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Osceola Lake Inn seeks OK for major renovation, new dwellings

A new plan for the historic Osceola Lake Inn includes 10 hotel rooms, 15 artist studios, a restaurant and bar, event space and business center plus 14 new dwellings and a ‘resiliency hub.’

By Bill Moss, Published: March 18, 2026

Owners of the Osceola Lake Inn have a vision for a rebirth of the historic hotel after several previous development proposals fizzled.

A new adaptive reuse of the 3½-acre site would result in a “mixed-use, community-oriented, environmentally conscious residential and hospitality campus” that would include renovating and updating the historic inn, owners Fiona McColley and Joey Burnett say.

The city planning board last week recommended approval of the renovation and new construction, adding conditions that renovation of the historic inn follow the U.S. Interior Secretary’s rehabilitation standards and that all applicable fire, utility, transportation and stormwater standards be met before final approval. The rezoning application will ultimately be decided by the city council.

Plans presented in a 2023 rezoning application OK’d by the city included 20 guest rooms, a café, event/conference space and 20 residential units — all in the historic inn. That renovation plan didn’t take place.

The new plan for the hotel would include 10 hotel rooms, 15 artist studios, a restaurant and bar, event space and business center. Plans also include 14 new dwellings — a mix of duplexes and detached cottages — on the eastern part of the land.

“The clubhouse component is up the hill a little bit, and that’s what we’re calling the Resiliency Health Center,” applicant Joey Burnett told the planning board. “So trying to squeeze out some of the square footage of those units in order to make them more affordable and put some of those shared amenities in the resiliency hub. So if you need to entertain your guests, you can go to resiliency hub. If you have family staying, they can stay in the inn — those type of things, to make those houses a little bit more efficient.”