SAN FRANCISCO—Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants today announced plans to expand the brand’s Southeast footprint as the selected operator of a new 180-key boutique hotel in Nashville, Tenn., adjacent to the Vanderbilt University campus in the Midtown neighborhood.
Buckingham Companies awarded Kimpton the management contract for the hotel, which will be part of a 17-story, 600,000-square-foot, mixed-use project, tentatively named Buckingham Midtown. The Buckingham Midtown development is LEED-designed and will include the hotel, a restaurant and bar, 35,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, 350 upscale apartments and 630 parking spaces. The hotel is anticipated to open in late 2016.
“We selected Kimpton as our hotel partner because of its extensive experience with boutique concepts, the strength of its brand, and the high level of creativity it brings to a hotel experience,” said Scott Travis, senior vice president of development for Buckingham Companies. “Kimpton and Buckingham Companies are working together closely to create a new style of hotel specifically suited to the Nashville market.”
Kimpton’s first hotel in Tennessee will feature 180 rooms, a restaurant and bar, 6,500 square feet of meeting and event space, and a pool, and will offer all the Kimpton signature programs and services. The architecture of Buckingham Midtown will reflect the neighborhood’s diversity, creativity, and energy featuring modern elements where the development faces the thriving Midtown area, and more traditional design facing the storied Vanderbilt campus.
“Kimpton has long admired the eclectic vitality of Nashville, and we’re so excited to bring our unique amenities and guest experience to people traveling to the city,” said Mike Depatie, president and CEO of Kimpton. “We’ve been looking for the right opportunity in Nashville, and the Buckingham Midtown property is the perfect partnership for a number of reasons—Kimpton and Buckingham both value community, quality, great design, and sustainability, and this development is in a position to enhance an already vibrant neighborhood.”
The Nashville hotel is part of Kimpton’s expanding presence in the Southeast region. In addition to the Buckingham property, Kimpton recently announced plans to open a hotel in the former R.J. Reynolds Building in Winston-Salem, N.C. The hotel brand also operates The Brice in Savannah, Ga.; three popular hotels in Miami including the Epic Hotel, Surfcomber Beach Resort and The Angler’s; and Vero Beach Hotel & Spa on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
Kimpton signed 10 development deals in 2013 and has three new properties scheduled to open in 2014, with an additional seven to open each year in 2015 and 2016.
