Friends Of the Belleview Biltmore

Fund raiser

Thursday, February 2, 2012

6 pm – 8 pm

Belleair Garden Club

903 Ponce de Leon Blvd.

Belleair (next to Town Hall)

Each guest will receive a copy of BonSue Brandvik’s new novel:

“Pearls: Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore” The author will read an excerpt from her book, and talk about the inspiration for her novels, as well as providing insights about world-building, character development and upcoming storylines.

Light refreshments & Libations will be served

$20 donation per person (cash or check)

RSVP – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or call: 727-804-4391

Seating is limited, so please be sure to include the number of guests in your party.

Following her presentation, BonSue will offer to personalize autographs for an additional $10 donation to:

Friends of the Belleview Biltmore.

Opposing Sides: Save/Demolish

Battle lines have been drawn in the town of Belleair, following the submission of a demolition permit by representatives of KAWA LLC, the current owners of the historic Belleview Biltmore Resort. Town officials and legal representatives are beginning the complicated process of determining the steps necessary for the owners to legally present their case, while residents who fought hard for an ordinance to protect the hotel just a few years ago try once again, to save the famous hotel from demolition.

Right now, three things are certain.

1) The current owners are determined to demolish the historic Belleview Biltmore

2) Hotel supporters and preservationists are intent on saving the iconic building

3) If the Belleview Biltmore hotel is demolished, the town does NOT possess the authority to force the owners to fulfill any construction promises they might make. That means it’s a very real possibility that the town could lose its one-of-a-kind property, and then have very little control over what would be built in its place.

URGENT CALL TO ACTION!

Citizen call for action to save the hotel

Swift action is necessary to make sure Belleair officials know that citizens still stand united in support of the Belleview Biltmore, and we want them to deny the demolition permit, recently filed by KAWA LLC.

1. Please attend the Town of Belleair Commission Meeting this coming Tuesday, January 17, 2012 , beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall (907 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Belleair, FL)

2. If you can’t attend in person, please send an e-mail to town officials, letting them know you support the Belleview Biltmore and want them to deny the petition to demolish the historic icon. Please do not delay.

Critical e-mail addresses:

a. Mayor: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

b. Vice Mayor: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

c. Commissioner: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

d. Commissioner: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

e. Commissioner: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

f. Town Manager: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

3. If you prefer to use the regular mail system, please address your letter to:

Honorable Mayor Katica and Belleair Commissioners

Send letters right away, to:

Town of Belleair, 907 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Belleair, FL 33756

PLEASE DO NOT DELAY! REMEMBER, OUTCOMES ARE DETERMINED BY THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS!

Letter-writing campaign initiated

We really need your help if we are to create an effective e-mail/letter-writing campaign. The important thing is to act immediately! If you have trouble putting your thoughts into words, you are welcome to copy/paste the letter below and just add your signature.

Honorable Mayor Katica and Belleair Commissioners:

I am writing to request that you deny the recent application to demolish the iconic Belleview Biltmore hotel, and do everything within your power to preserve this national historic treasure.

When developers sought to demolish the Belleview Biltmore hotel a few years ago, Belleair citizens and town officials worked together to craft a historic preservation ordinance that would protect the hotel from demolition, whether by intent or by neglect. As an elected official, it is your sworn responsibility to enforce the town’s historic preservation ordinance and protect the Belleview Biltmore Resort.

Please do not betray the trust of those who elected you to office. Deny the demolition permit and continue to seek a restoration solution, so that the “White Queen of the Gulf” can continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

Sincerely,

Your Name

DEMOLITION PERMIT ISSUES ALREADY SURFACING:

Complicated Issues

At an educational meeting last Monday evening, Planning and Zoning Board members were informed there are two ways to request the demolition of a historic property. The first is to file a Certificate of Appropriateness with the Historic Preservation Board, claiming the hotel doesn’t qualify for protection under the town’s ordinance. All sides agree the Belleview Biltmore absolutely qualifies for protection under the ordinance and therefore, it is a forgone conclusion that any Certificate of Appropriateness filed with the Historic Preservation Board would be denied. Not even the hotel owners are claiming the hotel can’t be restored; rather, they believe it isn’t economically feasible to do so.

The Town’s attorney explained that the owners’ other option is to prove that their compliance with the historic preservation ordinance is creating an unreasonable economic hardship. In this type of demolition permit, the entire burden of proof falls on the owners. Because they have only owned the property for one year, and throughout that year, the golf course portion of the property has continued to generate income to help offset maintenance costs, many anticipate it will be difficult for them to prove economic hardship at this point in time. Among other things, to prove their case, the owners would have to:

· Provide specific documentation of expenses related directly to taxes and maintaining the property during the last 12 months, as compared to income earned and the value of the property.

