21c Museum Hotel Announces Plans to Open Lexington Property

The developers of Louisville's 21c Museum Hotel have announced plansto open a fourth hotel in Lexington.Pending city government approval, 21c Museum Hotels plans to restore the Fayette National Bank Building and an adjacent structure in downtown Lexington. 21c President Craig Greenberg says there are lots of exciting things going on in Lexington.“A new mayor that’s really energizing downtown revitalization. They have a new plan to renovate and expand Rupp Arena and the surrounding convention center and a lot of other smaller great projects that are on the drawing board,” Greenberg said. “And we’re just really excited to be a part of Lexington’s downtown revitalization.”21c already owns combination hotel-art museums in Louisville, Cincinnati and Bentonville, Arkansas, and Greenberg says the company is also considering expanding into other markets. He says the Lexington property will, like Louisville will focus on contemporary art, southern hospitality and good food. But he says the two properties definitely won’t be identical.“Beyond that though, it will have a totally different look and feel,” he said. “It’s definitely a different building that has its own unique historical character that we will preserve and restore. And it will also have different exciting contemporary art that’s showcased on a regular basis.”Plus, the Lexington hotel will have blue penguins instead of Louisville's red penguins.The new hotel will be designed by Deborah Berke and Partners, the same firm that designed the three other 21c Museum Hotels. Construction is expected to begin in the next year, and the hotel is scheduled to open in 2014.