By Lewis Marien lmarien@themercury.com
Feb 14, 2025 Updated Feb 14, 2025
ALMA — A hotel originally constructed in the 19th century has new life.
Friday marked a grand opening of the two-story Brandt House, 402 Missouri Ave. in downtown Alma. Built in 1887 by Christena and Joseph Brandt, the hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
After going through several ownership groups — and previously named the Alma Hotel — Brandt House’s current owners consist of Alma couples Morgan and Tyler Holloman, as well as Alex and Amanda Gnadt. The four acquired the hotel originally in November 2023 and received $73,400 through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s Attraction Development Grant program.
Tyler Holloman said they were fortunate enough to acquire it from a previous owner who had done a lot of structural work.
“The bones were in good shape, the structure was solid, but there was nothing completed on the inside,” he said. “(So) we started planning the architecture work that would be required in order to put this back as a tax credit project.”
Holloman said they also worked with the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service to qualify it for both state as well as federal historic tax credits. Once those plans were approved, work started with contractor Frontier Construction of Manhattan to transform the building into a seven-room boutique hotel with a 24-hour guest lounge upstairs. Each room features a queen bed, private bathroom and TV.
On the first floor, there is a bar and restaurant space, but Holloman said the operations of that remain in the planning process.
“We’re looking for the right partner to come alongside us; we’re trying to find somebody that is experienced that wants to provide that high-end experience that we envision,” he said.
In the meantime, the hotel will host public events and happy hours.
The hotel is now taking reservations. About a 30-minute drive east of Manhattan, Holloman encourages people to come visit as downtown Alma is having a little bit of “resurgence.”
“There’s a coffee shop that’s now open, there’s an excellent Mexican restaurant, there’s of course an antique store right across the road, so there’s a lot to do here,” Holloman said.
Lt. Gov. David Toland, who also serves as secretary for the Kansas Department of Commerce, said that the building is “iconic.”
“It’s one of those buildings that is prominent in the community and had tremendous potential, and local people saw that potential and seized it and invested their capital and their blood, sweat and tears into making this a reality,” he said. “It’s been a great partnership with the local community, the state historical site and the Kansas Department of Commerce to get us here today.”
Toland said he would love to bring his family and stay at the hotel as guests.
“The rooms are very high quality. They have done this the way it should be done for such a special building,” Toland said.