· Provide compelling evidence that they have made reasonable efforts to sell the hotel and that even if they continue their efforts to sell the property, they will not be successful.

· Provide evidence that the hotel is no longer viable, and that even if repaired, the hotel could not succeed as a profitable enterprise.

These claims will be extremely difficult to prove, especially since a recent feasibility study concluded the hotel, if renovated, would provide more income to the town than any other use of the property. However, the owners have tried to discredit that feasibility report, and indicate they can produce experts to support their allegations.

The town attorney and a representative from the town’s engineering consultant explained to P&Z Board members that the property owner had the option of foregoing filing a Certificate of Appropriateness with the Historic Preservation Board, and could opt instead, to immediately file a permit for demolition based on economic hardship. However, a dissenting opinion has since surfaced, which alleges any owner of a historic property that is protected under the historic preservation ordinance cannot bypass the Historic Preservation Board. In fact, the dissenting opinion states that if the Historic Preservation Board denies the request, the owner is not permitted to move forward in the process.

What makes these issues even more difficult to decipher is the lack of comparable properties in the area, the state, or even the Country for that matter. The Belleview Biltmore is so unique; it is difficult to find comparable properties in the entire WORLD, which is one of the reasons why preservationists are fighting so hard to save it.

The conflicts that are beginning to surface demonstrate the need for the town to retain legal counsel that specializes in these matters, rather than relying on general counsel to research and detangle sensitive and complicated issues. To proceed otherwise would be akin to going to a family doctor for surgery to remove a brain tumor.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP SAVE THE BELLEVIEW BILTMORE:

1)

There are lots of ways to help!

1) MEDIA - Contact everyone you know, or that you follow faithfully in the media

a. Alert them to the Belleview Biltmore’s precarious situation.

b. Let them know citizens are opposed to the demolition and are hoping to find investors to purchase and restore this one-of-a-kind, landmark hotel.

c. Write e-mails/letters to the editors of these publications

d. Keep them informed whenever there are meetings like the one this Tuesday, January 17, 2012, and request coverage of the proceedings.

e. If you, yourself, are a member of the media, please write an article, film a story or discuss the plight of the Belleview Biltmore on the air. The more exposure we can get, the more likely it is that a newspaper article, TV editorial and/or radio program will catch the attention of the investor we’re looking for and save the property from demolition.

2) INVESTORS - Contact anyone and everyone you know who may want to invest in historic preservation and let them know the hotel is in desperate need of new ownership.

a. Have them contact: www.SaveTheBiltmore.com for additional information.

b. Let them know the goal is to find a new owner or, if a single buyer doesn’t have sufficient funds to make an individual purchase, to put together a team of investors to save the hotel.

Remember, only by providing substantial evidence that many people are interested in the hotel and that, if given the opportunity, they would select the Belleview Biltmore as their vacation destination, can we get investors to consider a purchase. Even the most patient investor and/or historic preservationist philanthropist will stop listening if we cannot provide justification for preserving the hotel beyond the fact that it is historically significant. We must get the word out to as many people as possible, to generate interest beyond the local population.

3) NOVEL - For my part, I have written and self-published a novel, "Pearls: Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore." The story takes place at the historic Belleview Biltmore and involves spirits (past guests at the hotel who remain in this realm following their deaths) who connect with a present-day guest, taking her back in time to experience moments of the hotel’s opening season. The storyline is designed in such a way as to intrigue those who are curious about the hotel’s haunted reputation. On the cover, in the acknowledgements, and in the back inside pages of my book, I write about the hotel and our desperate search to find a new owner.

“Pearls: Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore” can be purchased in paperback format at www.Amazon.com or by following this link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=bonsue+brandvik&sprefix=BONSUE+B%2Caps%2C314

It is also available in e-book format at most e-book retailers.

To help make people aware of “Pearls: Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore” and its intent, please:

1. Buy a copy (or two!)

2. Forward this newsletter to your e-mail contacts

3. Tell your friends and neighbors about our mission

4. Post about our mission and the novel by providing links to this newsletter, my website: www.SpiritsOfBelleviewBiltmore.com , and the preservationist website: www.SaveTheBiltmore.com on Twitter/Facebook/MySpace, etc.

