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News for the Hospitality Executive |
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Turnberry Associates and Corner Partnership Complete $10
million Renovation
of Nasville's Historic Union Station � a Wyndham Historic
Hotel
 NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (October 2007) � Nashville�s Union Station � a Wyndham Historic Hotel
fresh from a $10 million renovation, marks its grand reopening Oct. 9,
exactly 107 years after the Louisville & Nashville Railroad opened
the building as a showplace train station.
�We see Oct. 9, 2007 as a rededication of a Nashville treasure,� said Phil Goldfarb, president and chief operating officer of Turnberry Associates, majority owner of the property. Highlights of the $10 million renovation project involve a complete restoration, cleaning and redressing of the station�s original design and architectural features, including:
The Union Station Hotel, a Wyndham Historic Hotel and a member of Historic Hotels of America, is one of Nashville�s most identifiable buildings. Many visitors consider it part of a Nashville architectural trifecta that consists of the Union Station Hotel, the nearby Ryman Auditorium and the city�s replica of the Parthenon from ancient Athens. �The building�s size and Romanesque design are impressive now. We can only imagine what an impact it had when it opened at the turn of the last century,� Bloom said. It is 247 feet tall from track level to the top of its clock tower, where a statue of Mercury, messenger of the gods and god of roads and travelers, perches. The architectural and design touches inside are a tribute to artisans of another era. In addition to the signature stained-glass ceiling are large clocks at either end of the lobby, a bas-relief sculpture of an Egyptian pharaoh in a chariot and another bas-relief sculpture of a powerful steam locomotive. The bas-relief locomotive is No. 108, which inspired the name of the hotel�s new restaurant, Prime 108. Other sculptures include two female figures representing Miss Louisville and Miss Nashville (the railroad�s namesake cities) and a veritable choir of angels. Above the lobby�s 10 great archways are 20 �angels of commerce,� in surprisingly revealing gowns for the conservative time in which the building opened, showing off Tennessee products such as corn, wheat, books and, yes, whiskey. After passenger train traffic diminished and then left Nashville later in the 1900s, Union Station declined. Mercury even fell from the top of the tower in 1952. The decline was reversed in 1986 when Union Station came back to life as a hotel. The recent two-year renovation has added another level of amenities and appeal. In addition to its guestrooms, it has 12,000 square feet of flexible meeting space in six meeting rooms, a business center and a fitness center. In-room amenities include high-speed wireless Internet service, Herman Miller Aeron work chairs, plasma flat-screen televisions and CD players (this is Music City USA, after all). �Union Station Hotel is strategically located between the downtown commercial center, Nashville�s honky-tonk district, Music Row, Vanderbilt University and Belmont University,� Bloom said. �With the renovation comes a rededication to quality service that will make Nashville proud.� About Turnberry Associates, Aventura, Fla.�Founded in 1967 by Donald Soffer, Turnberry Associates is one of the country's leading full-service real estate development and property management firms. The company has to its credit the development of more than $5 billion in commercial and residential property. This includes approximately 20 million square feet of retail space, some 5,000 luxury apartments and condominium units and 1.5 million square feet of class-A office space. Turnberry's hotel and resort properties include Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, Hilton Nashville Downtown, Union Station-a Wyndham Historic Hotel in Nashville, Orlando Marriott Downtown, Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Orlando, Courtyard by Marriott at Aventura Mall, Residence Inn by Marriott at Aventura Mall and Hampton Inn Hallandale Beach/Aventura. Future projects include sites in Destin, Fla., and Las Vegas, Nev. For more information, call (305) 937-6200 or visit online at www.turnberry.com. |
| Contact:
Melanie Fly
Turnberry Associates
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| Also See: | Turnberry Associates Acquires Union Station - A Wyndham Historic Hotel, Nashville; Plans Multi-million dollar Restoration / August 2005 |
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