But, as with many structures around New Hope, it wasn’t the history that tugged at the heart strings of longtime locals when the building went deep underwater during each of three major floods over a nearly two-year span between 2004 and 2006. At least not the aforementioned history, of which very few have a comprehensive knowledge. Many, however, are familiar with its more recent history and the wildly flamboyant woman who set it all in motion, Odette Myrtil.

Myrtil opened Chez Odette’s in the early sixties, a time when New Hope found itself at the center of a star-studded universe. The Bucks County Playhouse was a testing ground for potential Broadway productions, and it drew some of the biggest actors at the time to the tiny riverside town. When the shows let out, those celebrities typically headed for either the Canal House on Mechanic Street or Chez Odette’s, where the cocktails flowed freely and the sing-alongs around the piano extended deep into the night.

Odette’s became synonymous with entertainment in that moment and remained so long after Myrtil’s death thanks in large part to local piano man Bob Egan, who operated the highly regarded cabaret theater at the restaurant for nearly 20 years.

Today, though, Odette’s is more commonly referred to in the context of an ongoing debate on the cause of the recent rash of flooding. The restaurant was renovated and reopened after each of the first two floods. But the Barbone family, which had owned Odette’s since 1985, decided the third was too much to bear. It was promptly put up for sale and has sat vacant since.

In that two-year span, Odette’s, in part because of its prime location at the south end of town and because of the vibrant social scene it once was, has developed into a symbol of sorts for the state of life in New Hope. Residents and businessowners picked up the pieces relatively quickly after each flood, all determined to put the most recent catastrophe behind them and move forward. But something was off. Business seemed to rebound a little less completely each time. Residents determined to sport confident facades couldn’t help but wonder when the river would rise again. It was no longer a question of if. And there, just by the “Welcome to New Hope” sign sat Odette’s, arguably the hardest hit property on either side of the river.

For those passing through, it appeared simply to be closed for the day. But, for those who knew, it was rotting from the basement on up.

In February 2007, local innkeeper and retired corporate executive Michael Amery made an offer and ignited the first flickers of hope. 

Amery’s plan is not simply to renovate and reopen Odette’s. It’s been done before, and it proved to be rather shortsighted. His perspective is settled on the long-term, though the acts that will be required to get from the present point to that day are ambitious, if not downright miraculous.

For starters, the building will be elevated 11-and-a-half feet. Two disclaimers: First, this is not a random number. Amery has become as well-researched on the nuances of flooding along the Delaware as anyone, but more on that in a bit. Second, by “building” I mean a dramatically new structure that ultimately will be 35,400 square feet, more than three-and-a-half times the size of the current Odette’s.

It would be too easy to read that and think that Amery is overreaching. But this is a man determined to do right by the town, first and foremost. The attention that’s been devoted to ensuring that even the most nondescript details are accurate is impressive. Amery has spent the better part of the last year-and-a-half uncovering photos of the property through various points in history and presenting his ideas and eventually his renderings at every opportunity, to neighbors of the property, to the chamber of commerce, to government agencies.

“The idea was to let me put up some nice stone building that maybe matches Odette’s,” Amery says. “Absolutely not. [The Pennsylvania Historic Museum Commission and other involved agencies] do not want you to do that. First of all, you can never do it so that it looks correct. Secondly, if you do it, it really takes away from the historic building. So, what they want is some sort of appropriate (replacement).”

Amery visited the Prallsville Mill in Stockton, NJ, and gleaned ideas from it because the building, he said, was built in the same year as the River House. “We’ve looked at the roof angles and the window structure,” Amery says. “So this represents something, which is why it’s big.”

As with the current arrangement, the River House comprises the heart of Amery’s plans. The historical nature of the property will be played up in the streetfront view, which includes a two-story glass-enclosed room, of which the south side of the River House comprises one of two nontransparent walls.

The riverfront side of the building, though, on which the River House is not visible, provides a completely contrasting perspective. Amery says he was encouraged by New Hope’s Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) to be more adventurous with the design there. The look is boldly more contemporary. A large deck that spans two-thirds of the length of the building overhangs the canal. Much of the three stories of the riverfront wall is comprised of balconies and windows, including a dramatic two-story glass roof that appears to exist more as an artistic expression than as serving any functional purpose. Project designer Ian Smith of BKT Architects says they accepted HARB’s challenge as an opportunity to “respond to the river,”which, he says, was one of his leading influences for the look of the building.

“If you think about New Hope and how different it looks in different parts of the town, this is what we’re trying to achieve with that type of look,” says Ed Duffy, a nearly 30-year New Hope resident and the New Hope Borough Council HARB liaison. “Okay, let’s preserve the historical aspects, but let’s do something contemporary too that moves the property on to bigger and better things.”

The new Odette’s, which Amery plans to rename the Riverhouse at Odette’s as an homage to both aspects of the property’s history, will feature an English-style tavern, a 12-room inn and a banquet hall, which Amery says is essential – more so than the other components – to making this a financially stable if not even profitable operation. A press release he began circulating shortly after acquiring Odette’s in 2007 put the price tag for the project at around $4 million. It now appears closer to $12 million, according to Amery.

“The thing is, it’s not voodoo economics. It’s real,” Amery says. “You’ve got major costs. I’m into it for a half-million already. You have major, major costs in just getting it done, in getting the foundations in place, in elevating the building. If all you’re going to do is put in another 10,000 feet, you couldn’t do it. You couldn’t pay the bills. It’s just not economically viable. With this, it should pay back in about five years with a fairly aggressive – actually, I should say fairly conservative projections.”

Amery is, as of June, the lone investor in the project, though he plans to court others once all of the necessary approvals are in place – it was expected to go before New Hope Borough Council for final approval in June –and the economy started to show signs of ending its downward spiral. He had hoped to break ground before the end of the year. A more realistic goal, he said in June, is March. If that happens, he expects construction to be finished by the summer of 2010.

When asked how many investors he’d like to involve, Amery says, “The fewer the better.” For the time being, he’s willing to perform alone the impossible task of navigating the endless government agencies whose approvals are essential to bringing such a plan to fruition. The land on which Odette’s sits is owned by the state, which Amery already has lured into making a $1.5 to $3 million commitment to reconstruct the nearby canal and associated bridges. Amery says he would never have considered the project without the state’s willingness to rebuild the grounds. “If I couldn’t get some traction for the surrounding area, I probably would never have done the project,” he says. “Who would ever want to build a palace in the middle of a bomb site?”