Crews placed large steel beams underneath the former Belleview Biltmore Hotel in order to pick up and move the 120-year-old building.
- Belleview Biltmore Hotel will be moved 320 feet
- The historic inn is 120 years old
- It will be the centerpiece of the Belleview Place
Next month, the structure will be moved 320 feet onto its new foundation.
“We’re going to jack the building up with all this steel under it,” said Superintendent Steve Wood, JMC Design & Development. “We’re going to spin it, rotate it, so that the building is facing to the east when we’re done."
The cost to move and renovate the 38,000 square-foot-section of the hotel is $13 million, according to JMC Communities. It’s renamed the Belleview Inn and will be at the center of the new luxury community called Belleview Place.
“We probably could’ve taken this down and built a new one for less money but the historic value was worth preserving,” Wood said. “The owner of our company, Mike Cheezem, felt that was the right thing to do."
The three story section of the hotel includes the original lobby, grand staircase and fire place. The boutique inn will feature 35 guest rooms, a pool, fitness center, history room and grand lawn. The move is expected to take place the week before Christmas.
“We’re going to set it down on the new foundation,” said Wood. “It’ll be raised to an elevation where we end up with a nine foot basement.”
An official groundbreaking for the Belleview Place took place Wednesday. The inn will be at the center of the luxury community with four condo towers surrounding it and 28 carriage homes.
“Our buildings reflect the look of the Belleview Biltmore Hotel,” said sales director Claudia Emery. “We have sold over half of our first phase of our midrise and also our carriage homes.”
Emery said the prices for the homes start at the mid $600,000s up to $1.8 million. The project is expected to open in the spring of 2018.