“We finally got the ink on the paper and we’re moving forward full speed ahead.”
That’s Chris Siriano, announcing a buy/sell agreement was signed this week for the property known as Mary’s Fireproof Hotel (or the House of David Hotel) in Benton Harbor.
“Everything’s signed and sealed and the buyers are a powerful family of hotel owners. It feels wonderful for me, the seller, and the area. (The buyer) is very accustomed to taking on big projects like this. It’s been on the market for a long time, and it’s a daunting proposition to take on this kind of project, but they’re all about it.”
The property at 93 West Wall Street in Benton Harbor was built in 1921 and its four stories encompass more than 44,000 square feet of space. Listed for $554,000, Siriano said there’s plenty of opportunity for improvements.
“It’s basically a fallout shelter from the Cold War at this point. It’s completely empty of everything except the concrete shell that was created. Everything else is stripped out and gone. So they’ve got to do everything. They’ve got to do all the abatements, all the mechanicals, all brand new windows, new entrances, all new cosmetics, all new bathrooms, everything.”
Siriano indicated that having “new everything” inside the historic structure is right in line with what the new owners have planned.
“Their intention is to make a luxury hotel even grander than it was in the beginning.”
Siriano said he was not at liberty to publicly disclose the buyer’s identity. He would say the buyer has looked at properties in the area previously, and come close to purchasing.
“They discovered the area by finding out about the Silver Beach Hotel. They wanted to buy (the hotel) back when it was available for a reasonable price after they had water freezing and pipes busting. They put an offer in and somehow they didn’t get the hotel. That’s when they started looking hard into this area and they absolutely loved the (Mary’s Hotel) structure.”
As curator of the House of David Museum in St. Joseph, Siriano is closely connected to the House of David history.
“They invited me to kind of be an overseer of things moving forward once they get it off the ground and maybe even a chance to put the House of David Museum in the building at some point. But it’s really exciting for me because I’ve been in the dang thing for ten plus years, with lots of vision but not the financial wherewithal. Hopefully we can really, really make it spectacular.”
Siriano anticipates action to get underway after the formal closing, which he expects within the next two months. When the time is appropriate, he said community members will be invited to bring their ideas forward for what to put in the main floor.
“They’re going to invite the community in to put retail establishments on the main floor just like they had originally. So anybody that wants to get in on the ground floor dream work, just contact me and I can get them in touch with (the buyer), because they definitely want to get it filled up quickly.”
