‘We are disappointed’: Demolition permit issued for DeLand’s historic Putnam Hotel

DeLAND, Fla. — City officials issued a permit Wednesday afternoon to demolish DeLand’s iconic Putnam Hotel, which was previously undergoing a restoration.

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The city said the property’s owner, Axia Putnam LLC, had been renovating the 100-year-old hotel in hopes of converting the building into high-end apartments.

“After renovation work had been initiated, several structural deficiencies were discovered by both the city’s building department and Axia,” a city spokesman said. “The Building Department requested that the property owner have its structural engineer assess the building’s integrity.”

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BBM Structural Engineers Inc. sent the city a report in December saying that the building’s east wing had rapidly deteriorated, and it recommended that the entire building be demolished, the city said.

The Putnam Hotel has stood on West New York Avenue for 100 years and has had multiple owners in recent years.

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“We are disappointed to receive the news that the Putnam has been deemed structurally compromised,” Mayor Chris Cloudman said in December. “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, of Axia Partners, said that the company is “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.”

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Elev8 Clearing & Demolition will begin demolition work on the week of Feb. 13.

The city has requested that the contractor try to salvage the building’s bricks so that they can be incorporated into the site’s future project and repurposed by “other interested parties.”

See a map of the building below:

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