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Ocala philanthropist takes on renovation of the Marion Hotel, a catalyst for history

A banner with The Collage Companies' logo crowns the active construction site. The Marion Hotel is located north of State Road 40, past a heavily trafficked intersection. (Tarryn Nichols/WUFT News)
A banner with The Collage Companies' logo crowns the active construction site. The Marion Hotel is located north of State Road 40, past a heavily trafficked intersection. (Tarryn Nichols/WUFT News)

Correction appended: A previous version of this story stated that Lisa Irwin was part of the venture with her ex-husband, David Midgett. She is not and wrote in an email to WUFT, "I wish David and his partners every success with the hotel project."

When Ocala’s 1961 “summer of Elvis” was in full swing, the legend took lunch at a famous hotel downtown.

Elvis ordered four T-bone steaks for the local police officers on his security detail and a grilled cheese for himself, according to the Ocala Gazette, inviting them to dine with him for an unforgettable meal. He was filming “Follow That Dream” when his movie crew rented out the Marion Hotel that afternoon, unaware that his visit would spur the dreams of many others.

Local real estate developer David Midgett now has a dream to restore the Marion Hotel to its former glory. After years spent acquiring every single unit, Midgett partnered with Hilton to transform the timeworn 108 N. Magnolia Ave. property into one of Hilton’s Tapestry hotels. The homage to history is expected to spark business in the area.

This historic photo of the Marion Hotel was featured in Ocala’s Midtown Master Plan in a 2019 city report. (Courtesy of City of Ocala)
This historic photo of the Marion Hotel was featured in Ocala’s Midtown Master Plan in a 2019 city report. (Courtesy of City of Ocala)

Ocala Main Street, a nonprofit working to revitalize downtown Ocala, discussed the project details at an Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership breakfast in March. The Marion Hotel is one piece in a larger vision to connect and redevelop Ocala’s core.

“We have a lot of property that is being taken back and given love in a way that it deserves,” said Jessica Fieldhouse, Ocala Main Street’s executive director. She alluded to several fresh redevelopments in midtown, the northern portion of downtown Ocala.

These include Midtown Station, a newly opened dining complex that overlooks Tuscawilla Lake, and the old American Legion building that is now her organization’s office in Tuscawilla Park.

The city considers the Marion Hotel one of multiple “catalytic properties” in downtown Ocala, according to Fieldhouse. Catalytic properties are parcels the city predicts will spark continued investment in the area after they are developed.

“The downtown core is the most valuable land that we have in Ocala, and it generates the most taxes in the entire city,” Fieldhouse said.

'What Ocala Builds, Builds Ocala'

The Marion Hotel was the city’s first so-called skyscraper when it was built in 1927. Ocala had several hotels, but city leaders wanted a modern option for its growing tourism and business travelers during Florida’s dizzy real estate boom. Using the slogan “What Ocala Builds, Builds Ocala,” residents raised the construction funds in six weeks by purchasing stock certificates.

The seven-story Mediterranean Revival-style hotel was born on the cusp of the Great Depression. It boasted many famous guests, including Sinclair Lewis, W.C. Fields and John Hersey. One of the hotel’s early managers, Norton Baskin, met Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings as she was staying in the hamlet of Cross Creek. They later married after she won a Pulitzer Prize for writing an American classic based in central Florida –– “The Yearling.”

In the 1970s and ‘80s — as with other historic buildings downtown — the Marion Hotel fell on hard times. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and the Florida Trust for Historical Preservation granted a façade easement in 1985 to save the structure for future generations.

The building was converted to office condominiums as the Ocala National Bank in the 1990s, then renamed the Marion Sovereign Building in 2007. The last office lease ended in 2022, which allowed Midgett to start intensive renovations on the gutted interior.

Midgett hired The Collage Companies, a Lake Mary-based contractor, to handle the roughly $12 million undertaking. All rehabilitation work must meet the U.S. Dept. of the Interior’s standards, since the façade easement prevents change to the outside character of the building.

