Interior demolition work began earlier in the month at the Punta Gorda Waterfront Hotel and Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill, and structural demolition is expected to begin next month, attorney Derek Rooney said. He represents Amer Asmar, whose company Punta Gorda AA Hotel LLC owns both the hotel at 300 W. Retta Esplanade and the adjoining restaurant structure.
On July 24, Rooney said internal demolition and asbestos remediation is ongoing and a small pile of debris from the two-story portion of the hotel and the restaurant can be seen in the parking lot area.
He said, throughout this week, workers will be removing furniture and other materials from the five-story portion of the hotel as part of the internal demolition, but structural demolition won’t occur until a permit modification is issued with respect to “best manager practices.”
Referring to the work that is going on now, he told the Code Enforcement Board, “If anyone sees a couple of gentlemen walking out with a whole bunch of big screen TVs, that’s part of the process. They’re not stealing.”
He told the board that Weiler Engineering was completing its study that day and then turbidity barriers will be ordered. The barriers will be used to prevent debris from going into the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor.
After a pre-construction conference to discuss the demolition, it will begin shortly thereafter and is expected to take 30 days, he said.
Both the hotel and Hurricane Charley’s Sushi, Raw Bar & Grill sustained damage from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Idalia.
The restaurant reopened after Hurricane Ian, but flooding from Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 rendered it a public safety hazard and fire risk, officials said, leading to its permanent closure.
Hurricane Charley’s underwent repairs and reopened after Hurricane Ian, but Hurricane Idalia caused damage beyond repair.
The restaurant, which shared a common wall with the hotel, was owned by Dean Stainton, who also owns Dean’s South of the Border in town. He leased the space from Asmar and had 10 years left on his lease agreement.
The city condemned both structures, and Asmar was charged with multiple code violations for not making repairs or demolishing the properties, officials said.
The Code Enforcement Board voted unanimously Jan. 24 to order the building razed and for Asmar to obtain a demolition permit and place a fence around the entire site.
It is unknown whether Asmar plans to rebuild the hotel. At last month’s Code Enforcement Board hearing, Rooney revealed plans to appeal the city’s code requirement that the parking lot be ripped up in the demolition process, as the owner is designing site plans for a new hotel that could use the parking lot.
