LURAH LOWERY, TIMES-NEWS STAFF WRITER
A hotel and condominium project that will incorporate the restoration of the historic Cedars building downtown was unanimously approved by the Hendersonville Planning Board Monday.
City Council will give the final approval of the project. Tamara Peacock, with Tamara Peacock Architects, told the board the project has been “well-received” by the neighborhood. In recent months she and her team have perfected the design and added a lot more detail.
The Cedars, now a four-story building, will be fully restored to at least two stories.
“We really wanted to save The Cedars,” Peacock said. “It gives us an opportunity to preserve The Cedars fully.”
The Cedars Lodge and Spa plan calls for a complete renovation of the historic inn, which would house the main dining room and also be used as the lobby entrance. Aside from 11 traditional hotel rooms in the Cedars, the project includes another 132 condo/hotel suites for a total of 180 potential rooms within the Buncombe and Church Street buildings. Additional amenities include a conference center, sports bar, pool and courtyard.
Property owners Fran and Tom Shipman hope to bring the application to the Hendersonville City Council on Jan. 7 and break ground once the plan is approved.
The Shipmans, a developer and two architects have submitted plans for a renovated four-story 15,310-square-foot inn flanked by two new six-story buildings with basement parking one along the Buncombe Street edge of the property and the other along the Church Street edge of the property. Each of the new building would be approximately 100,000 square feet. The Church Street building includes two levels o