Fire at vacant Camelot hotel does minor damage

Arson is to blame for a fire that threatened one of Tulsa's landmarks. The fire broke out at the former Camelot Hotel around 6 o'clock Monday night. <br><br>It started in a room on the second

Tuesday, September 24th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Arson is to blame for a fire that threatened one of Tulsa's landmarks. The fire broke out at the former Camelot Hotel around 6 o'clock Monday night.

It started in a room on the second floor where a number of old mattresses are stored. It spread to the hallway, which could have caused serious problems.

But quick work by Tulsa firefighters kept the fire contained to just one room.

Officials are still investigating.

You might remember there are efforts to re-develop the vacant hotel into a retirement community. And those plans are going full speed ahead.

Developer Steve Pereff says he assumed the worse when he heard about the fire. But Pereff says they were lucky. Despite a few snags, his group has signed a deal to buy the building.

The Camelot was once one of Tulsa's premier hotels. Now it's an eyesore, and a project Pereff is ready to tackle. "Anytime you take an old piece of property like this that's no one taken care of and pull it back into our society and make it better. I'm excited about it, very excited."

If all goes well with the HUD loan, renovations could begin in about nine months.