Fort Bragg Advocate-News Staff Writer
Missed your chance to spend a cool $8 million on the Heritage House?
A half-dozen once-grand hotels are now on the market, most at lower prices than in past years. Less than a mile north of Heritage House on Highway 1 is the Seafoam Lodge, where the owners also took out loans at the peak of the market that also resulted in foreclosure at Seafoam after the economy tanked.
“As the economy dropped, the number of tourists did too, and the Seafoam was among those that took a hit. The owners, who had lovingly run the Lodge for 15 years, had to let it go,” said Realtor Scott Roat who has listed the property for sale with Century 21 in Mendocino.
In the 1960s, C.D Creath and Margaret Creath were proud owners of the Seafoam Lodge. In that day, the Creaths often tagged along with guests for the pomp of Heritage House dinners and bar. The 24-room Seafoam was recently owned by the Smith Family of Mendocino.
“The Seafoam feels very stately, with each of the rooms focused across a sweeping meadow to the ocean view beyond,” said Roat. Like Heritage House, the Seafoam provided guests with private ocean deeded access to the abalone cove across Highway 1. Closed motels, especially those who survived on fiercely loyal long-time clients like Seafoam and Heritage House both did face a tough road despite spectacular and unique settings. The Seafoam is listed for $2 million.
“The lender is confident a buyer will see the Seafoam for what it can be and show interest enough to address the deferred maintenance from not being operated this past year. Indeed, I believe the Heritage House faces similar issues: letting buildings sit without upkeep and ongoing maintenance so close to the Pacific Ocean means a fair amount of catch up before being ready for a grand re-opening,” said Roat.
Another closed historic hotel that has been struggling longer than even Heritage House is the 18-room Old Coast Hotel on Franklin Street in Fort Bragg offered for sale at $2.5 million. Built in the 1890s, Fort Bragg”s 8-room The Country Inn has been actively on the market for many years, while staying open. Its asking price is $599,000. Across the street, the stately but closed former The Rendezvous Restaurant and Bar is undergoing a spectacular renovation.
Motels and hotels are still selling. One is the former Tradewinds Lodge, now Motel 6 on Main Street. It recently sold for just over $2.8 million, county records show. “Other Inns are changing hands recently and there seems to be long-term confidence that the Mendocino Coast will remain a strong tourist attraction for many years to come especially for couples and romantic getaways, divers, and weekenders from Sacramento and the Bay Area,” Roat said.
Despite the endless local worries about boutiques closing downtown, there seem to be more small businesses opening recently. Parents and Friends is planning a relocation of their popular Paul Bunyan Thrift Shop to much bigger and busier retail space of the closed Auto Parts building just down Highway 1 from the new Motel 6.
Howard and Linda Berry, as beloved locally as the Dennens, have retaken their property north of Fort Bragg after foreclosure by the parties they sold to. The grand opening is being planned, but as a nursery, not the longstanding Fuchsirama.
“When it comes to the future of the Mendocino Coast, I believe shrewd investors are looking ahead,” said Roat.
