Arlington takes steps to address safety issues
The owner of the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa has withdrawn the appeal contesting the revised notice of unsafe conditions the city issued in September.
The initial notice threatened to close the property if repairs to the hotel’s exterior were not completed by Nov. 8, but Hot Springs City Attorney Brian Albright said Thursday no new deadlines for compliance with the building code are on the horizon.
The report from the structural study the hotel commissioned in response to the revised notice prescribed several interim steps to take until the completion of the $30 million renovation the hotel announced in August.
The evaluation Cromwell Architect Engineers conducted over a five-week period was detailed in the report the Little Rock firm published Oct. 27. It recommended netting, scaffolding and tires to address the city’s safety concerns, which include parts of the exterior coming loose and falling on the ground.
“At this point, we’re going to inspect whatever remedial measures they’ve taken to comply with what the engineers suggested,” Albright said. “We’re relying on Cromwell’s report and assessment. We’re confident they’ve done their due diligence.”
Sky Capital Group LP CEO Al Rajabi said the report affirmed the safety of the hotel, making the appeal that was scheduled to be heard Wednesday before the Board of Zoning Adjustments unnecessary. The company purchased the hotel, Wade Building and several out parcels in July for $7 million.
“(The report) determined that the building in its current condition, with the steps taken as recommended in the report, can be safely occupied until the renovations begin in the next 18 months,” Rajabi said in a statement he issued through the public relations firm he hired earlier this year.
“The remediation steps outlined in the Cromwell report have been implemented, and the property remains safe for the public.”
City Manager David Frasher and Planning and Development Director Kathy Sellman told The Sentinel-Record in August, two weeks after the initial notice was issued, the hotel
had to be in full compliance with the building code to stay open beyond the Nov. 8 deadline and insisted stopgap measures would not suffice.
The revised notice the city sent in September set an Oct. 29 deadline for submitting a building evaluation and repair plan, making the November deadline obsolete. It alluded to the city’s authority under its building code to revoke the hotel’s certificate of occupancy but did not specify the consequences for failing to meet the new target date.
The hotel’s attorney, John Baker, threatened to sue Frasher and the city two weeks later in a letter urging the preservation of records relevant to the potential lawsuit.
Chief Building Official Mike Scott said Thursday he was waiting for the hotel to confirm if the temporary steps recommended by Cromwell were fully in place. He said the hotel opted for netting to secure the area above the Central Avenue wing’s seventh floor instead of hanging scaffolding over the valet drive.
“I believe they’ve done everything they’re supposed to,” Scott said. “I have no reason to believe they haven’t. The Arlington is working well with me. I had a brief meeting with Mr. Rajabi. We’re working well together.”
Information the hotel’s tax representative presented at a property tax appeal in September said $5.2 million in repairs are needed to keep the hotel open, including $500,000 for new roofs, $1.5 million in repairs to the two cupolas and $3.2 million to seal, repair and replace the stucco exterior.