Historic 120-Year-Old Belleview Biltmore Hotel's Saved Section Will Move Dec. 21* for Renovation as Boutique Inn at Belleview Place, a New Residential Development in Belleair, Fla.

* Date subject to change

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Dec 16, 2016, 09:15 ET

BELLEAIR, Fla., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- How do you move the heart of a 120-year old Queen Anne-style Victorian hotel? Forty-seven 8-wheeled hydraulic computerized dollies, a synchronized jacking system and one operator with a remote control. That will set the 38,000-square-foot remainder of the famous Belleview Biltmore Hotel in motion December 21. The original hotel's five-story lobby and 35 guest rooms, thought to be one of the largest wooden structures to be moved, will be transported 320 feet to become the amenity center and boutique inn for Belleview Place in Belleair, Fla.

On December 21*, developer JMC Communities and the Pennsylvania-based Wolfe House & Building Movers will activate 47 radio remote-controlled hydraulic power and coaster dollies under the steel-reinforced wooden structure, weighing approximately 1,740 tons. In the two days before, the building will turn 90 degrees clockwise in a five-hour process. On Dec. 21 hydraulic dollies will roll the structure at approximately .25 mph over steel plates, with the plates previously traversed leapfrogging to the front. Once the building arrives on its new foundation and is jacked up, JMC will build a masonry basement under the wooden structure. Total cost to move and renovate the inn is $13 million.

Those interested in watching the historical building move on Dec. 21 from 11 a.m.– 2 p.m. should request guest passes by contacting Belleview Place at 727-469- 7070 or email [email protected] .

Scheduled to reopen in mid-2018, the Belleview Inn will be the longest continuously operated hotel built by railroad magnate Henry B. Plant. The inn will offer 35 guest rooms and serve as the community's amenity center, with a resort-style pool, grand lawn, Tiffany function room, Masie's Market, and a history room with artifacts and information about the building's storied past.

The gated Belleview Place development will feature 104 condominium residences and 28 carriage homes; prices start from the 600,000s; the first building is 70 percent sold.

Sales information is available at: Belleview Place Sales Center, 275 Belleview Boulevard, Belleair, FL 33756; 727-469-7070; BelleviewPlace.com.

About JMC Communities

St. Petersburg-based JMC Communities has built more than 4,000 residences and hospitality venues throughout Florida and South Carolina since 1978. JMC earned a reputation of excellence for exceptional customer service while creating vibrant communities with a strong sense of place and outstanding value: Mandalay Beach Club, Belle Harbor, and Sandpearl Resort and Residences in Clearwater; and Florencia, Ovation, Rowland Place in St. Petersburg; and Victoria Place in Dunedin.

PRESS KIT LINK:
Fact sheets, photos, videos and timelapse videos available online at presskit.belleviewplace.com