Remember, the intent is to help investors picture the hotel as a viable enterprise and spark their interest. I believe we can best do that by not allowing the Belleview Biltmore to remain ‘out of sight, out of mind’. We need to keep the hotel alive to those who have stayed there in the past and hope to stay there again in the future, while introducing the hotel to thousands who have never heard of her before and would become potential future hotel guests. By doing so, we can demonstrate that restoration is a viable investment.

OTHER HISTORIC HOTELS SUCCESSFULLY SAVED FROM DEMOLITION

West Baden, French Lick, Indiana

Please keep in mind that several historic hotels throughout our nation have been restored and are successful enterprises now, even though they narrowly escaped the wrecking ball at various points in time. Only the perseverance of devotees who know the market will support historic hotels were able to save several magnificent properties, including the Del Coronado in California, the West Baden in French Lick, Indiana, the Wentworth by the Sea in New Hampshire, the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, as well as the Don Cesar and the Venoy Renaissance in St. Petersburg.

If you had a memorable stay at the Belleview Biltmore, or if you know the story behind other historic hotels that were saved and renovated, please click on the contact button, and share the story with me. Please include the name and location of the hotel, and a bit about its journey to becoming a restored vintage property. These stories serve as inspiration to those who continue to fight for the Belleview Biltmore and other historic properties, and also serve to demonstrate to potential buyers that historic hotel preservation is a solid investment.

LET YOUR OPINION BE HEARD

Let your opinion be heard!

The local newspapers that are most likely to carry stories about the Belleview Biltmore include the Belleair Bee, the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St Pete Times) and the Tampa Tribune. If you don't think the Town of Belleair should approve the permit to demolish the Belleview Biltmore, please watch these papers closely and if you see an article about the hotel, take a moment to write to the editor and, if you are Internet savvy, submit comments on the e-version of the newspaper.

The first time you comment on an e-version of a newspaper, you will have to register your name and address, and then choose a user-name/e-mail (this protects the newspaper from liability.) It only takes a couple minutes to register, and then you’ll be able write comments on all current and future articles.

For example, here’s the link to a recent article, published in the Tampa Bay Times: http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/article1209820.ece

Thanks for helping save and preserve the Belleview Biltmore!

BELLEVIEW BILTMORE – PLEASE JOIN OUR QUEST

Restoration can become a reality, we we pull together

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Well, like many of you, one of my ‘castles in the air’ has been my dream of the Belleview Biltmore being renovated so that she can once again, welcome guests to ‘step back in time’ as they tour her grand ballrooms and enjoy staying in her exquisite suites. But Mr. Thoreau is right; dreams are just that, unless we take action to make them come true.

Time is growing short. The developers who currently own the resort property are trying to convince everyone the Belleview Biltmore should be demolished, so they can replace her with 80 town homes. They are moving quickly and are becoming the only voice anyone hears about the property. They are trying to convince everyone that the hotel is beyond saving. They claim they have tried their best to sell the Belleview Biltmore, but despite their “best efforts” no one has stepped forward.

Oh, please!

They haven’t even advertised her for sale on their own web site! To support their claim that no one will purchase and renovate the hotel, they stated that they have offered the property to many hoteliers – all of whom said they are not interested because the renovation would be too costly. The developers are counting on the fact that most people don’t know hoteliers don’t usually purchase and renovate properties. They normally lease a ‘turn-key’ operation, ready to operate under their flag. When the former owners were planning a total renovation, many significant hoteliers, including the Ritz and Waldorf, were interested. Nothing has changed about the hotel’s location or potential to draw guests since then. The only change has been the ownership and their motivation.

But the current owners have a valid point.

They say if someone disagrees with their assessment, then they should put their money where their mouth is and purchase the property. Unfortunately, most of us who love the old hotel don’t have the investment capital necessary to step up and make that purchase. That’s why I’m asking everyone out there to join together in a quest to find an investor or group of investors before it is too late.

I’ve written a novel that I’m hoping will pay tribute to the Belleview Biltmore and bring her back to life in the memory and imagination of readers, while at the same time, showcasing her potential and expanding the base of likely hotel guests, following her renovation. I’m asking each person who wants to save the Belleview Biltmore to forward a copy of “Pearls” and/or information about the mission behind the book, to all of their friends and associates.

The more we can get people talking about the hotel and its historic significance -- the more they will see the potential for its success as a historic destination resort and/or location for a movie or TV show. The more people start talking about wanting to stay at the hotel and perhaps having an encounter with the spirits who live there, the more likely an investor will agree to spend money to save the property from demolition.

