Casa Monica Hotel - Renovation

Renovation

In February 1997, Richard Kessler, who had previously been involved with the Days Inn chain, then set up his own Kessler Collection of lodgings, purchased the building from St. John's County for $1.2 million and began to remodel the building to once again become a hotel. The county Tax Collector's office and Property Appraiser's office were given until 1998 to relocate, so workers had to avoid a section of the building for several months. The renovation was completed in less than 2 years and opened in December 1999 under the original name of the "Casa Monica Hotel" (the name came from Saint Monica, the North African mother of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, for whom the Ancient City is named). Richard Kessler and architect Howard W. Davis decided to keep the historic Moorish Revival style of the hotel. Tina Guarano Davis painted the Moorish-style woodwork in the hotel lobby. The Casa Monica sign on the Cordova Street side of the hotel covers over an earlier sign for the St. Johns County Courthouse. State historic preservation officials told them to preserve the courthouse sign, so they covered it over rather than removing it. The huge flagpole on top of the hotel is actually a lightning rod.