LUCERNE ? County officials got a look inside the Lucerne Hotel Thursday during a tour of the 70-year-old building.
Since learning of plans to sell the building, the Lake County Redevelopment Agency expressed a desire to help the owners find a buyer who will develop the building as a hotel or resort. Regarding the county”s interest in the building, Lake County Redevelopment Agency Director Kelly Cox said bids for an architectural assessment of the building are due back within the next two weeks.
“It”s structurally sound,” the agency”s Deputy Director Eric Seely said after walking through the building for his second tour Thursday with members of the board of supervisors.
The 75,000-square-foot building sits on seven acres made up of multiple parcels. The building has three main floors, two seven-story towers and 77 guest rooms. According to information from the Lake County Museum, the building was finished in 1938 and operated off and on as a hotel until the San Francisco Conservative Baptist Seminary bought it in 1966.
A board of 10 church leaders who comprise Lucerne Christian Conference Center owns the building.
The organization became known as Castle Point Ministries and operated a retreat and conference center in the building from 1968 until December. The ministry closed its doors because of declining use combined with the rising costs of maintenance and utilities.
Kevin Schmidt, the treasurer of the ministry”s board of directors, said the “for sale” sign will be posted next week, and the asking price is $4.9 million.
The supervisors also sit as the board of directors for the Lake County Redevelopment Agency. Supervisors Denise Rushing, Rob Brown and Jim Comstock went on separate tours to avoid a violation of the Brown Act. The act says public officials cannot deliberate without adequate notice to give the public access to the decision-making process.
“We need to get a structural evaluation of the property and an appraisal so we can help the owners market it so that whatever the outcome is, it”s in the best interest of the citizens of Lucerne,” Rushing said.
She continued, “It would be an outstanding movie set. The views are amazing, and it”s a ”20s-era building. It has a lot of possibilities, but it”s such a large building that it will take a real vision and a real plan to come together to make full use of it because it”s so large. It has the potential to be an important asset for the economic life of the county.”
Brown said he asked Lake County Community Development Director Rick Coel to help research the possible uses of the building and surrounding property. Brown said the building ? as long as a football field, according to Schmidt ? could accommodate several uses at once. Brown suggested fractional ownership, resort development, office space and senior housing as possibilities.
“I don”t see anyone moving into that building who could occupy the whole thing,” Brown said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
