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504 Goes Retro to Save a Piece of Florida History

Oct 2009

Remember piling into the family truckster and heading to the beach for a true family adventure on the Florida coast? Hank Staley is betting that old Florida hospitality is not just a nostalgic dream and is using the 504 program to keep a piece of “Floriana” alive and well.

As most financing professionals will agree, it is very difficult to secure funding for an independent (non-flagged) lodging project. This was very clear in the mind of Staley, but having been an industry consultant for many years he knew the merits of the project outweighed any concerns.

His dream was realized with the opening of the Palms Retro, located in Atlantic Beach, Florida, just east of Jacksonville. Staley bought the “Old Florida” style, one-story, horseshoe-shaped building for approximately $725,000 in May and was faced with a structure that was definitely showing its age.

“It has a checkered past, at best,” he said. “If the walls could talk, I'm sure there would be a lot of stories.” Built in 1947, the project required an additional $105,000 in renovation costs to transform the property.

The result is simply outstanding - a 1940's themed shrine to all things Hollywood with all of the modern conveniences. The 10 rooms are individually themed to transport guests back in time. From the “Rat Pack” room featuring the golden era of Vegas to the “Divas Room” with an oversized Marilyn Monroe wall mural, each room is a carefully orchestrated story harkening back to simpler times to lull the senses into a restful experience you will want to repeat and tell your friends about.

“The 504 made a lot of sense for Mr. Staley,” said Kristen Tackett, FFCFC's loan officer for Northeast Florida. “In today's economy, access to capital is 50% of the battle. The 504 program provides funding based on many facets unique to each project, and the Palms Retro certainly had merit,” she said.

Tackett continued, “In this case the attractive terms combined with the ability to partner with a financial institution that understood the market and had faith in the project was a winning combination for FFCFC and the borrower.”

As we move forward in the “new” economy, it is important to protect symbols of our past that make Florida and its communities retain an authentic and economically viable link to that past. In this respect, the Palms Retro does its part every day reminding guests there was a time when things were slower, simpler and going out and exploring the state was fun!

Click here to visit the Palms Retro: www.palmsretro.com.

For more information about 504 loans in Florida, contact Florida First Capital by visiting www.ffcfc.com, emailing us at insider@ffcfc.com or calling 888.320.5504.