Will old downtown hotel get a new lease on life?
A California developer is forging on with plans to convert an abandoned hotel in downtown Wichita Falls into apartments. Will Keltys plans for the Petroleum Building at Eighth Street and Scott Avenue suffered a setback in February when Wichita Falls Independent School District trustees took no action on a request for rezoning of a middle school. Kelty needed the rezoning to qualify for tax credits and secure financing for the project. Now hes trying a different approach. Ive applied for historic tax designation which means essentially as I spend more money redeveloping that building, I can get some benefits from having tax credits, Kelty said. The designation would come from Post Oak Preservation, the organization that helped transform the former Maskat Shrine into the Landmark on Lamar, an assisted living facility. Kelty said the designation would help him get a traditional bank loan to pay for his project. At the end of the day it would cover about 35 percent of the total project cost, Kelty said. He said the total cost will be about $13 million. That's on top of the $12 million he paid to purchase the building about five years ago. When completed, the building would have 15 efficiency apartments on the lower floors and 55 traditional apartments on the upper floors and would be called The Kate. Kelty said if he gets financing, he will ask the citys 4B Sales Tax Corporation for help with the sprinkler system, which must be converted to residential use. Its a huge expense, Kelty said. Kelty admits the project will probably not be a money maker for him. No, but I think overall it will be a huge benefit and hopefully I can get it to the point where it can be cash flow neutral, he said. Kelty said he should be at a decision point in the next 60 days on continuing with the project. He said If everything works out it would take about 18 months to finish the work. Kelty has been involved in other downtown projects, most notably the restoration of Big Blue, the former First Wichita National Bank building. More:School board delivers blow to plans for downtown apartments  More:4B approves $800k for Petroleum Building renovation  More:Downtown Wichita Falls: 4B Board paves way for apartment development  More:Business: Downtown eyesore gets a new owner  The building hes working on now has a checkered history. It sits on the site of the historic Kemp Hotel and has had multiple names over the past half century, including the Downtowner, the Holiday Inn Downtown and the Crescent Plaza. In recent years it became a low-rent residential hotel where police calls were frequent. It was finally abandoned except for the street level floor that has housed retail businesses.