The renovation effort focuses on repairing, rather than replacing. This can enhance a historic property but makes construction more expensive.

This is not Midgett's first historic renovation. He and his ex-wife, Lisa Irwin, restored other Ocala landmarks, including the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, the Barnett Bank building and several antique houses. They have also invested in fixing up historic hotels overseas in Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

The project will be privately funded by David Midgett, a lawyer, broker and investor. His ex-wife is an art aficionado and founded the NOMA gallery in the old Coca-Cola Bottling Plant as a haven for local artists during the pandemic. She has since sold it to a local artist, and she sold her interest in the hotel to her ex-husband.

Fieldhouse said there’s great value in a local developer handling the hotel renovation since they are personally invested in the area and tuned in to the community’s needs.

The Marion Hotel’s tan drapes were torn open by Hurricane Helene’s powerful winds, revealing the building’s steel skeleton the following day. The covering is in place to prevent debris from falling into the street. (Tarryn Nichols/WUFT News)
The Marion Hotel’s tan drapes were torn open by Hurricane Helene’s powerful winds, revealing the building’s steel skeleton the following day. The covering is in place to prevent debris from falling into the street. (Tarryn Nichols/WUFT News)

“It's our Ocala residents that are investing in property and investing in development because they see the vision for what's to come,” Fieldhouse said. “And the Marion Hotel is going to support all of that on the north side of (State Road) 40.”

Running the economic engine 

By attracting investment to the downtown core, the city will be encouraged to update outdated infrastructure, Fieldhouse explained. The increase in foot traffic may also deter crime.

“You want the feet on streets to help support your economic engine,” Fieldhouse said.

Ocala resident and investor Chris Cook raised the question of local interest and pedestrian safety. The Marion Hotel lies next to a buzzing four-lane divided highway. He said an increase in activity will create more traffic at the already tight intersection.

But attracting clients for a high-end restaurant within a boutique hotel could prove challenging in the first place, Cook said.

“I don't know if there's enough hotel need in that area that's not already taken up by the Hilton,” said Cook, referring to the nearby Hilton Garden Inn on the downtown square. He said the owners should be wary of whether another hotel is something the community has the means to support.

Walkability is a matter the organization aims to solve by having the city expand the multimodal Osceola Trail (OTrak) from the Ocala Downtown Market to the Reilly Center in Tuscawilla Park. As of now, State Road 40 is a dangerous divider for pedestrians to cross.

“I want people to walk north of 40 and I want them to feel safe north of 40,” Fieldhouse said.

An up-and-coming community core 

The Collage Companies project manager Barry Eady said the hotel will include 58 rooms and a first-floor restaurant with a cigar bar. In a later phase, they will build an addition to the west side of the building. His employees saved historical details, like the window medallions, when they stuccoed the outside and sanded down the window frames over the summer.

Midgett partnered with ARK Hospitality to put these ideas into motion since he will not operate the establishment.

Fieldhouse said this development is unique because it has Ocala’s historical roots in mind, and it will enhance midtown’s sense of place for everyone.

“It's going to be for the community, not just for visitors,” Fieldhouse said.

Fieldhouse recognized that many residents may have qualms about the rapid development consuming the city, but said change should be welcomed as a positive force. She hopes city improvements will incentivize younger residents and families to settle down instead of moving elsewhere.

“We're trying to create a culture here in Ocala and celebrate our own history and what we have to offer,” Fieldhouse said.

Fieldhouse said she is most excited for what will follow the restoration. Once midtown is “activated” and integrated with downtown Ocala, her organization intends to partner with the hotel to support larger events, like music festivals, at Tuscawilla Park. A large centennial celebration of the hotel’s legacy is already in the works.

Eady said the hotel will be completed by December 2025.

“I'll definitely go check it out and see what it has to offer," Cook said.

Tarryn is a reporter for WUFT News who can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.