One of the historic Water Street buildings will not be showing its face for a while.

The Belmont Hotel, at 925 Water Street, will be covered in scaffolding as Port Townsend construction firms STL Design and G. Little Construction begin renovating the 7,200-square foot building.

The historic building, which dates back to 1885, was built by George Sterming, a saloon keeper who catered to the maritime crowd.

The upper floors of Sterming’s building were once his office, but now are the Belmont Hotel.

In December 2017, new owners took over the Belmont and have embarked on a restoration process.

“I saw it was for sale and decided it would be a great building to buy and refurbish,” said Kirk Nesbeitt, one of the new owners. Nesbeitt works in infrastructure finance in New York.

“Last year we completely refurbed all the interior rooms and reopened the hotel in the beginning of July,” he said.

The interior of the hotel has been renovated to remain within the Victorian style, but with modern amenities, said Marilou Sullivan, the hotel’s manager.

Sullivan has worked for 14 years in the hospitality industry and manages several other hotels in Port Townsend, including the Washington Street Hotel and the Big Red Barn.

“The Belmont has exceeded my expectations of how they are doing the remodel,” Sullivan said. “It’s in the Victorian style, but it’s not antique.”

The original hardwood floors, woodwork detail and brick walls of the Belmont have been uncovered, and the skylight that had been boarded up has been replaced.

“It has brought back the historical elements like exposed brick walls, original doors, wainscot, floors and rediscovered skylights," Sullivan said.

The exterior renovation will also be historically accurate.

“We’re working closely with the historic committee,” Nesbeitt said. “We’re very much building onto the history of the building.”

Nesbeitt said they will replace the brick, redo some of the original metal work, but keep everything in the same style.

“It won’t change much, but will be completely refurbished, even down to the windows,” he said.

While the renovation is underway, Sullivan and Nesbeitt are searching for chefs. They hope to reopen the downstairs restaurant in the Belmont, which was closed by the former owner, and are searching for restaurant operators to occupy the space.

The renovations are set to be complete by the summer, and they hope to open their doors to visitors by July. Sullivan is planning to hold an open house, to give local business owners a tour of the space.

For Sullivan, a Port Townsend native, the Belmont holds a special place in her heart. This July marks the 30th anniversary of the blind date she had with her husband, Patrick Sullivan.

“I look forward to celebrating our anniversary again this year in the re-imagined space,” she said.