A Northwest Florida developer is considering buying longtime Warrington eyesore, the Suburban Extended Stay.
Although the shuttered, 129-unit hotel has accumulated close to $400,000 in code enforcement fines, Escambia County is working with the potential new owner to possibly forgive those fines if the sale goes through and plans to renovate and reopen the building as a hotel come to fruition.
John Olinger, owner of Blackhawk Asset Management, attended an Escambia County Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate hearing to discuss the fines on the property at 3984 Barrancas Ave.
He is lining up financing before pulling the trigger on the purchase and the hefty fines could interfere. To lessen the impact of the outstanding fines on obtaining financing, the magistrate granted a 120-day stay on collection or enforcement of the financial penalties.
Blackhawk Asset Management is an investment firm focused on development and is based in Inlet Beach, Florida, in Walton County.
Olinger says if a potential sale goes through the goal would be to keep it as a hotel under “alternative brands.”
“Our goal is to invest a significant amount into getting it to be a nice, beautiful property,” Olinger said.
The property has been a source of fines and code enforcement complaints since at least 2022.
The building fell into disrepair after Hurricane Sally in 2020, but it remained open while the owner at the time, J & K Sai Hospitality out of Texas, struggled with the insurance company to cover repair costs.
In 2024, Suburban Extended Stay closed after county leaders pressed the owner to address the deteriorating condition of the property and repeated criminal complaints about guests engaged in drugs and domestic violence.
Some repair work got underway, but earlier this year J & K Sai Hospitality declared bankruptcy and the property sold at a foreclosure auction in June for about $1 million to GreyStreet Partners in San Antonio, Texas.
Escambia County Natural Resources Deputy Director Tim Day said the county is willing to work with Blackhawk Asset Management on forgiving the fines if plans to purchase and remodel the property move forward and show progress.
He says that would be win-win for the county and the potential owner.
“We are just working with the new potential owner to bring redevelopment back to that neighborhood and eliminate a source of blight,” Day said. “It either needs substantial renovation, or it needs to come down.”
The county sealed the three-story building this year after receiving complaints that people who are homeless have been breaking into the building and living there.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Developer may buy blighted Suburban Extended Stay with goal to reopen
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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