The Princess Martha isn't going condo; the grande dame of apartments is getting a fresh look, though.
By SHARON L. BOND
Published June 1, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - Few times in recent years has it been announced that an old building downtown has been purchased, is being renovated and will remain an apartment house for seniors.
Usually it's news of a purchase, renovation and then conversion to condominiums. Consider the historic YMCA, Snell Arcade, Detroit Hotel, Beach Park apartments, Carlton Towers and Park Place, an adult living facility.
Now, the venerable Princess Martha.
Renovation has been under way at the historic tourist hotel for several months, but its use won't change. It will remain a senior living facility, which it became in 1989 when its 250 rooms were converted to 118 apartments.
"WRH Inc. properties are strictly multifamily. We don't do anything for sale," said Bradley S. Salzer, executive vice president for WRH Princess Martha LLC, an affiliate of William R. Hough & Co., longtime municipal underwriter and financial adviser.
Salzer was commenting on the conversion of so many other downtown buildings to condominiums. The Princess Martha will remain a building of rental units, but it is not limited to seniors.
"It would be ideal for a corporate apartment," said Marsha C. Coke, manager. "It's right in the middle of downtown."
WRH bought the Princess Martha last year for $3.47-million and is spending about $1-million to refurbish it, Salzer said.
Changes include lighter paint; new furniture, carpets and window treatments in common areas such as the lobby, dining room and library; and touches such as classical music in the lobby. The stenciled mahogany beams in the upper part of the lobby near the desk were cleaned up. The piece of furniture behind the desk with 250 small cubby holes, which held room keys in hotel days, has been moved and will be reused as an information center.
A new fitness center is being built, and the library will be updated. One part of the roof was replaced. The second floor swimming area will get a new pool deck, Salzer said.
"It will be a new, bright outlook," said resident Lucille Borghesi, who has been at the Princess Martha for a year and a few months. She is in charge of hospitality. She said she never contemplated a retirement home but likes living at the old hotel.
"I hope I can stay here as long as I need to. I remember it used to be so active when it was a hotel," she said.
The Princess Martha has about 85 residents in its 118 apartments, which include kitchens even though the monthly rent pays for two meals per day in the dining room. Rents range from $1,150 to $1,775, depending on the view, and include some utilities. The apartments are arranged on floors two through nine.
Residents include a few married couples, but the majority are single women, according to Coke. She recently convinced one couple from the Midwest to stay at the Princess, as she calls it, full time. They had been seasonal visitors, a trend the new owners want to get away from.
