Demolition begins on the Mt. Vernon Inn

The Mt. Vernon Inn has finally checked out.

Winter Park said goodbye to a cherished landmark on Monday as demolition began of the Mt. Vernon Inn, making way for a new development in its place along U.S. Highway 17-92.

The old hotel had hosted visitors and Winter Park locals for 66 years, built back in 1949 as a 36-room hotel.

The Mt. Vernon Inn had come a long way since then. The Frazee family took ownership of the hotel after purchasing it from the O’Leary family in 1962. They would later add the south section of rooms in 1971 and tear down the original 36 rooms of the hotel in 1981, making way for the north building which contained a new lobby and dining areas.

They finished renovating the rooms in the south section and around the pool area in 2013 – just a fraction of the 147 rooms the hotel had on its final day of business.

Quirky musical duo Mark Wayne and Lorna Lambey performed at the hotel’s Red Fox Lounge for more than 20 years, bringing their comedic, interactive act to the lounge for the first time in 1991. The pair became so popular that many believe they inspired a reoccurring Saturday Night Live skit featuring Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer.

Winter Park Mayor Steve Leary said the hotel will certainly be missed.

“It’s sad to see it go,” Leary said. “Mark and Lorna I went to (see) a number of times. I used to get eggs Benedict at the Red Fox Lounge on Saturday mornings with my family. It’s a part of our history that’s gone, but we create new history.”

“I’ll miss it, but I have fond memories of it.”

The Mt. Vernon Inn’s former property will be the site of Lakeside Crossing, the latest Winter Park project by Unicorp National Developments Inc. The 68,000-square-foot development will include three restaurants and 10 retail spaces, accompanied by more than 300 parking spaces spread between a parking lot and a garage.

“We’re really excited about the development,” Unicorp President Chuck Whittall said. “We have a single-story, really nice boutique retail restaurant project.

“It’s going to have all the poshness of Rodeo Drive and the quaintness of Park Avenue.”

Whittall acknowledged the hotel’s history, but noted that residents should be excited for what’s to come.

“[The hotel] has been here for 66 years, but the project is a new birth,” Whittall said. “The Mt. Vernon Inn has been a great partner with Winter Park for a long time, but it’s had its day. The project I think will be very well received by the community.”

Whittall said the development’s 300 parking spaces will hopefully alleviate any existing parking woes in the Lakeside Winter Park plaza across the street, another Unicorp development that is known for being consistently jammed with cars because of its popular Trader Joe’s grocery store.

Winter Park City Commissioners approved a request from Unicorp on Monday that would expand the parking garage from two-and-a-half floors to three floors, adding 77 additional spaces.