It’s been over a year since the Silver Beach Hotel shut its doors. In the ensuing months, there’s been rampant speculation about what would happen with the 50+ year old hotel that had its glory years as a Holiday Inn more than 30 years ago.
It seems everyone has an opinion. “Tear it down…”, “Put in an ‘economy’ hotel…”, “Make it a luxury boutique hotel for the tourists…”, “Turn it into condos…”, and the ever-popular “Put up a parking ramp…”. For now, it appears the SBH will remain a hotel, after considerable restoration work.
In recent weeks, a construction crew has been back on site, with a stated goal of getting enough work done that at least a portion of the hotel could be opened for the 2022 Summer season, perhaps as early as May for the KitchenAid Senior PGA Golf Championship on Memorial Day Weekend. None of that is offfical, but it’s on good authority from several sources either involved in the project or with at least some access to real information—not speculation, which is always plentiful when talking about that location.
The Silver Beach Hotel operated for much of the past 20 years as an independent hotel that was bustling and busy during the Summer, but ‘not so much’ during the off-season. Its prime downtown location and easy pedestrian access to St. Joseph’s downtown attractions and the beach made it an easy choice for families arriving for a Summer weekend, while not wanting to pay for a ‘name brand’ hotel several miles away, nor a suite at the two nearby upscale hotels.
A fire in 2018 caused some damage that may have never been fully repaired, according to one of our sources. We’re told the electrical system was significantly damaged and may have eventually failed. Portions of the facility continued to operate in 2019 and 2020, including a bar renamed ‘Riviera’ on the main floor. However, in December, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the Riviera clashed with St. Joseph Police and Berrien County Health Department officials and the entire facility was shut down.
It appears the hotel has been idle ever since, with electricity cut off last Winter, leading to frozen water pipes and significant damage in portions of the building. A source who has been inside the building told MOTM, “There’s sporadic water damage throughout, but it’s not bad in most areas.” He estimated about six months of restoration work would be required for a re-opening, depending on the size and focus of the construction team that’s attacking the project.
A year ago, one of the new owners of the hotel, Jay Patel, told MOTM that a “maintenance project” was underway then. It’s not clear what side-tracked the project for months until recently. Numerous recent attempts to contact Patel about the apparent resumption of the work have not generated a response. However, there has been a crew working there and our several sources agree that the plan is to reopen, with the Senior PGA as the optimistic target date. Stay tuned.
By Gayle Olson, MoodyOnTheMarket.com Contributor
