The Arras is the tallest building in Asheville, North Carolina with 19 stories and 201,000 square feet. [1] It was built in 1965 as the Northwestern Bank Building and was later called the BB&T Building. In 2019, it reopened as the Art Deco style Kimpton Hotel Arras on floors 1 to 9, and Arras Private Residences condominium complex on floors 10-19 after a major renovation. [2] [3] [4] The building is 228 feet tall. [5]
Groundbreaking took place in February 1964, with hundreds of people witnessing the start of one of the city's few major projects since the Great Depression. [6] The Northwestern Bank Building opened October 23, 1965 [7] as the state's tallest building west of Charlotte. [1] A newspaper account referred to the "anodized aluminum curtain wall" and called it "unique and aesthetically pleasing", [6] and the building was considered a "construction milestone." [7] Built like many skyscrapers of the time, the Northwestern Bank Building resembled the Seagram Building in New York City and IBM Plaza in Chicago, both designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. [6] A 2017 Asheville Citizen-Times article said "the opening of such a modern, imposing edifice was a source of pride for many in Asheville." [6] On the other hand, an entire block had to be torn down, including the eight-story Langren Hotel built in 1912 [8] and five other buildings. [6] Glenn Wilcox Sr.'s Wilcox Travel and World Tours was an original tenant and remained in the building for 51 years. [9] The City Club occupied the 16th floor. [6]
When First Union Corp. took over Northwestern Financial Corp. in 1985, Northwestern had to sell some of its branches. Branch Banking & Trust Co. (BB&T) bought the Asheville branch and branches in Maggie Valley, Fletcher and Old Fort. [10] By this time, according to a 2012 report on the city's architectural inventory, the building was considered "a substantial eyesore" [8] and it was eventually referred to as "Big Brown & Tall". [11] With significant problems such as leaks and heating system failure, it was considered "a symbol of Asheville's declining fortunes." [8] BB&T located its regional office in the tower in September 1988 and the building's name changed to the BB&T Building. Asheville Building Associates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and in November 1988 Wilcox and two partners bought the building for $6.8 million. Occupancy was at 70 percent as the former owners had done little to keep the building in good shape. The new owners formed Tower Associates and made renovations inside, but the exterior would have cost too much to update. Many considered the modern building to be out of place in Asheville, especially since it was so large. Still, occupancy increased to over 90 percent. [6]
On April 28, 2015, McKibbon Hotel Group chairman John McKibbon announced plans for an "upper-upscale" hotel called Vandre Hotel using six floors, with the building being renamed Nouveau Tower when the project was complete in 2017. The hotel would be McKibbon's fifth in Asheville. [12] As of 2016, the renovation plan included a complete change in the exterior using steel, glass and synthetic stone, [9] and elements of Art Deco that would help the building match other buildings downtown. [6] The former office building would have 140 hotel rooms and 39 condominiums, also adding 35,300 square feet of parking. Glenn Wilcox and John McKibbon were partners in the project. [9] The Asheville City Council approved the necessary rezoning January 12, 2016. [1]
In September 2016, John McKibbon announced plans for a 128-room boutique hotel to be called The Arras, with two restaurants and 54 condominiums. [13] The Kimpton Hotel Arras opened in November 2019, [4] owned by Atlanta-based McKibbon Places, started earlier in the year, and managed by Tampa-based McKibbon Hospitality. [14]
The Columbia Center, formerly named the Bank of America Tower and Columbia Seafirst Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. The 76-story structure is the tallest building in Seattle and the state of Washington, reaching a height of 933 ft (284 m). At the time of its completion, the Columbia Center was the tallest structure on the West Coast; as of 2017, it is the fourth-tallest, behind buildings in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The St. Regis Toronto is a mixed-use skyscraper located in the downtown core of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built by Markham-based Talon International Development Inc., which is owned by Canadian businessmen Val Levitan and Alex Shnaider. The hotel portion of the building is owned by InnVest Hotels LP, which acquired it in 2017.
The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit is a historic skyscraper hotel in downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Washington Boulevard Historic District. Designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and opened as the Book-Cadillac Hotel in 1924, the 349 ft (106 m), 31-story, 453-room hotel includes 65 exclusive luxury condominiums and penthouses on the top eight floors. It reopened in October 2008, managed by Westin Hotels, after a $200-million restoration.
Park Tower is a skyscraper located in downtown Tampa, Florida. It is Tampa's first high-rise tower. At the time of its completion in November 1973, it was the tallest in Florida, and is currently sixth-tallest in Tampa, at 460 feet (140 m). It was the tallest building in Tampa until One Tampa City Center was built in 1981.