I believe that together, we can find someone who would be willing to invest the necessary capital to save the precious and historic Belleview Biltmore Resort, built in 1896 by Henry B. Plant, and nicknamed “The White Queen of the Gulf” a few years later. I’m convinced one of you knows that ‘someone’. Or perhaps you know someone who knows that special investor. You’ll never know unless you try.

Henry David Thoreau also wrote, “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

I believe that if we work together, we can meet with success. If you have any additional ideas for getting our message out there, please don’t hesitate to send me an e-mail, at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to www.SaveTheBiltmore.com

“PEARLS: SPIRITS OF THE BELLEVIEW BILTMORE”

Front cover of "Pearls: Spirits of Belleview Biltmore"

I am happy to report that Smashwords Publishing has just awarded “Pearls: Spirits of the Belleview Biltmore” Premium Status. That means, in addition to being available at www.Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle e-book formats, the e-book version of “Pearls” will also soon be available on Apple iTunes (for iPad and iPhone), Barnes & Nobel Nook, Sony Reader, and Kobo Reader. This is a wonderful turn of events that will make it easier for anyone to read the novel… and hopefully, reach the ears of an investor, willing to purchase and renovate the Belleview Biltmore.

Biltmore Estate, December 2011

During a recent visit with my brother and his family in Kingsport, Tennessee, I was treated to a tour of the Biltmore Estate, just outside of Ashville, North Carolina. The tour was amazing, and left me even more certain that the Belleview Biltmore could be enormously successful, if renovated and properly marketed.

Biltmore Estate was constructed as a private home (and by “home”, I mean “castle” -175,000 square feet) by the Vanderbilt family in 1895. It remained a private Vanderbilt family retreat until the 1930s, when the family decided to open the estate to the public in order to create jobs and generate income for the surrounding community during the Great Depression. It has been a successful tourist attraction ever since.

The Biltmore Estate is linked to both the Plant family and the Belleview Biltmore. The Vanderbilt family lived on 5^th Avenue in New York, only a few blocks from Henry and Margaret Plant. Both families made their fortunes in the shipping and railroad business, so undoubtedly, they were well acquainted. Additionally, the Vanderbilt family spent several winters at what was then known as the Belleview Hotel.

In the early 1900s, John McEntee Bowman decided to build the finest hotel empire in the nation. He wanted the name of his hotel chain to be synonymous with grandeur, so he wrote a letter to George Vanderbilt, requesting permission to use the name of his incredible estate. With Vanderbilt’s approval, Bowman built several magnificent Bowman-Biltmore hotels and purchased a handful of existing hotels that measured up to his high standards. The Belleview Hotel was among the latter, purchased and renamed the Belleview Biltmore by Bowman in 1919, following the death of Morton Plant.

Today, only a few Biltmore hotels remain, including: Providence, RI; Santa Clara, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Coral Gables, FL; Los Angeles, CA; and Havana, Cuba. The Belleview Biltmore is the only Biltmore hotel currently on the “endangered” list.

BILTMORE ESTATE IS A SUCCESSFUL, YEAR-ROUND ATTRACTION

The evening Christmas lights tour is $79.00 per adult

My brother, sister-in-law and I drove two hours from their home in Kingsport to the Biltmore Estate, located just outside of Ashville, NC. They go to visit Biltmore several times per year and take out-of-town guests whenever possible.

When we arrived at the estate, we entered through a gate and then had to drive a couple miles to the ticketing building. There, we stood in line to pick-up our pre-ordered tickets to tour the Estate after dark ($79 each) and enjoy the Christmas lights and décor. We also stopped to watch a brief, continuous loop movie about the building of Biltmore. Because my sister-in-law and brother plan to visit several more times throughout the year, they each paid an additional $120 each for a 12 month pass, which allows them to return and tour the Estate for free (Christmas light tours not included), dine in the on-site restaurants and receive a 10% discount on purchases.

After purchasing tickets, we piled back into our car and drove through another manned gate, then down a narrow road for another 3 miles, until we reached the parking lot for guests.

From there, we boarded a shuttle bus to take us the last 2 miles to the Biltmore Estate. The place was crowded. Throughout our visit, several shuttles stayed busy transporting people back and forth between parking lots and the estate, a dozen or so visitors at a time. I was told the number of visitors during daylight hours is pretty consistent all year long, but since the main house closes at 5:00 p.m. most of the year, the crowds usually thin out after dark.

For Christmas Light tours, people were asked to line up at various stations, according to the time on their tickets. Groups were staggered in fifteen minute intervals to keep the flow moving through the building.

