Dream Memphis hotel to rise atop Royal Furniture building Downtown
WAYNE RISHER | THE DAILY MEMPHIAN
New York-based Dream Hotel Group will build its first hotel in Memphis at 122 S. Main: a mid-rise tower that will incorporate and preserve the historic Royal Furniture building.
Dream Memphis is expected to open in 2022, the product of a partnership between the boutique lodging chain and developer 18Main.
New York-based real estate developer Tom Intrator’s 18Main bought the building last December for $3.5 million.
Plans call for 178 guest rooms and four dining and nightlife venues: a signature restaurant, lobby lounge, coffee shop and rooftop bar with indoor and outdoor spaces. A double height lobby will house a local art collection and welcome hotel guests and visitors.
It will be Dream Hotels' second Tennessee location, following the opening of a Dream Nashville earlier this year.
"Memphis has seen a host of intriguing developments in the past few years, and we’re excited to be a part of the momentum,” Dream Hotel Group chief executive officer Jay Stein said in a release.
“We’re confident that our guests will enjoy many memorable moments at Dream Memphis while discovering all that the city has to offer. It’s the perfect location for the Dream Hotels brand, furthering our strategic growth and expansion into historic city centers across the United States and worldwide.”
Intrator said, “We are thrilled to partner with Dream Hotel Group to welcome their iconic Dream Hotels brand to Memphis. Dream represents a vibrancy and sophisticated experience that we’re confident will become a focal point of the neighborhood and city as a whole.”
“Through this partnership, we at 18Main are standing by our commitment to simultaneously honor the past while redefining the currency and capacity of Downtown Memphis,” Intrator said.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland welcomed the development and said it fits perfectly with the city's emphasis on “building up and not out.”
Downtown Memphis Commission president Jennifer Oswalt applauded 18Main's commitment to keeping the existing structure and said Dream Memphis will bring new energy and investment to a key site on Main Street and near the Downtown entertainment district.
“We are excited by 18Main’s continued investment in the Downtown core,” Oswalt said. “Their commitment to revitalization and reuse aligns well with the Downtown Memphis Commission’s vision.”
The 64,705-square-foot building at the corner of Main and Gayoso was built in 1948 with an Art Moderne-style façade that features rounded corners, glass-block windows and an overall monolithic appearance with applied decorative motifs.
Royal Furniture, a Memphis-based chain with locations in the greater Memphis area of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, has said it would seek another Downtown location for a store and company headquarters.
The 30-year-old Dream Hotel Group has seven Dream Hotels including in Hollywood, New York and two in Thailand. It also operates Time Hotels, The Chatwal and Unscripted Hotels brands.