After an hour-long discussion on Monday, the Sanford City Commission voted 4-1 to approve a religious nonprofit’s plan for a mixed-use development on the historic Mayfair Hotel property in downtown.
Dover Plains, NY-based World Olivet Assembly wants to convert the 100-year-old hotel into its southern headquarters and missionary training center, with 27,450 square feet of office space, a 550-square-foot museum and gift shop, and 46 residential units.
The project differs from what the city envisioned for the property overlooking Lake Monroe in its comprehensive plan: a public use that would attract more vibrancy and pedestrian activity downtown. However, the building has not served as a hotel since 1966, and had been unused since 2016, when a different religious nonprofit moved away after owning it for 40 years.
The World Olivet Assembly purchased the 5.48-acre property in 2022 for $6 million.
On Oct. 2, Sanford’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval for the assembly’s plans.
Monday’s vote to rezone the property gave tentative approval of the ordinance after the first reading. A final vote will follow the second reading and public hearing scheduled for Nov. 10.
The historic Mayfair Hotel is located off of Lake Monroe. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)
The discussion on Monday primarily focused on the 550-square-foot museum/gift shop. Commissioners questioned whether the space would attract visitors downtown. Mayor Art Woodruff wanted the attraction to be in the lobby instead of a small room.
Commissioner Sheena Britton believed that, since it is open to the public, people could loiter in the lobby for hours, potentially interrupting World Olivet Assembly’s private business. Britton suggested an outdoor attraction like a garden with plaques detailing the history of the former hotel.
Hal Kantor, a land use attorney with Lowndes, represented World Olivet Assembly at the meeting and stated they are open to any ideas that benefit the city.
The organization plans to invest between $15 million and $30 million in the renovation project, which will create approximately 400 temporary construction jobs. Once completed, the building could accommodate up to 150 people, including 50 to 75 permanent employees. The remaining occupants will consist of trainees and missionaries.
The plans call for about 28,000 square feet of office space, 46 apartments and a small museum and gift shop. The residences would be set aside for missionaries and staff. (Site plan from CPH Engineering)
Alma Osorio-Ford, the Executive Director at World Olivet Assembly, also spoke during the meeting and detailed the intended use of the building. Osorio-Ford wanted to emphasize that it’s not a church, it’s not a school, and it’s not a dormitory. It will operate as “a corporate training facility, focused on developing mission-driven leaders.”
Osorio-Ford added, “Our hope and our vision is that by restoring and revitalizing this property, we can bring new life and purpose to the site by creating professional-level opportunities, attracting visitors from around the world and connecting Sanford to a truly global mission network. Basically, what I really want to say is that we love this building. We love this city.”
This wouldn’t be the first time that a Christian nonprofit has used the property as its headquarters, as Ethnos 360, previously known as New Tribes Mission, used the Mayfair Hotel as its training headquarters from 1977 to 2016. However, Eileen Hinson, Sanford’s Director of Planning, noted that the city’s comprehensive plan has been updated since then to encourage a mix of uses that enhance the vibrancy and walkability of downtown.
The property was built in 1925 and first operated as a hotel in 1926. The hotel was initially called Hotel Forrest Lake, named after its owner, Forrest Lake, a businessman and local politician who served as Mayor of Sanford and was instrumental in the passing of a bill to create Seminole County in 1913. However, Hotel Forrest Lake closed down in 1928 after its owner was sentenced to prison due to charges of bank fraud.
The building later reopened under the name the Mayfair Hotel, or simply the Mayfair, which stayed in operation until 1966. The property is most famous for serving as the spring training home of the New York Giants Major League Baseball team until they moved to San Francisco in 1963.
After the Mayfair closed, the property was used as a Naval Academy from 1966 to 1975 before the New Tribes Mission bought it. In 2016, the nonprofit moved to a new headquarters at 312 W. 1st St. in Downtown Sanford. Since then, the former Mayfair property has gone unused.
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