I would love to post more pictures, but no photographs are permitted inside the Estate. They do, however, take (and sell) photographs of guests. They also sell books, postcards and a ton of other souvenir items imprinted with the Biltmore logos.

Docents were posted here and there to answer guest questions. Several magnificent rooms were open for viewing (from behind velvet ropes, of course) on the first floor and they had a group singing Christmas carols in the front room. After touring the dining room, the library, the music room and reading room, we trudged up stairs to see a few bedrooms and a parlor on the next two floors that were staged to portray life in the early to mid-1900s. Most of the rooms are closed/locked from view, leaving much to the imagination, but the rooms on display were wonderful.

After touring the upper floors, we walked downstairs to the basement, where more large photos were on display, along with snippets of interesting historic information about the building of the Estate. One of the old kitchens, the servant’s dining room, a laundry, the bedrooms of three servants, and the gym were all staged as if in the early to mid-1900s. They were amazing, as was the old-fashioned bowling alley and indoor pool.

After our tour, we were ushered back outside, where some of the out-buildings have been renovated into souvenir and Christmas shops. The former horse barn has been converted into a restaurant. We shopped, we ate, and then we left around 9:30. People were still arriving, even though the last tour is at10:00 p.m.

If we had more time, we would have driven another three miles, where we could have stopped and tasted wine made from grapes grown on the property and perhaps joined a group for trail horse rides. Another two miles past that, and we could have stayed at the inn on the property, which was built in 2001 to meet the demand for people who wanted to stay on site.

The two-lane roads throughout the property are narrow, dark and crowded, but people seemed to have no trouble piling into their cars and driving from location to location.

The Vanderbilt family still owns Biltmore Estate, but visitors pay for its maintenance and upkeep. The family is fabulously wealthy, but they don’t use that wealth to finance Biltmore. They are smarter than that. They invested in the renovation and staging of the estate, marketed her properly and now that investment is paying off.

The Biltmore estate draws a million visitors per year by offering people things that the Belleview Biltmore can also offer. A step back in time. A beautiful setting. Access to local attractions.

It broke my heart to see what could be done with the Belleview Biltmore if only she were owned by someone who could see her potential, restore her and market her properly. Please do not believe the developers who swear the hotel cannot succeed if renovated. She can be restored and successfully compete for tourism dollars, earning the owners a handsome profit.

The primary difference between the Biltmore estate and the Belleview Biltmore is that the Biltmore estate has a champion, while the Belleview Biltmore is owned by developers who do not consider her value beyond the ground she rests upon. This attitude over the past few decades is the primary reason she is in such dire straits right now.

And please don’t believe amenities/entertainments must be on-site to be of value. At the Biltmore Estate, you must drive two to five miles between locations of interest. Everyone does it without complaint… even when the weather is bad and even when there is lots of traffic. Heck, most times there is lots of traffic… and twisty, poorly-lighted two-lane roads. Visitors embrace all of that as a part of the experience. They would do the same thing if taking a ferry between the Belleview Biltmore and Clearwater Beach and fishing charter boats. They would also be happy to take day trips via shuttle to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, the Sarasota museums and St Petersburg Pier. They would enjoy ghost hunts on-site and Christmas light tours. They would love strolling the gardens and touring orchid exhibits. They would come. By the millions.

INTERESTING PICTURES/INFORMATION USED IN CREATING BELLEVIEW BILTMORE RENOVATION RENDERINGS:

View of the Belleview Biltmore circa 1960

Click on the link below to see the Wade Trim project site for the Belleview Biltmore. It contains a few great historic pictures of the Belleview Biltmore, plus information about how they were able to create renderings for the potential redesign of the various ballrooms and cottages, using old photos. Hopefully an investor or group of investors will be found soon, while there is still time to save the hotel and complete the much-anticipated renovation. http://www.wadetrim.com/resources/conf/belleview.pdf

“PEARLS” NOVEL FINALLY AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!

I’ve decided to self-publish “Pearls”, the first installment in my “Spirits of Belleview Biltmore” series. The reason for this decision is to raise awareness about the Belleview Biltmore and to hopefully find an investor or group of investors who may not know she exists, before developers sway public opinion and convince those in power to allow her demolition. The cover contains information about attempts to preserve the hotel, and at the back of the book (normally reserved for “About the Author”) is more information about the hotel and its current dilemma.

I’ll send out a brief release as soon as “Pearls” is offered for purchase, but it should be available on Amazon in paperback format by the first of the year and available as an e-book on both Amazon and iTunes shortly after that. I am also pursuing an audio version, so stay tuned.

Draft cover for the upcoming novel, "Pearls"