Hummingbird Hotel’s conversion a difficult task
But change into office building — Emerge Lake Worth — due Nov. 15.
LAKE WORTH — Turning a97-yearold structure at 631 Lucerne Ave. — once the Hummingbird Hotel — into a high-end, $1 million site for 22 offices in Lake Worth comes with its share of challenges.
“It’s an old building,” said Ray Maranges, co-owner of Hummingbird Partners, LLC. “We were on schedule and wanted to stick to it, but we couldn’t.”
The way the building was constructed was one of many issues Maranges and his staff had to deal with.
“It didn’t have an ounce of steel or an ounce of concrete in it,” he said, shaking his head. “We had to reinforce the entire building and it took a lot longer to do it.”
Richard Cruz, co-owner at Hummingbird Partners, called the situation typical construction.
“It’s the nature of the beast and there’s nothing we can do about it other than go with the flow,” he said.
So, instead of a September opening, Maranges said Nov. 15 is now the target date for Emerge Lake Worth, a 5,638-square-foot space for attorneys, real estate agents, and insurance professionals that will feature valet parking for customers and a top-line lobby.
“This has been a real education,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot about restoring an old building, but it’s been a great experience.”
On a recent afte r noon, Maranges said Hummingbird
Partners bought the site for $500,000 in February 2017. He said the company considered many uses from residential, to retail to mixeduse, but found the best use was office space.
“Lake Worth needs nice, professional, class A offices,” Maranges said. “The rent includes electricity, fiber optic cable, use of a private lounge. We’re offer- ing extremely nice offices in an extremely nice location where you’re next to restaurants and bars.”
Cruz said rents will most likely go from $950 to up to $1,600 a month. The offices range from 110 square feet to 250 square feet.
“It’ll be a complete pack- age for someone who wants to come in and do their business and not have to worry about bills every month,” Maranges said. “It’ll all be in one bill. This will have everything so if somebody comes in, they don’t have to worry about deposits for electricity or a subscription to Comcast.”
But downtown Lake Worth has had its share of issues in recent months.
Kilwins on Lake Avenue closed because of higher rents. Starbucks moved to North Dixie Highway and 2nd Avenue North and Studio 205, a Lake Avenue fix- ture of 24 years, moved to 410 Second Avenue North because of a rent increase.
Opportunity arises
These issues, however, don’t worry Maranges, who believes Emerge Lake Worth can be a downtown catalyst.
“It’s a natural transition,” he said. “Businesses come and go and rents are not going down. Historically they usually go up. It’s sad to see some of the people go, but I’m sure those sites will get filled up sooner or later.”
But nearby business owners are looking forward to Emerge Lake Worth.
Carrie Childs, co-owner of CarriElle’s Closet, a women’s upscale designer shop on North K Street, told The Palm Beach Post in June the site will bring more life to the street.
“Anything they can do with that building is going to help the city,” she said.
Lance Wilkins, a manager at Dave’s Last Resort & Raw Bar on Lake Avenue, said the site will be good for extra lunch and dinner crowds.
Maranges said he doesn’t expect the site to be totally full once it opens.
“We really don’t have anything to show them, but we will in about a month,” he said. “They’ll be able to see things more clearly.”
He said although construc- tion has taken longer, he’s still optimistic.
“We want to make sure it was done right for ourselves and the future,” he said. “We know it’s been here for 97 years and I think after we’re done, it’ll be here for another 97 years.”