[Source: Mark Cowling, Casa Grande Dispatch] -- Hopes that the Silver King Hotel might be open for business again in some form by the end of the year may have hit a snag. Bids for the building's second phase of restoration have come in at more than double the available grant funds. The Florence Preservation Foundation, owner of the building, had a federal "T-21" grant of $500,000 and an Arizona Heritage Fund grant of approximately $30,000. The group had hoped to use this money to install an elevator, build restrooms and second-story balconies and do other work to get the 19th-century building ready for tenants. After spending $50,000 in architectural fees, the foundation has about $480,000 left for construction. But the three bids submitted recently ranged from just over $1 million to $1.5 million.Bonnie Bariola, secretary of the Florence Preservation Foundation, couldn't say exactly how the group would proceed from here; it may be a combination of scaling back the project as well as trying to raise more money. "If you see anyone with an extra $1 million lying around, we'd be happy to take it off their hands." She said donations to the FPF are tax-deductible. She was scheduled to meet with Town Manager Himanshu Patel to discuss alternatives.
The town of Florence Planning Department at one time hoped to use the top floor of the building, while an interior design and home furnishings business leased the first floor. But Town Planning Director Larry Quick said it appeared the timing wouldn't work out for his department to move to the Silver King. Construction is expected to take six months and his department will need to move before then. The Planning Department is running out of space and may hire still more people after the new fiscal year budget is approved in July, Quick said. The department may move out of Town Hall into a modular portable building in the next few months. [Photo source: Metropolis Design Group]
