HISTORIC DISTRICT REVIEW BOARD
Back to the Drawing Board for Hotel Cape Charles
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
September 19, 2012
Hotel Cape Charles developer David Gammino came to Town Hall yesterday with his hat in his hand. After spending $2.4 million on a “destination hotel,” he has been unable to receive a permanent certificate of occupancy.
That’s because the completed hotel doesn’t look exactly like the plan the Town approved in April 2011.
In a September 11 letter to Town Planner Tom Bonadeo, Gammino apologized for not sticking to the original plan. “In retrospect, I should have consulted with Town officials . . . my assumptions regarding historic guidelines are informed by many historic tax credit projects, but they are clearly inaccurate with respect to the Town standards. For this, I accept responsibility and apologize.”
Gammino blamed “a rapidly changing business plan” for not keeping the Town informed about architectural changes. At first, he intended only to do “a light remodel” of the old, defunct hotel. But, “we came to the conclusion that reopening the hotel in its existing configuration would be a disservice to the Town of Cape Charles and limit the hotel’s demographic appeal,” he wrote.
That’s when the budget soared from $500,000 for updates to over $2 million for a major overhaul.
The hotel needs to bring in $30,000 a month to remain viable, Gammino said. [Read more…]