Downtown McKibbon hotel to pay living wages; new renderings released
McKibbon Hotel Group officials also announce that retail space will not be leased to national chains
The planned downtown hotel being developed by John McKibbon expects to hire up to 100 full-time employees with starting wages that “will meet or exceed the Asheville living wage,” McKibbon Hotel Group officials announced in a statement on Thursday.
McKibbon officials also announced that “the retail space included in the project will not be leased to national chains,” the statement said, “in order to align with downtown Asheville’s commitment to local businesses.”
And room rates “will be in the mid-$200 range,” according to the statement.
“We will transform the 50-year old tower into a beautiful structure that adds to the great architecture of this city,” said John McKibbon, the Tampa, Florida-based McKibbon Hotel Group chairman said in the prepared announcement.
Company officials also announced that they be announcing a new name for the hotel and the building. Officials previously had said it would be the Vandre Hotel in the Nouveau Tower. The building will include 133 hotel rooms and 41 condominiums.
The 2015 living wage for a Western North Carolina resident is $12.50 an hour without employer-provided health insurance, according to Just Economics of Western North Carolina, an Asheville-based nonprofit organization that advocates for a “just and sustainable economy,” according to its website.
If employers provide health insurance the 2015 living wage is $11 an hour, according to Just Economics.
That equals $26,000 a year without benefits and $22,880 a year with benefits based on a 40-hour work week during a 52-week year, nonprofit officials say.
McKibbon Hotel Group officials also hired the Atlanta-based firm, Reese Vanderbilt & Associates, to be the project architect.
Company officials also released some of the building’s planned architectural elements.
Those will include “warmer tones of stone that incorporate Asheville’s existing urban fabric will replace an aging steel façade,” according to the statement.
“The tower will feature decorative metal panels and a prominent mural, which will both be created by local artists,” the statement said. “The building will receive a new exterior skin featuring a mixture of glass and solid materials. The bottom, middle and top of the tower will each incorporate materials that contrast the glass, creating defined sections that add to the building’s design.”
The new building will replace the current BB&T Bank building and house will house the yet to be named hotel at One West Tower at Pack Square.
Asheville’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the hotel plans by a 6-1 vote during a Tuesday night meeting. Commissioners directed staff to continue to work with the developer’s design team regarding Patton Avenue and North Pack Square design details.
Construction is scheduled to begin next year, with completion expected in 2017.
McKibbon Hotel Group officials also released other details regarding the 18-story building.
Those include:
• Restaurant, bar and retail space for lease along Pack Square.
• Retail spaces for lease along College Street.
• Meeting spaces, gym, and offices on the second and third floors.
• Boutique hotel guest rooms on seven floors.
• Residences on the upper floors that will include space for storage.
• On-site parking for residents and guests and additional parking for hotel guests at the currently under-construction AC Hotel parking deck. That also will include public parking.