WINDER, Ga. — By the end of the year, officials hope the interior of an historic granite hotel located in downtown Winder will be removed and replaced with a new steel structure.
Through Tuesday, the city of Winder is accepting bids from companies interested in completing the first phase of the hotel’s redevelopment, which includes gutting the 80-plus-year-old building and shoring up its exterior walls.
In December 2004, the city purchased the building, which sits at the intersection of Broad and Athens streets and across from the Barrow County Courthouse. City leaders opted to buy the building after asking the building’s then-owner to clean up the property, saying it was a potential fire hazard.
At first, city officials considered razing the edifice and erecting a parking deck in its spot – a move that angered some city merchants and residents who opposed the historic building’s destruction. City leaders have since decided instead to renovate the structure.
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