The historic Ivey’s building uptown is being turned into a boutique hotel

The building was built in 1924 and was previously home to the Ivey’s brand department store. In 1995 it was converted to condos and retail space as it stands today.

However, since that time, something has happened: all the retail is gone. Except for Qdoba and 5 Church the building sat mostly empty and underutilized.

Enter MRK Property Development. They are the ones who widened the 5 Street sidewalk across from Cowbell and Dandelion Market, they are the ones who cleaned up that side of the building and they are the ones who are going to be bringing the most interesting hotel project uptown has seen in quite some time.

The Ivey’s Hotel (tentative name) will be a beautiful 42-room boutique hotel spanning the ground floor and second floor of the Ivey’s building. Here’s what you need to know about the project.

Tryon Street improvements:

• The street front is getting a huge make over. The building will be returned to its glory days.
• Chandeliers, fresh paint and other decorative treatments will be added to the Tryon Street entrance way

• The grey overhangs (ex. where the Qdoba sign sits on now) will be removed to make way for balconies to be used by the Tryon facing hotel rooms
• Tables and chairs will be added to the enhance the street presence

5 Street improvements:

• All windows will open to the street
• Tables and chairs will be added to the sidewalk
• Plans call for merchants to have stands along 5th street to sell goods

The fact the building is be saved rather than torn down is a bit unusual for Charlotte. Brett Krueger, Principal/VP at MRK stated he wanted “to not only preserve, but to bring [the building] back to life.” MRK also owns the Windsor Hotel in Asheville and if this property is anything like that one we are in for quite a treat.

The building enhancements are great by themselves but as we look into the plans for the hotel, things get even better.

Hotel:

• The empty retail slot on Tryon will become a bakery and coffee shop as well as the check-in lobby.

• Désirant, a concept started at their Windsor property, will open a location here on the 5th Street side. Désirant is a awesome little shop that sells fine art, Parisian antiques and much more.
• The other retail slot on 5th Street is currently up for grabs and MRK is searching for a quality tenant that will fit the vibe of the hotel.
• Spa on the second floor.
• Meeting space on the ground floor.
• A grand stair case will lead from the rooms on the second floor down to the 5th Street retail on the first floor
• Flooring in the rooms will be reclaimed 17th century wood from France.

This is a great project that has a lot of things unique to Charlotte: quality design, preserving history rather than destroying it, boutique/independent hotel property, utilizing retail properly and attention to detail when it comes to enhancing the pedestrian experience.

When told this project won’t work in Charlotte because it’s too unique, Krueger reveled at the idea. “Good, our goal is not to fit in,” he said, and I love that. Cheers to this project.

They are currently looking at third quarter 2016 opening but it shouldn’t be too long until we start seeing the building improvements.

(Second floor rendering via MRK Property Development)