The city has requested that the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa update the structural study the hotel had done two years ago in response to the city's notice of unsafe conditions.
Cromwell Architects Engineers said in an email it sent the city last week that the Arlington has contracted it to update the study it conducted in 2017, explaining that a report should be completed by the end of the month. The hotel did not respond to The Sentinel-Record's repeated requests for comment.
The 2017 study determined stopgap measures, such as netting, scaffolding and fastening tires to roofs to catch and absorb dislodged pieces of the exterior, would allow the building to be safely occupied until the $30 million renovation Sky Capital Group LP CEO Al Rajabi announced two years ago could be completed.
The city had threatened to close the property if repairs to the building's exterior weren't completed by November 2017 but backed off after the hotel's attorney sent it a letter in September of that year urging the preservation of records relevant to the lawsuit the hotel was considering filing against then-City Manager David Frasher and the city in federal court.
Sky Capital of San Antonio, Texas, purchased the hotel, Wade Building and several out parcels from the Arlington Hotel Co. Inc. in July 2017 for $7 million, according to the settlement statement the hotel's tax representative presented the Garland County Board of Equalization in 2017. The purchase price included the more than $1.9 million Sky Capital paid for the hotel's personal property -- items such as equipment, furnishings, the hotel's name and brand equity.
A letter Hot Springs Chief Building Official Mike Scott sent Rajabi in August noted the report from Cromwell's 2017 study recommended that the building be reviewed annually for possible safety concerns. Scott told the newspaper the condition of the exterior of the two cupolas is the city's primary concern.
Cromwell's 2017 report said stucco and concrete have the potential to fall from both cupolas, but tests conducted by dropping tennis balls showed debris would land on the sloped tile roof. It recommended fastening tires to the roof to cushion it from falling debris. The same was recommended for the roof below the Central Avenue wing's 11th floor, where loose pieces of roof overhang could fall through the ballroom roof.
Scott said an updated study is needed to determine if the cupolas are stable enough to remain as they are until the hotel decides if it's going to repair or rebuild them.
The scope of work listed in the email Cromwell sent the city last week included using a drone to inspect the building. Photos the drone takes will be compared to earlier photos to determine if the exterior has further deteriorated. A site visit will re-examine areas reviewed during the previous study.
An itemized list the hotel's tax representative presented the Board of Equalization in 2017 showed $5.2 million in repairs was needed, including $1.5 million to repair the cupolas and $3.2 million to seal, repair and replace the stucco exterior. The list showed a $28.4 million price to refurbish the hotel.
The status of the $30 million renovation Rajabi announced in 2017 is unknown. Property records showed Arlington Hotel Co. Inc. is no longer carrying the $5.6 million mortgage Sky Capital granted it in July 2017. An instrument assigning the note to a company managed by Centurion American Development Group of Texas CEO Mehrdad Moayedi was recorded Sept. 30.
Another instrument recorded the same day granted Chambers Bank a security interest in the note, with the Moayedi managed company using the note to secure a $4.5 million loan.
Local on 10/06/2019