When we checked in with the LeVeque Tower renovation last spring, restoration work on the terra cotta exterior was entering its second season and and work had begun on an ambitious lobby renovation.
We stopped by again last week to get an update on the project and grab some photos, and we found that the exterior work is progressing to the upper floors of the building and the lobby renovation is on track to be completed by the end of the year.
Project Manager Sam Rosenthal of Schooley Caldwell Associates led the tour, pointing out new Tennessee Pink marble tiles that will replace carpet on all three levels of the lobby, and new artistic details designed to pay tribute to the history and look of the iconic building.
The biggest challenge of the project, according to Rosenthal, has been finding a way to re-route the mechanicals through a completely altered space, as the lobby facing Broad Street now has an atrium three stories tall. This new grand lobby was designed to be more in-scale with the building and to unify a space that has seen many renovations through the years. It will also connect to the historic lobby off of Front Street, which, though very ornate, is more modest in scale due to the original programming of the LeVeque (a large portion of the building originally served as a 600-room addition for the Deshler-Wallick Hotel, which sat at the corner of Broad and High Streets).
New retail spaces in the lobby may soon accommodate a coffee shop tenant on the first floor, with two separate restaurant and bar spaces available on the mezzanine level. Rosenthal says that the City of Columbus is also still planning to give Broad Street a “road diet” adjacent to the LeVeque, to widen sidewalk space for a grander outdoor area around the building.
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Photos by Walker Evans.
