Innkeeper makes history with an historic property

An innkeeper’s long list of up-at-night worries included a lousy air conditioning system. A rarely used government loan program provided a lifeline.

  • By Brian Hartz
  • | 6:00 a.m. March 30, 2018
  • | 0 Free Articles Remaining!
Veronica Champion has made $230,000 worth of environmentally friendly upgrades to the historic Peninsula Inn in Gulfport thanks to innovative use of a federal clean energy program. Photo by Mark Wemple.
Veronica Champion has made $230,000 worth of environmentally friendly upgrades to the historic Peninsula Inn in Gulfport thanks to innovative use of a federal clean energy program. Photo by Mark Wemple.
  • Tampa Bay-Lakeland
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When Veronica Champion acquired the historic Peninsula Inn in downtown Gulfport in January 2016 for $1.65 million, she knew it needed a lot of work — and that’s putting it mildly.

The roof leaked. The air conditioning system was loud, inefficient and on the verge of failure. The paint was fading. The list went longer.

 

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