For several years, the Patrick Henry Hotel languished neglected and forgotten on Jefferson Street. It seemed as if there was no hope for the 85-year-old structure. Last October, though, developer Ed Walker acquired the property with the aim of renovating the building and converting it into residential and commercial spaces. At a press conference held in the former Jefferson Ballroom on Tuesday, Walker and a number of his partners in the renovation project spoke about the hotel’s future. Plans includes 133 residential units and a number of commercial spaces on the first two floors including a new restaurant and lobby bar.
A number of those present had teamed with Walker before in his most recent downtown renovation projects. Interior designer Cameron Harris worked with him on developing both the Hancock Building and the Cotton Mill while current Cotton Mill building manager Michelle Rose will transfer over to the Patrick Henry property. Harris said that the design for the hotel would preserve the hotel’s “old grandeur” while adding modern amenities. Both modern and classic light fixtures would share space and she hopes to recreate the look of the hotel’s original reception desk as the new bar. While she aims to keep the white trim that characterizes the hotel, modernized paint schemes will be put into place.
After announcing the beginning of pre-leasing projects starting the day of the conference, Rose claimed that the interest in the residential units, which will range in price from $500 to $1200, is “fantastic” and estimates that the spaces “will go faster even than the Cotton Mill.” Walker alluded to already being inundated with requests for information on the residential units: “People want to sign leases far ahead of next summer.” Interested residents will not be able to tour the property due to the current construction setting but can consider leases off of floor plans.
Blair Godsey, the director of Patrick Henry’s commercial leasing, began his portion of the conference with a call out to the community to aid him in finding a financial services or business enterprise firm to serve as a business hub in the former Jefferson ballroom space. “Every space requires a very unique user,” he said, stressing the importance of help in identifying additional clients to move into the Patrick Henry property. According to Walker, Godsey has more than half of the commercial space filled.
One of the first tenants to sign up was the local philanthropic group, “The Foundation for the Roanoke Valley” who will occupy 3,600 square feet on the second floor. Foundation Executive Director Alan Ronk, whose organization awards more than $2.5 million in grants to local organizations annually, pointed out that coming back to the Patrick Henry was akin to “coming home” since the Foundation’s original location when it was founded in 1988 was just up Jefferson Street from the hotel.
The newest commercial tenants, Mike Caudill and Eric Di Lauro of Table 50, were revealed to the public at the conference. Di Lauro said that he sees the Patrick Henry renovation as part of a “renaissance downtown.”
While Table 50 will remain on Market Street, Di Lauro and Caudill will move into 5,000 square feet in the building where they will establish a restaurant in the former Hunter’s Grille space and a lounge bar in the lobby. When discussing the benefits of the new building, Di Lauro highlighted the landmark aspect of the building while Caudill showed enthusiasm in particular in the mixed-use setup of residential and commercial in the building: “it creates a captive audience for the lounge and restaurant.”
The “captive audience” will have apartments ranging from 600 to 1,200 square feet to choose from in terms of living space. Over 60 to 80 workers per day are currently working in sequence down from the top of the building with workers already installing the hardwood flooring on the 10th floor. General Superintendent Nathan Vaught emphasized the mix-and-match granite countertops that will be put into place as one of the particular features of interest as he took reporters on a tour of the top floors of the building. Leases will start on September 15, 2011.
While the Table 50 co-owners are tight-lipped about the name and menu of their new restaurant, Caudill hinted at a new approach at the Patrick Henry building: “I’d rather not repeat myself.” With the project team’s aim of using the hotel’s past as their “blueprint for recreating the building as it was in its heyday” standing in stark contrast to Walker’s modern lofts at the Cotton Mill, the same could be said of Walker’s new venture.
By Aaron Layman [email protected]
