PRESS RELEASE – 21c Museum Hotels announces that it will begin the renovation and restoration of the historic Hill Building in downtown Durham. 21c Durham, opening in 2015, is a combination boutique hotel, contemporary art museum and restaurant modeled after the award-winning 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Durham-based Skanska Construction will manage the project.
Building on the founders’ mission to bring works of art to the public through innovative contemporary art exhibitions and programs that integrate art into daily life, 21c Durham will feature over 7,000 square feet of exhibition, meeting and event space presenting rotating curated exhibitions, dynamic site-specific art installations and a roster of cultural programming. The museum is open free of charge 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The property will also feature 125 hotel rooms, a restaurant and bar, a ballroom in the historic banking hall and several suites with private terraces.
Deborah Berke Partners will serve as the design architect for the project. Berke’s firm has designed 21c properties in Louisville, KY; Cincinnati, OH and Bentonville AR. Berke’s team will collaborate with executive architect Alan Weiskopf of Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel, a firm recognized for their significant experience in historic preservation projects. 21c’s renovation will respect the Hill Building’s historic character, while creating a contemporary space to show the work of living artists. The team will preserve many of the building’s original features including terrazzo flooring, historic wood paneling and the silver leaf ceiling in the elevator lobby.
The $48 million project is expected to create 200 construction jobs and 150 new permanent jobs.
About 21c Museum Hotels
21c Museum Hotels was founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, contemporary art collectors and preservationists who are committed to bringing works of art to the public through innovative exhibitions and programs that integrate contemporary art into daily life. These goals, coupled with their desire to participate in the revitalization of downtown Louisville led them to open the first property in 2006. The couple selected architect Deborah Berke to convert five 19th century warehouses into a 90-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, award-winning restaurant Proof on Main, and cultural civic center in the heart of downtown Louisville. With the success of the Louisville property came opportunities for growth. 21c has opened hotels in Cincinnati, OH and Bentonville, AR and plans have been announced for a property in Lexington, KY in addition to 21c Durham. Each 21c is unique in its site-specific art installations, architecture, design and restaurant. With a commitment to bringing works of art to the public that ignite the mind and fuel creativity, the museum exhibition space is integrated seamlessly throughout each property. There are opportunities to discover art around every corner of 21c: in the restaurant and bar, on the in-room Video Art Channel, in elevator lobbies, hallways, and even the public restrooms. 21c Museum presents a range of arts programming curated by Chief Curator and Director of Art Programming Alice Gray Stites, including thought-provoking solo and group exhibitions that reflect the global nature of art today, site-specific, commissioned installations as well as a variety of cultural programming. The museum is open free of charge to the public 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. 21c museum has presented more than 75 exhibitions including Wild Card: The Art of Michael Combs, A Fifteen-Year Survey; Hybridity: The New Frontier; OFFSPRING: New Generations; Blue: Matter, Mood and Melancholy; Alter Ego: A Decade of Work by Anthony Goicolea; Ann Hamilton: Bookweights; Consuming Cultures: A Global View; Cuba Now; Simen Johan: Until the Kingdom Comes; Creating Identity: Portraits Today; and All’s Fair in Art and War: Envisioning Conflict.
For media inquiries:
Stephanie Greene
21c Museum Hotels
502.582.6300 x112
sgreene@21cHotels.com
