BUILDING ON SEBRING'S GOOD BONES
ST. PETERSBURG DEVELOPER ROBERT BLACKMON IS BRINGING THE SUNSHINE CITY APPROACH TO SEBRING

By Breanne Williams
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 1, 2023

There's a sense of familiarity as Robert Blackmon tours downtown Sebring.

The St. Petersburg developer and former city council member points out the properties his grandfather once owned in the City on the Circle, which is roughly 100 miles southeast of St. Pete.

But there's more to Blackmon's Sebring connection than familial ties. As he parked his black pickup truck a block from Lake Jackson, he paused, glancing back at the historic buildings scattered throughout downtown.

"Sebring is basically a time machine [to] St. Petersburg 15 years ago," Blackmon said. "I had officials of Sebring come to St. Pete earlier this year because it's incredible how many similarities the cities share. They have a pier they're trying to redo; they have a historic theater. They have a downtown waterfront; they have a pink hotel; they have a baseball stadium on the other side of downtown. It's eerily similar."

Sebring is in the early stages of a transformation, and Blackmon is at the helm. He's recently purchased two properties, including Harder Hall, the city's historic pink hotel. The city is mostly known for Sebring International Raceway, which is home to the 12 Hours of Sebring motorsport endurance race. But between outside investments like Blackmon's and a city hall that's eager to work with developers, business and civic leaders see the potential to convert Sebring into a year-round destination.

The strategy is one St. Petersburg leaders used in the early aughts to create a vibrant waterfront city: activating public spaces and giving residents and tourists alike a reason to flock to the urban core. It won't be long, Blackmon predicts, before other developers discover the "hidden gem" of Sebring — especially as soaring real estate costs price them out of other parts of the Sunshine State.

An icon with good bones

Blackmon and his parents, Jim and Carolee, acquired Harder Hall in 2022 for $4 million after it was slated for demolition. The trio has worked together on multiple development projects throughout St. Petersburg.

Vincent Hall and Lewis Harder built Harder Hall in 1925 as part of the Biltmore Hotel chain. Hall had also been involved with the Miami Biltmore Hotel and partnered with Harder to make Sebring the “Coral Gables of Central Florida,” according to the Port Charlotte Sun.

The resort featured tennis, boating, golfing, fishing and horseback riding and drew visitors from around the world — especially during the 12 Hours of Sebring race, which was first held in 1950. The hotel closed in 1986. Two developers have attempted to restore the property, but neither succeeded.

When the Blackmons toured Harder Hall, they expected to walk away with nothing but memories of the iconic structure before it was demolished. Instead, they left with a passion for bringing the historic property back to life — an endeavor they know may become their family's legacy project.

The resort sits on roughly 15 acres; the hotel itself is nearly 90,000 square feet. It will have just over 100 rooms when it reopens. Blackmon wants to once again make the resort the face of Sebring — its image is plastered on business logos and art throughout the city — and the community has thrown its support behind the effort. Someone offered to make a GoFundMe to help with the restoration, which Blackmon politely declined.

The hotel will require a multimillion-dollar renovation to restore it to its former glory. The first phase — which includes decking and roofing, replacing the windows and doors, repairing the foundation and repainting the hotel — is underway. Blackmon said they hope to have it wrapped up by spring 2024. He declined to disclose the total investment in the renovation, which could change with fluctuating costs and interest rates.

The development team also includes Rowe Architects and AD Morgan as the general contractor.

The second phase will focus on the hotel interior, and the third phase will renovate the grounds. Blackmon plans to add a pool, tennis and pickleball courts and restore the white sands of the beach that hugs Lake Jackson.

Once the hotel is open, they may add rooms to the resort by building an adjacent wing. The lobby will be turned into a restaurant, and the ballroom will connect to the colonnade that will make it the largest event space within 50 miles.

“We came to town to see the site expecting the drive would be a waste of our time,” Blackmon said of the first visit to the hotel in April 2022. “We assumed the probability of us doing anything here was 15% or less. But when we got in here, we realized this was possible. There’s a lot that has to be replaced and renovated, but it’s not past the point of no return.”

