Following a vote by Mineral Wells residents Saturday, the historic, but long shuttered Baker Hotel may be on the way to renewed grandeur. Mineral Wells residents voted to use an eighth of a cent of the city’s sales tax toward a $56 million plan to revitalize the landmark. Developers Hunter Chase Capital Partners of Southlake have been working on a plan to revitalize the hotel. Getting the sales tax reallocated to the plan was the last step in the process, according to supporters of the vote..
Aside from a Facebook page, the community held several meeting regarding the hotel and the hotel itself sported a large banner saying “Vote for me May 10” across the front. The 14-story hotel opened in 1929 and through the next two decades was considered a resort for the rich and famous drawn by the mineral waters that are the town’s namesake. The hotel closed in 1972. The hotel was designed by Wyatt C. Hedrick, a Fort Worth architect known for the Will Rogers Memorial Center and the Texas and Pacific Terminal and Warehouses. According to the Hunter Chase website, the restoration is a team effort with La Corsha Hospitality Group, HHCC Inc., and Thiel & Thiel . The restoration plan will utilize historic tax credits, New Markets Tax Credits, Tax Increment Financing bonds, grants and commercial loans, according to the website.
For a video tour of the Baker Hotel: