The transformation from retirement home to boutique hotel has begun.
What's happening: Construction is underway to open a 73-room hotel in the Fan a stone's throw from the circle where the Lee Monument once stood.
Dubbed Shenandoah Mansions, it's scheduled to open in the fall of next year, per NYC-based hotelier Ash, which is behind the project.
🍽 Of note: The hotel will include retail space and a new restaurant called Ash-Bar, which the company describes as an "all-day dining concept that interprets the spirit of the quintessential European café through an American lens."
Flashback: Ash bought the property at the end of 2021 for $3.5 million, per Richmond Biz-Sense.
What they're saying: The company, which emphasizes interior design, says to expect "layered spaces decorated with a mixture of elegant European antiques and Early American folk art, lending an intimate, residential atmosphere to the public spaces and guest rooms."
The intrigue: When the deal to buy the property was executed, the Lee Monument had just been removed.
The company tells Axios it's "long been attracted to the character and vibrancy of Richmond" but that it views the removal of nearby Confederate monuments as "an important part of history in the Fan District and Richmond's evolution."
