Burned and Long-Vacant Bryan Hotel Going Down

ORLANDO-Fearful that a fire-scarred Bryan Hotel could topple at any minute, city officials today began demolishing the 72-year-old, two-story Downtown structure which sits near the edge of a planned $1 billion, 20-year redevelopment program in the central business district.

Fire officials routinely began an arson probe today but suspect the Saturday blaze was started by vagrants cooking a meal in the dilapidated, long-vacant, 100,000-sf property. The city owns the property after buying a 1.6-acre tract for $770,000 in 1994.

The land was part of a long-delayed redevelopment plan for the poor, one-square-mile Parramore district nearby. Bryan Hotel is at 330 W. Church St., not far from the first-phase $53 million, mixed-use venture Charlotte-based Bank of America is developing on West Church Street between Division and Terry Avenues.