dpkimmel2001
Team Owner
The birthplace of NASCAR has become a haven for drug users and “nefarious activity,” according to Daytona Beach police.
But, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the new owner hopes to change that.
The Streamline Hotel, the 1940s-era beachside inn known as the birthplace of NASCAR, has been sold to a new owner who plans to renovate the property and clean up the area around it in Daytona Beach, according to The News-Journal.
The hotel is where NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and colleagues met to form the stock-car sanctioning body in 1947.
The 47-room hotel opened in 1940 and is the oldest hotel in Daytona Beach. Since closing, it has served as everything from a retirement home to a youth hostel to, most recently, a gay-friendly bar and hotel, according to the News-Journal.
According to the News-Journal, it has been purchased by Eddie Hennessy, the son of cosmetic company Pevonia International founders Phillippe and Sylvie Hennessy. He plans to turn the art deco building into an upscale South Beach-style boutique inn.
“My goal is to clean up the hotel, the block, the drug stuff going around,” Hennessy told the News-Journal. “We're bringing the hotel back to its original state, only more modern.”
That sounds good to local authorities.
“A lot of issues in the (beachside tourist area) we're looking to clean up come from that hotel,” Daytona Police Chief Michael Chitwood told the paper. “It has calmed down over the years, but it's still a hive of nefarious activity.”
Chitwood said police get calls regularly about everything from prostitution to break-ins to fights around the hotel, which was once called "a den of iniquity" by local police and has been panned in recent years by various websites.
“I'm removing all the ****roaches and crackheads,” Hennessy said. “My goal right now is to clean everything up, make everything nice.”
Hennessy said he plans to restore the rooftop bar, where France Sr. met with stock-car drivers and track promoters to form NASCAR.
From here.
But, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, the new owner hopes to change that.
The Streamline Hotel, the 1940s-era beachside inn known as the birthplace of NASCAR, has been sold to a new owner who plans to renovate the property and clean up the area around it in Daytona Beach, according to The News-Journal.
The hotel is where NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. and colleagues met to form the stock-car sanctioning body in 1947.
The 47-room hotel opened in 1940 and is the oldest hotel in Daytona Beach. Since closing, it has served as everything from a retirement home to a youth hostel to, most recently, a gay-friendly bar and hotel, according to the News-Journal.
According to the News-Journal, it has been purchased by Eddie Hennessy, the son of cosmetic company Pevonia International founders Phillippe and Sylvie Hennessy. He plans to turn the art deco building into an upscale South Beach-style boutique inn.
“My goal is to clean up the hotel, the block, the drug stuff going around,” Hennessy told the News-Journal. “We're bringing the hotel back to its original state, only more modern.”
That sounds good to local authorities.
“A lot of issues in the (beachside tourist area) we're looking to clean up come from that hotel,” Daytona Police Chief Michael Chitwood told the paper. “It has calmed down over the years, but it's still a hive of nefarious activity.”
Chitwood said police get calls regularly about everything from prostitution to break-ins to fights around the hotel, which was once called "a den of iniquity" by local police and has been panned in recent years by various websites.
“I'm removing all the ****roaches and crackheads,” Hennessy said. “My goal right now is to clean everything up, make everything nice.”
Hennessy said he plans to restore the rooftop bar, where France Sr. met with stock-car drivers and track promoters to form NASCAR.
From here.
