SANDPOINT — Averill Hospitality has submitted revised plans for its resort at Sandpoint, Idaho's City Beach, featuring a proposal to preserve the Edgewater Hotel rather than demolish it. 

The Whitefish-based company initially presented plans to demolish the existing Edgewater Hotel and construct a $70 million,150-room full-service resort to the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission in summer 2024.  

Instead of demolishing the existing building, the company plans to renovate the 52-room hotel by adding a new five-story south wing that will contain 27 hospitality condominium units participating in the hotel rental program, resulting in a total of 79 hotel rooms and suites. 

Supporting guest amenities in the revised plan include a new restaurant, lobby bar, coffee venue, retail space, outdoor dining areas, pool and spa amenities, event lawn and terrace space, and associated hospitality support functions. 

Revisions seek to utilize the existing surface parking supply and existing site access from Bridge Street and Dock Street, consistent with the company's original plan. 

The initial plan brought forth to the commission called for the development process to begin fall 2024, followed by demolition of the existing Edgewater in 2025, pre- or post-summer, followed by construction of the new hotel. 

However, after the company received two extensions for its conditional use permit and associated variance approved in 2024, it submitted a new CUP last July. 

The company also applied and submitted documents for a building permit last December, but did not pay the plan check fee, which would have initiated the review. The permit expired June 29, 2025. 

Last fall, the Sandpoint City Council voted unanimously to decline any negotiations with Averill Hospitality over the City Beach RV park land, after the company demanded the RV park become parking, or the project would not continue. 

Still, the company decided to move forward with the project. 

Ben McGrann, representative of Averill Hospitality, spoke with the committee at a June 16 meeting about progress made on the resort and the need for an extension request. 

“There are a lot of components that we are trying to pull together as it relates to design, construction pricing, the market, the hospitality market, the world that we live in and everything,” McGrann said. 

McGrann also addressed the group's need for additional time on the project, listing the construction cost escalation and challenging financing and capital markets as contributing factors. 

When asked for additional comment Monday, Averill Hospitality declined. 

Since the company's new CUP submission presents a different concept of the hotel than the initial CUP approved, the city will perform a code compliance review, said Sandpoint City Planner Bill Dean. 

“They have the right to present changes, to move in a different direction," said Dean. "Whatever they want to do, we will evaluate against the codes we have in the books."

After a code compliance review has been completed and city staff have determined whether revisions to the plan are necessary, a hearing will be scheduled before the commission at a future date, said Dean.