By Jaymi Freiden, Savannah Morning News, Ga.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
The General Oglethorpe Hotel, known previously as the Sheraton Savannah Resort and now as the Wilmington Hotel,
was built as a luxury resort in 1927 for $1.9 million. Investment Executive Thomas P. Saffold, president of the
General Oglethorpe Hotel Corp., built the structure on land donated by cotton broker Henry C. Walthour, the vice
president of the corporation. The hotel's Spanish/Mediterranean exterior is an offshoot of the Florida boom of
the 1920s. The resort has 20,000 square feet of meeting space and a 7,272-square-foot ballroom that seats 1,200
for a meeting and 700 for dinner. The golf course was designed in 1927 by prominent golf course architect Donald
Ross.
Rumors have added to the lore of the hotel. In the 1970s, when the hotel was owned by the Teamsters, there was
a mafia stigma attached to it. The rumor was, and still is, that Jimmy Hoffa's remains were buried there.
In 1997, it was reported that former televangelist Jim Bakker was going to turn the resort into a retreat for wayward
ministers. A few months after that, word was an unidentified businessman wanted to buy the hotel, so he could dock
a large cruise ship nearby.
Developer Bill Foster finally purchased the property in May 1998. He'll be turning it into a 265-condominium development.
By buying the hotel, Foster achieved a goal that many others couldn't. Between 1990 and 1996, at least four separate
deals fell through from investors who wanted to buy the resort and turn in into a multimillion-dollar Olympic complex
to host the yachting events.
After years of rumors and speculations, plans are finally in place to turn the former Sheraton Savannah Resort
on Wilmington Island into condominiums.
About 50 people gathered Thursday in the musty ballroom of the Wilmington Hotel to hear the future of the resort
that has been vacant since June 1994. But one thing they knew going into the meeting was the 72-year-old resort
wouldn't end up as a pile of rubble.
"About a year ago, I promised we wouldn't take it down," said Macon developer Bill Foster, who bought
the hotel for $6.5 million in May 1998. "We've gone to extreme measures to save the hotel."
Foster weighed several options on what to do with the resort. There was talk of turning it into a five-star hotel,
but Foster never got completely comfortable with that idea. Another plan could have made the resort into a retirement
village -- Foster owns two nursing homes on Tybee Island and one in Thunderbolt. But the condos won out.
Plans call for 45 units ranging from 1,300-2,400 square feet being built in the resort. Several more buildings
-- housing an additional 220 condos -- could be built around the property, with some overlooking the golf course,
and some with a view of the marsh on Turners Creek or the Wilmington River. Prices haven't been decided for the
condos outside the hotel, but Foster said condos in the hotel should start around $229,000.
Foster estimates the hotel part of the project will cost $7 million to $8 million to complete. The building is
structurally sound, but vandalism and leaky ceilings have taken their toll and will need to be repaired. Foster
will begin by putting new roofs on the ballrooms, which he hopes to start soon. He estimates all the construction
will be completed in three to five years, with the first phase -- the hotel -- finished in about a year.
The gated development will also feature amenities like a clubhouse located inside the former Sunset Grill restaurant,
and Foster will restore the main ballroom for resident use. A wellness center will be built in the space currently
occupied by Aurrie Belle's Cafe and the golf pro shop. He'll also renovate the docks and will possibly add boat
slips for residents to use. The villas on the east side of the property will be torn down and replaced with a terrace.
Dues will be collected from residents monthly to help pay for some maintenance costs, Foster said, and he plans
to manage the property himself.
"I believe in being hands-on," he said.
For resident golfers, membership in the Wilmington Island Club will be free. If a club member wants to move into
the development, their membership fee would be returned.
County Commissioner Frank Murray saw the plans for the resort last week and said it is the best plan he's seen
for the property and hasn't heard any negative comments about it.
"I think it will be an asset to the islands community," he said. "I think he (Foster) is going to
do a real good job."
And his new neighbors agree. No one had any negative comments about the development and heaped praise upon Foster,
who stressed over and over again his desire to be a good neighbor. Some people, like Wilmington Island resident
Bob Stewart, even showed interest in investing in the development.
But no one seemed happier than Stella Moore, who lives on the south side of the development. She's seen developers
come and go and she's thrilled with what will finally be built next door.
"Welcome to the neighborhood," she told Foster, who hinted he may move to Savannah in the near future.
"I'm a happy lady tonight," she added. "I'm going to send him flowers tomorrow."
Curtis Carver, president of the Men's Golf Association at the Wilmington Island Club, also expressed his delight
at Foster's project.
"I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that we have an owner who has made a commitment to bringing the
hotel back to the way it was in its glory days," he said. "I see nothing but good things."
To see more of the Savannah Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.savannahnow.com
(c) 1999, Savannah Morning News, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HOT,