SANFORD, Fla. – The city of Sanford is considering a plan to redevelop a nearly century-old historic former hotel.
On Thursday, the Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss a request to rezone the former Mayfair Inn, located at 1000 E. 1st Street, to a mixed-use development.
The proposed plan consists of 46 multiple-family units and 28,000 square feet of office space, which would support a Christian Missionary Training Center.
[VIDEO BELOW: Sanford fire fee proposal]
The three-story hotel first opened in 1926 and was named after then-Mayor Forrest Lake.
Hotel Forrest Lake closed two years later after its namesake was accused and later convicted on bank fraud charges.
The property later reopened as the Mayfair Inn and was owned by the New York Giants professional baseball team, which held spring training in Sanford during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
From 1966 until 1975, the property operated as the Sanford Naval Academy and was purchased by the nonprofit New Tribes Mission in 1976.
[VIDEO BELOW: Charter captain killed in Sanford road rage shooting]
The building was used as the missionary group’s headquarters until it was sold in 2016 and has been vacant ever since.
In 2017, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use to re-establish a hotel, but the plans fell through during the COVID-19 pandemic and the property was sold again in 2022.
According to the city, the proposed development of a Christian Missionary Training Center is projected to employ 50 to 75 people.
The Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss the proposal during its meeting Thursday at 10 a.m.