From HotelOnline
Napa, CA – August 20, 2013 – Northern California’s Napa County and The Shops at Napa Center will welcome ARCHER Napa, a new-build luxury hotel at the First Street site of the former Merrill’s building. LodgeWorks Partners, L.P., a privately-held hotel development and management company with a rich history in noteworthy openings, has agreed to terms with Zapolski Real Estate (ZRE), a fully-integrated real estate investment, development and management firm, which purchased what is now known as the Napa Center Development in May 2012.
ZRE founder Todd C. Zapolski is spearheading the revitalization of over 150,000 square feet of retail space in the heart of downtown Napa through a redevelopment program aimed at attracting a mix of national retailers as well as regional and local restaurants and shops, and adding a lodging component to enhance the highly anticipated redevelopment. LodgeWorks is a natural fit given its history and earlier involvement in the renaissance of downtown Napa. The hospitality company was behind the July 2009 opening of the 141-room AVIA Hotel at 1400 First Street, which is now the Andaz Napa, following the sale of the AVIA brand and related assets to Hyatt Hotels Corporation in August 2011.
LodgeWorks and ZRE in consultation with local stakeholders such as the Napa Historical Society and Napa County Landmarks are creating a plan that will preserve the most noteworthy aspect of the site, Merrill’s First Street façade. The newly developed hotel and retail structure, which will reach seven stories high, will be thoughtful to its place and prominence, reflecting a casual elegance, organic to the Napa aesthetic. ARCHER Napa will be integrated into Napa Center in a way that is complimentary and seamlessly connected with the retail and restaurant components of the development. An opening date has not been set.
“LodgeWorks as a hotel developer has varied capabilities, depth of experience and a contagious bent to be creative. It is a gift to have hospitality veterans such as themselves, especially given their familiarity with the area, join us as a collaborator to bring an exceptional redevelopment project to two full blocks of downtown Napa,” said Zapolski. “We were fortunate to have multiple outstanding options as operators for our hotel site. We are confident that LodgeWorks’, with its proven track record and its innovative ARCHER brand, will bring a uniquely Napa, exciting new approach to a four-star boutique hospitality experience.”
ARCHER Napa will be the second addition to LodgeWorks’ latest hotel collection. ARCHER’s inaugural property, ARCHERsm Hotel New York, will grace midtown Manhattan’s Garment District in early 2014 on West 38th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The 21-story property will be home to 180 guestrooms, a restaurant and a rooftop bar under the culinary direction of Top Chef Master David Burke. The residential-minded hotel will boast a quartet of design palettes, giving visitors an element of guestroom roulette. While “Just who is ARCHER?” is a question that might go unanswered, guests are sure to get a sense of his taste, his personality, his voice and his thoughts as the story of ARCHER unfolds and they experience New York City and Napa’s newest hotel personality.
“This project is significant to us on multiple fronts,” said Mike Daood, LodgeWorks president. “Being back in Napa is undeniably exciting for us. The added bonus that we are able to announce the expansion of our newest hotel collection, before our first property has even been unveiled, underscores that ARCHER has unique, intriguing qualities that lend themselves to the country’s top locales,” he added. “Many people would aspire to have residences in New York and Napa; now ARCHER does.”
While hotel-specific details are still in the planning stages, when ARCHER New York was announced LodgeWorks SVP brands & marketing, Cheryl Gilliam, said, “ARCHER is not just a hotel; it’s a personality, an eclectic way of being, a welcoming residence, if you will. Guests are meant to feel as if they are entering a home in many ways, yet it is unlike any other. It’s a place that might have been here before, timeless in some ways, yet of today in many more; it’s a new American classic.” Additional information, from design considerations to opening timeframe, will be shared as the plans are finalized and the project evolves.