The Weyanoke currently plans to revert the building back to a hotel, according to the owners.
Although they haven’t officially been set in stone, there are current plans for the Weyanoke to be turned into a hotel.
The owners of the Weyanoke notified residents last fall of their decision to not renew leases to those residing in the building. The current leases end around the end of this semester.
“In order to fulfill that goal, that strategic plan of increasing foot traffic, having the Weyanoke, or having a hotel that’s in walking distance to the campus, whether it’s there or someplace else, is pretty critical, and it’s a big deal. So, restoring the Weyanoke into some fashion of what it historically looked like ‘way back when,’ that’s a desirable thing,” said Ken Copeland, vice president of Administration and Finance and a board member of the Longwood Real Estate Foundation. Copeland also served as the first executive director for the Foundation.
The Longwood Real Estate Foundation was created in order to aid with property acquisition for the university. The Foundation also owns all off-campus housing.
“The Real Estate Foundation is the developmental arm of Longwood for all non-general fund and auxiliary enterprises,” said Louise Waller, executive director of Campus Planning and Construction and the Real Estate Foundation.
According to Copeland, the plans for the hotel have been completely done through the owners of the Weyanoke.
“The only thing that the Real Estate Foundation has offered, and this is contingent upon approved financing, are room night guarantees. We basically will funnel our Board of Visitors people, our Alumni Board, our Foundation Board when those boards are going to be here.” Copeland added, “As far as the Real Estate Foundation is concerned, that’s the extent of (it), and that’s not even a done deal if, for whatever reason, the financing that the owners are pursuing for whatever reason doesn’t come to fruition.”
Waller believes that the plans ultimately will go through to conclusion.
“We haven’t been getting any signals that it won’t happen,” said Waller.
According to Copeland, the owners of the Weyanoke approached the university to see if there was any interest in the plans for the building’s change.
“The room night guarantees were something that we pitched out there as a possibility,” said Copeland.
There would need to be an addition onto the building for it to be able to successfully hold enough rooms. If the building is designated currently or sometime in the future as historical, this could bring potential issues as to how the building can be changed.
Copeland said he didn’t believe the plans were definitive yet on an addition, but that around 60 rooms were mentioned as a possibility during their last correspondence a few months ago.
“It’s not hundreds of millions of dollars, but it’s not likely single millions of dollars. It’s probably eight figures,” said Copeland on the potential cost of the change.
There still remains to be speculation as to why the owners made the decision to steer in the direction of a hotel.
“It indicates to me anyway that the profit potential for doing this project is greater than the current use of the building,” said Copeland.
Continue to follow The Rotunda for more updates.
The Weyanoke currently plans to revert the building back to a hotel, according to the owners.
