. – The city of DeLand on Thursday announced an engineering firm working with the owner of the Putnam Hotel assessed the historic building and recommended it be demolished due to a risk of collapse, according to a news release.
The city planned to convert the hotel into apartments, but the report from BBM Structural Engineers, Inc. determined that the building could collapse “in part or whole in the near future and that the structure is damaged beyond the point of repair and not salvageable,” the city said.
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The report included pictures showing the state of the east wing of the hotel, which the firm said had rapidly deteriorated. The Putnam Hotel was built in 1880 and has been vacant since 2011. A fire in 2018 that left smoke and water damage on each floor of the former winter destination was ruled an arson.
DeLand Mayor Chris Cloudman responded to the engineers’ report in a written statement.
“We are disappointed to receive the news that the Putnam has been deemed structurally compromised,” Cloudman said. “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.”
Jeremy Long, associated with property owner Axia Putnam LLC, said the company, too, was saddened.
“We remain committed to finding a use for the Putnam site that pays tribute to the once prestigious hotel and the history of DeLand that it reflects,” Long said in a statement.
Though the release did not include plans for the structure’s immediate future, it noted that city regulations permit the Chief Building Official to order the “remedying of dangerous conditions” in an emergency situation.
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