Downtown Magnolia is continuing to enjoy spurts of development and progress.
The latest announcement of ongoing enhancements downtown concerns the old Columbia County Jail.
While the old jail is sort of an imposing and interesting structure of historical significance, such buildings in many communities over the years become neglected eyesores. Residents can become so used to the eyesore that many just don’t even see the blight on the local landscape, much like people who live next to railroad tracks grow to not hear the rumble of trains and blares of whistles. So, we grow accustomed to the distraction from the charm of our hometown, not seeing the eyesore that sticks out for newcomers and visitors.
We shouldn’t have to worry about that happening with the old jail because, as reported recently in the Banner-News, it is on its way to a modern renaissance.
The building, featuring gargoyles observing passers-by just off the downtown square, is going to become a boutique hotel. The Banner-News article reported that the hotel will be “fit with all the antique charm of an estimate 108-year-old structure, but with an embrace of its one-of-a-kind and rare history.”
Plans for the hotel, to be called La Bella Vita, are for 10 guest rooms, some overlooking the square.
Spearheading the endeavor is McNeil resident Gina Blann, the new owner of property, along with her cousin, Pam Goodman. Blann bought the building from its former Canadian owner, Lisa McNally, who, according to Columbia County Real Estate records, acquired the property in 2014 for $22,000.
Details of plans for the hotel were published in the Banner-News article, but can be summed by the sentence stating, “The businesswomen hope to keep the jail’s unique charm, but bolster it with Italian villa style décor and extensive refurbishing of the interior and exterior of the building, as well as its lawn and grounds.”
Congratulations to Blann and Goodman for making this significant contribution to the Magnolia community landscape and welcome to the family of downtown businesses.