The urban development patterns of Lexington, Kentucky, confined within an urban growth boundary that protects its famed horse farms, include greenbelts and expanses of land between it and the surrounding towns. This has been done to preserve the region's horse farms and the unique Bluegrass landscape, which bring millions of dollars to the city through the horse industry and tourism. Urban growth is also tightly restricted in the adjacent counties, with the exception of Jessamine County, with development only allowed inside existing city limits. In order to prevent rural subdivisions and large homes on expansive lots from consuming the Bluegrass landscape, Fayette and all surrounding counties have minimum lot size requirements, which range from 10 acres (40,000 m2) in Jessamine to fifty in Fayette.
The Sheraton Dallas Hotel, formerly the Adam's Mark Hotel and originally the Southland Center, is a complex of International Style skyscrapers located in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The hotel is the largest and second tallest hotel in Dallas and Texas with 1,840 guest rooms and 260,000 sq ft (24,000 m2) of meeting space. It has been host to pop culture conventions such as Project A-Kon and TwiCon.
The 360 Residential Condominiums skyscraper is located in Downtown Austin, Texas at 360 Nueces Street. The building itself stands 581 ft (177 m) tall with 44 floors, 430 condos, and over 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2) of retail space. The building topped out in November 2007, and construction was officially completed on May 22, 2008. 360 Condominiums was the tallest building in Austin from January 15, 2008 to June 29, 2009 when The Austonian surpassed it. The tower also became the tallest residential tower in Texas, surpassing The Merc in Dallas before the Austonian also took that title. Currently, it is the fourth tallest building in Austin after The Independent, The Austonian, and the Fairmont Austin.
The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto is a luxury hotel and residential condominium building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At 209.8 metres (688 ft), it is one of the tallest buildings in Toronto. It is located at 181 Wellington Street West, on the western edge of the downtown core and bordering Toronto's entertainment district. The hotel opened on February 16, 2011.
One Eleven Congress, formerly One Congress Plaza, is a skyscraper in Downtown Austin, the state capital of Texas in the United States. Standing 397 feet tall and containing 30 floors, the building is the 17th tallest in Austin. The building contains a sunken plaza, which include trees, a food hall, water features, and park benches, as well as the location for the AMOA Art Show.
The Reynolds Building is a 314-foot (96 m) Art Deco skyscraper at 51 E. 4th Street in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina with 313,996 square feet (29,171.2 m2) of space. It was completed in 1929 and has 21 floors. For much of its history the building served as headquarters for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. After a sale to PMC Property Group in 2014, the building went through an estimated $60 million in renovations. In March 2016, The Residences @ the R.J. Reynolds Building, apartments located on the top 11 floors, opened. The first six floors opened as the Kimpton Cardinal Hotel in April. Katharine Brasserie & Bar, a restaurant named for Katharine Smith Reynolds, followed in May.
112 Tryon Plaza is a 280 feet (85 m) 22-story high-rise in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the second tallest building in North Carolina when completed in 1927, and the tallest building in Charlotte for about 35 more years. It is currently the 21st tallest building in the city. Located on "The Square" at the corner of Trade St. and Tryon St. adjacent to a pocket park, this building has a premiere location in Uptown Charlotte, also known as Charlotte center city. In 2006 it was sold for $12 million to the Simpson Organization.
The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center is a 38 story high rise hotel and living residence in Virginia Beach Town Center, Virginia Beach, Virginia. The 4 star, 236-room hotel occupies the first 15 floors of the building, while the upper stories are residential. The 119 condominiums in the top floors range from 900 to 4,000 square feet (370 m2). Construction began in 2006. Upon completion in 2008, it became the tallest building in Virginia, surpassing the James Monroe Building in Richmond. In 2018, the hotel portion of the building was renovated.
The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, formerly known as the Embassy Suites Downtown, is a skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. The building, a part of the Denver Place complex, was completed in 1983, and rises 38 floors and 390 feet (119 m) in height. The building stands as the eighteenth-tallest building in Denver and Colorado.
Fletcher Trust Building, officially known as the Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown, is a hotel high-rise in Indianapolis, Indiana. The building rises 16 floors and 218 feet (66 m) in height, and is currently the 22nd-tallest building in the city. The structure was completed in 1915. The Fletcher Trust Building currently is home to an Indianapolis branch of Hilton Garden Inn.
Wilshire Grand Center is a 1,100-foot (335.3 m) skyscraper in the financial district of downtown Los Angeles, California, occupying the entire city block between Wilshire Boulevard and 7th, Figueroa, and Francisco streets. Completed in 2017, it is the tallest building west of Chicago. Though the structural top of the Wilshire Grand surpasses L.A.'s U.S. Bank Tower by 82 ft (25 m), the roof of the U.S. Bank Tower is still 90 ft above the Wilshire Grand's. The Skyscraper Center lists the Wilshire Grand Center as the 15th-tallest building in the U.S. and the 95th-tallest in the world. It won the Structural Engineering Award 2019 Award of Excellence from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
The B&O Railroad Headquarters Building is a historic office building at 2 North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a 13-story, 220-foot skyscraper designed by the Boston and Baltimore-based architectural firm of Parker & Thomas, and constructed in 1904–1906.
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