BELLEAIR - Threatened with demolition since 2004, the historical Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa is getting a reprieve.

The 110-year-old landmark was purchased late Wednesday by a Los Angeles-based investment firm that plans to rehabilitate and restore the famed but fading 22-acre property.

Neither the seller nor the buyer is disclosing the sales price, Joe Penner, managing director for Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, said Thursday.

Legg Mason, which typically invests in shopping centers and apartment complexes, bought the resort from Belleview Biltmore Resort Ltd., represented by Urdang, a Pennsylvania-based investment management firm.

'I couldn't be more pleased,' said local preservationist Rae Claire Johnson, who heads the Friends of the Belleview Biltmore. 'They have taken every suggestion we've made to enhance the property and the building and incorporate it into their design. I can't wait for the community to see it.'

The public should get its first look at design plans in September, Johnson said.

In restoring the stately Victorian-themed hotel, placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2005, Legg Mason plans to remove the pagodalike main entrance that was added in the 1990s and possibly remove or replace the spa.

Tampa-based DeBartolo Development had an option to buy the Biltmore with the intent of replacing it with condominiums, sparking a wave of protest in the Tampa Bay area. That option expired in 2005, leaving the Biltmore's fate in limbo.

The Biltmore is the only one of Florida's grand 19th century hotels that still exists as a resort. Often called the world's largest occupied wooden structure, the 247-room hotel was built by railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant and opened Jan. 15, 1897. It has lured notables such as the Duke of Windsor, Babe Ruth and Thomas Edison.

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at cmoncada@tampatrib.com or (727) 451-2333.