That's not to say it hadn't fallen into disrepair. When Blackmon first stepped into Harder Hall, beams of light poured in from broken windows. Thick layers of dust lay on the mantles above the original fireplaces and graffiti was splashed across the walls from years of break-ins.

Only one original balcony remained, and the roof of the spiral stair tower was missing. The pink paint was long faded, and boards covered every entrance to the building.

But the bones remained strong.

The structure itself was still in good condition. Many of the original attributes — including a coral rock fountain, the iron railings in the entrance hall that feature the iconic "HH," and the original copper dome by the colonnade — remained.

"When we toured, we were walking toward the end of one of the wings and saw a hole cut in the ceiling in the hallway for fire sprinklers," Blackmon said. "You could see up into the drywall and see the floor above's floor joist, and for an abandoned building, there wasn't a speck of termite damage. The old wood was almost immaculate. That's what we discussed later. The preservation of the essential structure was great."

Blackmon said they "anticipate never selling" the property and noted that comparable hotels throughout Florida have been retained by their ownership for generations.

“The waterfront here connects to downtown Sebring, and there’s a potential for a water taxi from the resort,” Blackmon said. “The goal with this resort is when you enterby car, you do not leave by car again until you check out."

Jim Pollard, of the Sebring Historic Society, said it’s been proven “over and over again” that investing in historic properties “comes back tenfold.” Much like Coral Gables, Sebring has eclectic architecture and Mediterranean aesthetics, both of which will help attract luxury visitors.

“I know a thousand people that are ready to walk in the front door of (Harder Hall) and say, ‘I’ve been dying to go into that building,’” Pollard said. “We’re very proud of that hotel, even if we have no association with it other than driving by it.”

SMALL PROJECTS, BIG PAYOFF

Robert Blackmon also purchased a semi-circular historic bank building in downtown Sebring and he intends to renovate it for multiple restaurant concepts.

Blackmon is currently talking to a few groups about potentially doing a large tenant improvement credit to repurpose the site.

The three-story building has 7,500 square feet on the first and third floors and 500 square feet on the second floor, which is a smaller loft overlooking the first floor.

Blackmon sees the potential to add a rooftop space and create an outdoor patio in the front of the building.

Blackmon said he loves St. Petersburg and will continue to do business in the city. But for the sake of his professional growth, he said it’s crucial to be “constantly adapting and growing and scaling," and it's become “very hard to scale in St. Pete.”

“There’s so much opportunity here,” Blackmon said of Sebring. “You have to go where the opportunity is. And for people like me, developers who love the uniqueness of St. Pete and the character of a community like that, Sebring is a hidden gem. But between what we’re doing and what the city is doing, it’s not going to be hidden much longer.”

A city ripe for development

Sebring's metrics wouldn't impress most developers at first blush. The population is just over 11,000; however, most of the surrounding area is unincorporated, hiding the true number of residents. The median age is 46 years old, and the median household income is $32,607. Many retirees in the area operate on a fixed income.

But as Sebring attracts more residents who work in neighboring markets, the average age continues to shift. Blackmon said the many high-end gated golf communities are not in the city but rather in the unincorporated area, which also throws off the demographics.

"On paper, it doesn’t sound good. A population of roughly 12,000 does not sound like a bustling metropolis," Blackmon said. "But when you look at the Sebring metropolitan area, it’s 115,000. I didn’t realize at first that the majority of the area of Sebring, minus the downtown proper, is technically unincorporated. You look at the statistics, population, income, and you really have to put boots on the ground to see it to believe it."

Downtown Sebring branches off in bands from a central roundabout called The Circle. Historic properties line the inner ring of the circle, and a mix of both historic buildings and more modern construction fill the outer rings of downtown. A scattering of restaurants, a hair salon and a Peruvian market are all nested in historic buildings around the park at the inner portion of the roundabout.

The city was designed so most roads lead back to downtown, making The Circle and the neighboring Lake Jackson waterfront a focal point.

Many of the historic properties at The Circle are owned by the Community Redevelopment Agency. In Florida, a CRA is a state-designated area where all tax revenues must be reinvested into the same area.

Kristie Vazquez, CRA executive director, said that the CRA leveraged future tax dollars for a commercial loan a few years ago. The organization has $6 million to invest. It created a program to encourage businesses to come to Sebring.

