21c Windows
A view of the eastside of the proposed 21c building with the windows slated for being bricked over highlighted.
Lexington, KY – 21c, the proposed luxury boutique hotel, restaurant and contemporary art gallery received a conditional green light from the board that oversees changes in buildings near downtown’s old courthouse.
The Courthouse Area Design Review Board approved plans for Louisville developers to construct the 80-room hotel in the existing First National Building on the corner of Main and Upper Streets as long as the designers revisit a plan to brick over a row of windows on the building’s eastside.
“I think that’s something they’re going to have to address in any event to get their federal historic tax credit approved,” said Michael Meuser, chairman of the design review board and the board’s historic preservation representative.
Behind the windows in question is currently one of three elevator shafts that service the building. The plans call for getting rid of that elevator and using the space for a mechanics including a linen chute that would make access to the windows from inside the building impossible. With the current configuration, architect Tony Pitassi said windows could be maintained from inside by riding atop the elevator car.
Despite the one sticking point, Meuser said he is extremely pleased with the designs for the building that when built around a century ago was the tallest in the region. “The plan they’ve proposed addresses the building in a way that preserves its historic integrity and puts it back even closer to what it was in 1912,” he said.
Craig Pishotti, managing director of 21c was pleased with board review session and called the stipulation to address the windows “one small hurdle.”
“We’ll certainly go through that process and take whatever advice we need to, to get this done,” Pishotti said of Meuser’s suggestion that the windows being bricked over wouldn’t past muster with the people who decide on eligibly for historic preservation tax credits. “We’re confident that this will be moving forward.”
Pishotti said they plan to finalize their financing and close during the fall and hope to start construction before the end of the year.
As long as the Courthouse Area Design Review Board’s staff OK’s the plan for the windows, 21c developers will not have to go in front of the board again.