Project Description
2018 Builder’s Choice & Custom Home Design Awards
Renovation: Grand
The nine-story Hotel Chisca was built in 1913 at a central location in Memphis, Tenn., near the city’s South Main Arts District. The building’s colorful history includes an on-site radio broadcast by Elvis Presley in 1954, followed by the addition of a five-story midcentury building in 1961.
But in the 1990s, the property went vacant and in 2002 it was listed as one of Tennessee’s 10 most endangered historic properties. Local firm Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK) designed a $31 million renovation that transformed the former hotel into a residential building with 161 units, including studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and two- and three-bedroom townhomes for rent.
The design team argued to preserve the 1960s structure during the renovation, whose aesthetic contrasts with the original, but tells the story of the complex’s evolution through the decades. “The result is a differentiated design that respects the inherent character and time period of each building,” explains Tony Pellicciotti, the firm’s principal in charge. “From a market vantage point, differentiating the design appeals to a broader audience, while also expanding the definition of historic.”
Dubbed The Chisca on Main, the renewed 300,000-square-foot project enhances the surrounding cityscape, while an elevated terrace on the second floor, which formerly enclosed the hotel ballroom, links the two structures and provides substantial outdoor amenity space with a grilling area, lounge, fire pits, and water feature.
“The old ballroom had reached an advanced state of decay where it was no longer structurally sound,” Pellicciotti says. A large truss that once supported the ballroom’s roof has been retained as a vestigial element. The new construction materials were sourced locally, including metal studs, gypsum board, roofing, insulation, steel, concrete, paint, brick, glass, and aluminum storefronts.
Many original design elements were restored, including wood windows, terrazzo tile floor, decorative plaster ceilings, moldings, painted building signage, and the distinctive rooftop sign structure. Connecting the two buildings, a sculptural, concrete stair has been returned to its midcentury glory.—E.K.
“That fabulous stair…This is an essay in not doing too much.”— Juror Peter Rose