The CRA acquired six properties — five buildings and a vacant lot — in downtown and entered into agreements with local business owners. The CRA purchased the properties, and it retains ownership through a lease-to-own period for tenants. The CRA board selected the tenants based on their proposals for the building. They can sublet a portion of the space — if that was part of the original plan to the board — but the main tenant is responsible for renovations and building the space out to meet its needs.

The CRA will transfer ownership of the building to the tenant for free if they keep their business open and operating for five years after completing the renovations.

Though in its infancy, the program is off to a promising start. All five buildings have contracts with tenants — the first of which opened its doors this February — and a proposal for the vacant lot has been selected, though the agreement is still going through final approval. Vazquez said the CRA is actively looking for additional properties that it could acquire to continue offering these opportunities to interested businesses.

The city wants to have a reputation of being open to working with developers toward a united vision, said David Leidel, CRA chairperson. Several properties are still available for acquisition throughout downtown and the CRA is available to discuss opportunities with any interested investors.

There's more public investment to come. The city will soon undergo an extensive redevelopment project along its downtown waterfront. Several buildings along the city-owned waterfront property will be demolished — or potentially moved — and in their place will be a park with amenities like a splash pad, volleyball courts, a renovated pier and potentially a marina.

The city is considering a public-private partnership for the marina and expects soon to release a request for proposals for the site.

Blackmon said Lake Jackson, which Sebring was founded around, has the opportunity to become the "best boating destination in the region."

"Activating the waterfront will have a massive impact on downtown," Blackmon said. "What I pitched the city on is the boating demographic is an affluent demographic, and if you're bringing in boaters, you're bringing in disposable income and funneling it straight into the CRA. Enhancements on the waterfront that will make it more of a public gathering space will encourage people to spend dollars on surrounding businesses and the historic circle corridor."

Sebring prides itself on the ease with which developers can get through the building department and planning process, said Scott Noethlich, city administrator. If a project aligns with the vision for the community, the city will be open to it.

“Sebring has a lot of great assets, but they’re like silos,” Blackmon said. “It’s time to group them all together, and that’s what the city is working on. That’s why I’m so big on downtowns. If there’s a cool downtown, there’s a reason people come to visit. The downtown is the future of this area.”

Blackmon stumbled onto the potential in Sebring by happenstance. In 2022, he was looking for his next development opportunity in Florida and started researching the state's inventory of historic properties. He came across Harder Hall, but after researching the demographics of Sebring, he dismissed it.

Two months later, he and his mother were sorting through her parents' paperwork — her mother passed in 1995 and her stepfather passed in 2012 — and found tax returns that mentioned two properties her stepfather owned in Sebring.

That convinced him to go see Harder Hall. The family has since found a shirt box filled with photos of other properties around Sebring and realized Blackmon's grandfather may have owned far more than they first guessed.

"I never would have set foot there in the first place if not for those tax returns," Blackmon said. "I have no idea how deep the history goes; did he go to Harder Hall? Did he eat there? Did he and my grandmother stay there? It's cool how things can come full circle."

A SEBRING TRADITION

For decades, one event has drawn hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city. The Sebring International Raceway, 13 minutes from downtown, is activated roughly 300 days out of the year, said John Story, senior director of marketing, business development and communications for the raceway.

IMSA Properties, a subsidiary of NASCAR, acquired the Sebring International Raceway in 2012. It also owns the adjacent 123-room hotel. A recent study by the Florida State University Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis found the track generates an annual economic impact of more than $603 million.

The tourist development tax last year, which is earmarked for reinvestment into the community, was roughly $1.2 million and more than half of that was from the racetrack, according to Story.

Story said last year alone they had ticket buyers from 49 states and 20 countries. Of those, 40% of ticket buyers are from the St. Pete and Tampa area, and 80% are found along the I-4 corridor.

When the site is not being used for races, it is often used as a testing site where manufacturers can push vehicles to their limits. The track is a playground for the uber-wealthy and their luxury vehicles and has been used for racing schools, private testing and corporate events.

The 12 Hours of Sebring race is the crème de la resistance of the organization, which is held each year in March. Many locals rent out their homes for the entire month and Story said on race week, hotel rooms within 60 miles of the track are fully booked.