Lee Trust pushes against demolition proposal for historic Hall of 50 States

Preserve the past or focus on the future? The future of the historic Hall of 50 States is up in the air.

Lee Trust held an emergency meeting about the building’s future on Tuesday night.

The organization did not invite anyone from the city. So who attended the closed-door meeting?

Only Lee Trust Historic Preservation board members and a gentleman representing one of the proposals for this building.

He was invited to the beginning of the meeting to share his proposal with the board, but ultimately the night ended with this building having more than the board members fighting for it.

Lee Trust is fighting for this historic building because that’s what they do.

The non-profit’s mission is to preserve historic buildings in the county.

Built in 1927 they say the Hall of 50 States fits the bill.

But with four proposed plans for its future on the table, time may be running out to save it.

Atlantic Realty partners presented their “Request for proposal” to the Fort Myers City Council on Friday.

The company wants to spare the building’s roof, but tear down the rest and build apartments in its place.

President of Lee Trust, Virginia Harper told WINK News that’s not enough.

“Our takeaway was that the city would be OK with this proposal if the Hall of 50 States was demolished. It was lovely to hear that people are interested in the roof, but as many people know, when you take the roof and try to just save a roof, that’s the only part you’re trying to save. That literally means the rest of the building is gonna be demolished,” explained Harper.

The proposal from Atlanta Realty Group caught Lee Trust board members off guard on Friday.

“We were very, very concerned, very dismayed with the vagueness of the proposal. Some of the T’s haven’t been crossed, and some of the I’s haven’t been dotted,” said Harper.

Jim Becker, the owner of Soundcheck Studios, said, “It’s the perfect size building, and it’s in the historic zone, and I can’t even believe someone would want to knock it down. It’s got this beautiful ceiling and the original stage. They’re talking about moving it and destroying it and stuff, so we’re trying to stop that,” said Becker.

Becker has plans to make the building a multi-use recording studio.

WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone spoke with him before he presented those plans to the board on Tuesday.

“I think the biggest selling point if the people really look at it closely, is why tear down this beautiful building. And then especially tear it down just for these developers out of town. All they care about is what we call a land grab,” said Becker.

To Lee Trust, this so-called “land grab” is not for the taking if it means taking a part of history.

“We don’t like to stand in the way of development, especially when it benefits the city, but we can’t find in any way that this proposal benefits the city or the Hall of 50 States,” said Harper.

She said this “emergency meeting” was called for by board members to discuss their next move.

They spoke with an attorney who is going to look into Atlantic Realty’s proposed plan.

Harper told WINK she’d like to see the council table this idea.