NEWPORT—A Florida developer wants to transform an unused and dilapidated section of historic Fort Adams into a hotel and build a marina elsewhere in the state park the national monument calls home.

Douglas Martel, who incorporated Newport Heritage in March, met yesterday for 1½ hours with top state and federal officials to discuss his interest in Fort Adams State Park, according to Ronald Gagnon, chief of the state Department of Environmental Management’s office of technical and customer assistance. Martel presented site plans, but no architectural drawings for his proposal.

“He was very conceptual,” said Gagnon. “It was an interagency meeting. We had representatives from the Coastal Resources Management Council, the Army Corps of Engineers, DEM and the National Park Service and basically they discussed the idea of what they are trying to do there. We gave them responses in term of what we would be looking for in terms of permitting.”

The nonprofit trust that cares for the national landmark has been looking since 2004 for a partner to help preserve the 184-year-old fort, the largest coastal fortification in the United States, according to executive director Eric Hertfelder. While the trust is attempting to restore about 20 percent of the fort for museum activities, he said it would never have the resources to rehabilitate and maintain the rest of the 80-acre site and its decrepit structures.

“That leaves 80 percent of the fort with no use or income because the state has never taken it on as an element of the state park,” Hertfelder said. “Our strategic plan called for looking for other partners that might have a compatible reuse … and invest other dollars. The key is it would have to be historically compatible. You wouldn’t see a new structure.”

Hertfelder likened the approach to the restoration of the Masonic Temple or the reuse of the many old mill buildings in the region.

Quite a few developers have responded in recent years, touring the fort as a possible redevelopment project, Hertfelder said. But he said none has shown as much interest as Martel, a real estate agent in Sarasota, Fla., described in one local magazine as the “Sultan of Spec.” Martel is known there for building Mediterranean-style waterfront houses on speculation, including a $6.5-million house with a six-car garage. He also has developed at least one shopping plaza.

“He’s come back a couple of times,” said Hertfelder. “I’m very impressed with his due diligence. He’s been careful to ask about the historic requirements. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. We’re very happy to work with him or any developer to see if it can be made to work.”

When reached for comment yesterday, Martel said, “At this point, you’ve caught me at a bad time. We’re preparing a release for you guys tomorrow. I’m sorry we can’t help you today.”

Newport Councilwoman Kathryn E. Leonard, whose ward includes Fort Adams, has serious reservations about the project. She has discussed the project with Hertfelder and met yesterday at her home with Martel and Keith Stokes, executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce.

“Do you think the public wants that there on public property?” she said. “Why would we take public land and allow it to be used for private gain. I have a big problem with that.”

“I guess the question is what do you sacrifice to save the fort and do people want it to be saved,” she said. “I’ve been asking people everywhere about what they think of Fort Adams being restored for a hotel …with a marina and docks. Everyone says, ‘What’s wrong with it now? It’s fine.’ ”

The public already enjoys the fort, the park’s beach and grassy areas, sailing programs at Sail Newport and the Museum of Yachting. None of this should be disturbed, she said.

“Most people love Fort Adams,” she said, but attempting to rebuild the fort she said “is like asking the Greeks to restore the Parthenon so they can use it again or the Romans to rebuild the coliseum.”

The pentagon-shaped fort, with its many masonry barracks building, housed troops from 1824 to 1950. Many people have visited it to attend Newport’s annual folk and jazz festivals or periodic military reenactments. Others have taken guided tours of the fort’s bastions, casemates (where canons were once housed) and underground tunnels.

Hertfelder says the trust has focused its restoration efforts on buildings on the northern sides of the fort, some of which are now available for overnights for scouting troops. But the future of the buildings on the southern end of the fort are in jeopardy.

“There would never be enough money for improvements for the whole fort,” Hertfelder said. “Another partner is necessary. It’s urgent because the fort has not had any maintenance for over 65 years. It is falling down. It needs to be addressed in the near future or there might be some serious loss, which would be very unfortunate.”

While the stone walls may look sturdy, the interior of many of the building, including the floors, are in bad shape, he said. The hotel would be carved out of a two-story brick barracks building, next to the southern wall. Other neglected buildings within the fort have spaces that are probably too small to be used for a hotel, Hertfelder said.

Gagnon said that Martel envisions a hotel with 100 to 150 rooms. The marina, he said, would be located at the northern end of the park, near an area called the small boat basin. It would be used for boat slips and for ferry transportation, Gagnon said. He said that Martel also mentioned the need for dry-dock storage.

Some of the officials who attended the meeting mentioned the need to protect eelgrass beds in the area.

Martel was accompanied by Kristine, his wife and real estate partner, as well as legal and engineering associates. Gagnon said that one National Park Service representative traveled from Philadelphia for yesterday’s meeting, while another also came in from out of state.

The meeting allowed the officials to discuss their various regulatory responsibilities, including leasing public property, preserving historic structures and protecting the environment, said Gagnon.

“It gave him a sense of direction as to how to proceed,” Gagnon said. “He was appreciative of having all of the information on the table.”

rsalit@projo.com