It’s déjà vu season again at the Old Dixie motel, the derelict property Flagler County government has been trying to clean up for years, through two owners and interminable court proceedings, only to get a run-around of empty pledges and promises.
County commissioners have had enough before, and the county two years ago came close to demolishing the place, only for an 11th hour reprieve when new owners promised yet again to do better.
They have not.
“It troubles me greatly that they have not progressed,” County Attorney Al Hadeed told the County Commission this morning. “They made representations. They clearly have violated the agreements. They have, in my opinion, violated every good faith gesture that the county has made. There’s absolutely no excuse.”
County Commissioner Dave Sullivan, who raised the issue this morning, said “it’s probably time to move on and get some something done there. We just can’t let that valuable real estate there in the county just sit there idle, and just kind of nothing happens. I’d like the board to agree with me that we need to push on now.”
He was addressing his fellow commissioners. There was no disagreement, though there was no explicit agreement or vote, either. Instead, Hadeed summed up the case as it stands today.
Once known as the Country Hearth Inn, the roadside, two-story motel at 2251 South Old Dixie Highway, which turns 50 this year, was abandoned to scavengers and vandals in 2009. A pair of investors bought the property in 2017 for $300,000, raising the county’s hopes. But there were no substantial improvements. Instead, the grounds continued to attract vagrants, vandals broke what glass panes remained or stole furniture and scrap, and the pool lingered as a potential danger to lost souls.
Health Department fines and the county’s code enforcement fines accumulated. In May 2021, a company bought the motel, paid off the fines, and pledged to rebuild. The owners were listed as David Shebeiro and Manny Gomez. They called their company MG Capital. They never appeared before the County Commission.
The pool was filled in and covered in dirt. The grounds were cleaned up to a degree. A chainlink fence rimmed the property. And the new owners, through their local representatives, promised that repairs would be next. That October County Administrator Heidi Petito was seen meeting with a few people at the motel, apparently to see for herself that plans were afoot to get something done.
But by December that same year, it was back to stalemate. Nothing was happening.
In March, Greg Kong, a local realtor representing MG Capital Partners, and Jim Albano, representing the architect and the general contractor, appeared before the County Commission with a home-made slide presentation about the motel. Pictures illustrated what they said were recent clean-up efforts and roof repairs.
Kong said the owners had a dozen and a half hotels in the Northeast, that the Old Dixie property was their 19th, and that they would turn it into a “boutique hotel.” He said the facility would be called The Henry, would be higher end, would have a fine restaurant–and a steakhouse on weekends–a 3,500-foot banquet center, and that it would make the county proud. One of the owners owns five restaurants in New York City, Albano told the commission. (See: “In Place of Old Dixie Motel Relic, Developers Promise a Jazzed Up ‘Henry Hotel,’ With a Year’s Construction.”)
Kong could not be reached today.
Today, Sullivan recalled those promises and said, wryly: “They talked about they were going to have a restaurant there and all that kind of thing. So I haven’t had any invitations to have dinner at Henry’s, their new restaurant.”
He wondered why it hadn’t been torn down.
“You just can’t snap your fingers and be in court,” Hadeed said. “Consequently we are looking at other approaches.” (He compared the county’s strategy to the way it went about securing easements from property owners in Flagler Beach, for a beach renourishmnt project, where the threat of eminent domain had hung in the air for over two years. The county never exercised the threat. The county secured its final easement after three years this month.)
Hadeed said similarly “creative approaches” will bring “closure” to the Country Hearth Inn matter. “We agree with you, we are on top of it,” he told Sullivan. “We’re going to try to bring this one home as quickly as we can.” In the Country Hearth Inn saga, speed of course, has been a relative matter.
[Table id=1907/]
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!
Pogo says
@I thought I smelled this one at the start
https://flaglerlive.com/163765/old-dixie-motel/
Dennis C Rathsam says
I wonder how many houses would fit on that parcel?
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN says
I remember that meeting where these buffons 2 showed up with there homemade renderings and showed all kinds of slides about how it was going to look, pool, restaurant, whatever and Mullins had a giant smile on his face as if he was the one who was going to get things started on this calamity, once again empty promises, false realities , seems typical that the 2 schemers were not available for contact today and they said the owners owned resturants and hotels up North but never gave the names of such.
Yours Truly says
You’re an idiot. You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about… you ever think these “buffoons” were snowed by the owners themselves and fought for something they believed to be true. Get your lazy ass off the computer and do something relatively positive in the community before bashing others to make yourself feel better.
Concerned citizens my rear 🙄
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN says
Yours truly: TRUTH HURTS! Look at you resorting to name calling when you are called out, SNOWED BY OWNERS my a**! Why aren’t they answering up the phone????If one is innocent they tell their story, you are the one who is FOS and I do alot for my community, What do you do??? Maybe you can get off your big mouth a** and find out what testaurants and hotels the owners own! Excuses and lies!
Thomas A Kaspar Jr says
Call Margaritaville .
Nancy says
They was conned by illegals. Hey way, we can squeeze 120 houses in that spot, start up the bulldozer
The ORIGINAL land of no turn signals says
Let’s screw around for a couple of years like the dunes in Flagler.
Mae Sue says
Right? That would be ridiculous. The county needs to act NOW!!!!!
Shadow 84 says
It’s about time the county finally demolishes that eyesore.
Daytona Mary says
How can the county demolish it ? They issued permits for the renovation.
Mae Sue says
Because those permits are expired that’s why. They did not follow through.
Really? says
Sounds like the PB busybody and failed politician Jane has been at work again! What is the obsession with this property? If the county wanted it to succeed they could assist in getting developed.
Mae Sue says
Excuse me, thanks to Jane’s hard work and determination she has accomplished a lot in the community. Including exposing these owners and the people who misinformed the public at the county meeting.
Shadow84 says
I thought there was a company who was got a permit for renovations a couple of months ago ?
Mae Sue says
No that is incorrect. The permit for demolition was old and expired. There are currently to open permits on the property. That is why the county is upset with them and want it torn down.
Carlos D says
So if the county issued permits which are still in good standing why are they so anxious to demolish it ?
Timothy Patrick Welch says
My guess…
With the amount of money paid for the Hotel in 2021, the owners will not allow demolition. Hopefully the threat of possible demolition will at least prompt dialogue.
Mae Sue says
They need to show action, a plan etc. not just dialog. That is what we have been doing since they bought it.
Thomas A Kaspar Jr says
Why doesnt anyone put as much effort into preserving the disintegrating historic Flagler Beach real original founder George Moody home . I guess the retiree Karens could give a damn .
C’mon man says
Prime real estate for a storage unit or dollar general.
Mae Sue says
They are already building a storage unit across the street on Old Dixie Hwy and they tore down all these trees they promised to save but lied about.
Thomas A Kaspar Jr says
Exactly a brilliant storage conversion for the condo commanders and their rotund Karens .
Flagler Flyer says
So from what I’m reading, there are current permits but, there is no work going on other permits have expired and the construction companies keep getting new permits again to do nothing.
Am I the only one seeing something strange here ?
Blue waters says
After reading the story and all the comments posted I must agree with Flagler Flyer on this.
SOMETHING VERY STRANGE IS GOING ON !
Flqglerlive can you conduct a more through investigation into this ?
sue says
Talk about no follow thru . How about the county following thru with their own projects like the James Holland Splash Park open for how may weeks after years off waiting only to be closed with no end in site. They want to get angry for new owners not following thru with promises well lead by example . Finish up your own projects in your own back yard and then bitch about others not complying.