A luxury boutique hotel focusing on the 1950s is slated to open in downtown Chattanooga this spring as a century-old landmark receives a makeover.
The Stone Fort Inn, a 16-room hotel and bed and breakfast located at 120 E. 10th St., will close next Monday and reopen in April as The Dwell Hotel, said owner Seija Ojanpera.
"We'll move into that 35- to 55-(year old) demographic of the traveler who wants a unique experience for the weekend and the high-end business traveler," she said. "Chattanooga definitely has a need for that."
Ojanpera said The Dwell Hotel will be "kind of retro." Plans are to bring in a lot of original pieces from the 1950s and 1960s, she said.
All the rooms will receive an upgrade and luxury amenities, the hotel owner said. Also plans are to keep the inn's restaurant, expand the kitchen, improve the menu and create a separate bar called Matilda Midnight, Ojanpera said.
"We're making improvements to the building - important structural improvements, upgrading amenities," she said.
The structure, located across from the federal building, dates to 1909. Stone Fort Inn and the eatery, TerraMae Appalachian Bistro, are housed in the restored brick and limestone building.
Ojanpera declined to say how much she's investing in the renovation, or what the hotel's room rates will be when it reopens April 14.
She bought the building late last year for $1.85 million. The three-story building, which is appraised by the Hamilton County Assessor of Property to be worth $967,600, has 13,935 square feet.
Plans are to sell off the building's interior furniture and fixtures to make way for the new concept.
Robert Philips of The McCallie Market said there will be a walk-though on Feb. 21 from 2-6 p.m. in which people can come by and buy items.
He said there's well over 700 objects ranging from beds, draperies, chandeliers, carpets and light fixtures.
"It's got a great history," Philips said.
In 2003, Harry and Maura Phillips opened the inn and four years later, they sold it to Sydney Slome, a hotelier from Daytona Beach, Fla. In 2012, McCallie School grad Mark Oldham bought the inn and teamed up with David Mitchell, a former restaurateur, to open TerraMae in December 2012.
The boutique hotel is the second new such inn slated for downtown. Chattanooga-based Vision Hospitality Group is building a 90-room hotel at Walnut Street and Aquarium Way. The Edwin Hotel will pay homage to Edwin Thacher, who led the development of the nearby Walnut Street Bridge in 1891. That five-floor hotel is slated to be complete in spring 2017.
Ojanpera, 33, said she has worked extensively in the hospitality industry and has wanted to own a hotel since she was a little girl.
"I drew them as a child," said the woman who was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., but grew up in Colorado and Alabama and went to college in Birmingham.
Ojanpera said she was living in Italy before she moved to Chattanooga six years ago, where her best friend lived.
"I was ready to move back to the states," she said. "I had visited here a couple of times."
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.