Another renovation plan for a former Range Hotel in Range Line is in the works. However, the project has slowed due to damage caused by thieves removing electrical cables and metal pipes from the building to sell for scrap.
An investment group, Hotel Development Advisors, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, is planning repairs to the former Holiday Inn, 3615 S. Range Line Road.
A contractor for the investors, Patrick Wood, told the Joplin Building Board of Appeal on Friday that bids for repairs had been accepted, but bids for repairs to electrical systems and plumbing were higher than planned.
“Electrical and plumbing are the two things in the hotel where we get the most theft,” said Wood.
Blueprints for the construction had previously been drawn up, “but with so much theft going on, an architect and engineers have to review all of the existing infrastructure,” he said. Contractors also need to document exactly where cables and wires have been removed to determine repair costs.
Construction officer and architect Kyle Denham asked if there is a contingency plan if the infrastructure cannot be repaired within budget estimates. There is ongoing discussion about how to do that, Wood said.
Once repair costs are nailed down, construction should begin in August or September, he said.
The building authorities voted for another update of the project on April 23, the date of its next meeting.
Two Joplin firefighters escaped injury in the building in May when they fell into the hotel pool while trying to maneuver in full gear in a smoky fire. The fire was believed to have been started by thieves who burned plastic insulation to expose the copper wire they tore from the building. The fire department said the pool was full of rancid water and the two firefighters managed to stand out despite heavy fire equipment.
The building is now monitored by the police and fire brigade, as well as by officials from the city building, as announced in the hearing of the building authorities.
The hotel was built in 1987 in conjunction with the former Hammons Trade Center, later known as the Joplin Convention and Trade Center. Together they offered the largest congress and exhibition space in Joplin. The hotel building has 262 rooms.
After developer John Q. Hammons passed away in 2013, the hotel was in operation for a short time and was then taken over by a Florida investment group that was planning a renovation under the DoubleTree by Hilton brand. These efforts failed in 2016 after extensive work was carried out but not yet completed. The building has been empty since then.
Bryan Wicklund, Joplin’s chief building officer, said Friday the investment group that it currently owns specializes in renovating hotels that the group then operates or sells.
The building authority monitors the progress of repairs to the hotel, but has the authority to declare it a dangerous building and order it to be demolished if work on it is suspended.
