DELAND, Fla. – A big piece of DeLand history may be coming down. The city said the historic Hotel Putnam could collapse and can’t be restored.
The hotel would have turned 100 years old in 2023, and while there was also hope it would be restored this year, an engineer said the building is damaged beyond repair.
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Some downtown DeLand residents and business owners are ready to say goodbye to the empty shell of what was the Hotel Putnam.
“Since we’ve been here four years, I know it’s been through at least two or three owners, and they have put millions of dollars in it, and it just keeps getting turned into an eyesore,” said resident Leanne.
Others said it’s a unique piece of history — but it’s time to go.
“It’s so sad to lose a piece of history, but it’s way far gone, and it’s not able to be repaired at this point,” said resident Blake Henschel.
The once-luxurious hotel on Route 44 was the place where famous people would stay and big parties were held. Built in 1880 and turned into the Hotel Putnam in 1923, some local historians also say it was Florida’s first fire-proof hotel.
However, the structure couldn’t bear the elements as it sat vacant starting in 2011.
In 2018, an arsonist set fire to the building, damaging each floor, but then in 2022, there was a sign of hope for it.
“A new developer took over the hotel, and there was a lot of progress going on, and then all of a sudden, the work stopped,” said Chris Graham, Communications Specialist for the City of DeLand.
Graham said the latest developer was planning to turn it into apartments.
“This was the most progress we had seen, so there was a lot of excitement, and we thought something was actually going to happen, and unfortunately, it appears that nature has taken its toll on the building,” he said.
Once the worked stopped, though, he said the city asked the owners to hire an engineer to determine the structural integrity.
“A part of the building seemed to start settling and was on the verge of collapse, and so unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they’re going to be able to salvage the building,” he said.
Structural engineers determined it could collapse at any moment and that the building is not salvageable. Graham said the city has been told the developers will look into demolishing it.
“We believe that is the direction the developer will go but we haven’t gotten anything official from them,” he said.
In a statement from the ownership group, the Axia Partners, they said they are committed to finding a use for the site that pays tribute to the hotel’s history.
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