Classic Treasure Island motel gains a new life
By WAYNE AYERS
Article published on Tuesday, July 15, 2008  |
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| Jeanette Secor-Bell poses with the mermaid she made as an attraction at the Oasis Palms Resort, a 1950s-era motel in Treasure Island that she and her husband restored. |
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TREASURE ISLAND – Several years ago, the no-name motel at 11799 Gulf Blvd., formerly known as the Roadside Inn, was on nearly everyone’s ready to be demolished list.
Even the city, with a long list of improvements required for the property, seemed to be telling new owners Jeanette Secor-Bell and Brian Bell it was best to tear it down.
But Jeanette and Brian looked past the peeling paint and run-down exterior and saw an unpolished jewel in the property that had once been the family-friendly Pelican Apartment Motel, beloved by past generations.
For Jeanette, purchase of the aging motel “at a bargain price” was both a labor of love and a practical investment that drew on both her and her husband’s backgrounds and skills. He was a veteran of the hotel industry with a financial specialty.
“He knew the business end, having done every position at a hotel,” Jeanette said.
She had a law degree and real estate license, and specialized in property renovation. Having restored scores of apartment units and houses, Jeanette realized there was “a huge potential” when she and her husband looked at the property on Gulf Boulevard.
“I appreciated the old construction. Everything was concrete block. The building had withstood I don’t know how many hurricanes since it was built in the early 1950s,” she said.
Besides, she said, the place was “not nearly as far gone as other houses I had literally brought back from the dead.”
The couple even saw a silver lining in the lagging real estate market.
“The market had slowed down – everything but hotels and motels. We thought ‘Now is the perfect time to buy a hotel.’”
A good deal was negotiated on the purchase, and Jeanette began to form “my vision of what I wanted it to look like.” An eclectic mix of her life experiences, adventures and skills went into the planning for the property, now christened the Oasis Palms Resort. Jeanette is a noted artist specializing in tropical and marine life. She’s an experienced scuba diver, having been all over the tropics, she said. She also keeps horses, rides motorcycles and loves nostalgia.
The renovation project, which Jeanette described as “a gigantic amount of work,” was accomplished almost exclusively by the husband and wife team. The style is retro-casual Florida tropics. A brochure on the resort states, “The fact that our location is a Florida island is reflected in every detail of the decor.”
Prints of Jeanette’s paintings adorn the walls.
“I would come back from every trip and do part of a painting or a whole picture,” she said.
Going “green” has been a priority of the renovation and furnishings.
“We want to be as environmentally pleasing as possible,” Jeanette said.
That includes dispensers for the soaps and shampoo and “recycling of everything we can to cut down on waste and avoid landfills.” Shell is used in the landscaping in place of asphalt because it absorbs rain and is better for the environment.
Retro-nostalgia and a respect for the property’s 1950s Pelican Motel past is evident. Out front is a life-sized mermaid, sculpted by Jeanette, reminiscent of the Webb’s City mermaid that would talk to the children.
When fully operational, the figure promises to be vocal once again. An old time ice cream parlor, open to the public, is part of the lobby.
In maintaining the property’s individuality, every room is different, and six room types are offered, Jeanette said. Some rooms had hardwood floors, which have been beautifully restored.
Not all is nostalgia. A new state-of-the-art pool, complete with lagoons, will soon replace the original.
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Article published on Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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