{"id":51919,"date":"2019-05-06T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T12:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retrofitmagazine.com\/?p=51919"},"modified":"2023-03-15T11:26:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T15:26:20","slug":"virginia-beachs-landmark-cavalier-hotel-nearly-collapsed-now-its-ready-for-another-100-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retrofitmagazine.com\/virginia-beachs-landmark-cavalier-hotel-nearly-collapsed-now-its-ready-for-another-100-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Beach\u2019s Landmark Cavalier Hotel Nearly Collapsed; Now It\u2019s Ready for Another 100 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the historic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach, Va., reopened its doors on March 7, 2018, after an $85 million restoration, it was the end of a long journey for the circa-1927 icon and its owners\u2014longer than anyone had anticipated. But it was also a new beginning. \u201cFor those who were familiar with the hotel from its earlier years, they appreciate the attention to detail and restoring pieces of it they loved,\u201d says Bryan Cuffee, vice president of Virginia Beach-based Gold Key | PHR<\/a>, the project\u2019s developer. \u201cAt the same time, people who had not seen the property before appreciate that it touches on history but also brings forth a modern feel.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coastal high winds and salt air had penetrated the fa\u00e7ade of the circa-1927 Cavalier Hotel, making it about as sturdy as a sandcastle. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For example, in the historic Raleigh Room, a social lounge off the main lobby that greets visitors with elegant gilded style, there is a reimagined likeness of the Mona Lisa in which DaVinci\u2019s heroine is holding an iPhone. \u201cThat\u2019s what we were really trying to do: be sensitive to that history but bring it to today,\u201d Cuffee\nsays. But the Raleigh Room also exemplifies\njust how many physical challenges there were.\nDuring renovation, a section of its ceiling collapsed, and\nsome 25,000 square feet of concrete decking had to be\nreplaced.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe it or not, this was just the beginning. \u201cThere\nwere physical challenges all over the place,\u201d Cuffee says,\n\u201cbut I can say that our owners were committed to doing\nit right.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grand Style, Bad Bones <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Designed by esteemed local architect Clarence Neff, the 7-story Cavalier Hotel\u2019s neoclassical design was inspired by a host of Virginia landmarks. \u201cIt\u2019s like walking through a slice of Virginia history,\u201d says Design Principal Greg Rutledge, AIA, of Norfolk, Va.-based Hanbury, which restored the Cavalier. \u201cThe motor court is flanked by serpentine walls like those at the University of Virginia. The main portico is a replica of one at Monticello. The plaster medallion in the rotunda is an exact copy of one in a historic building in downtown Norfolk. The lobby reflects the big paneled walls of the historic plantation homes there. Every room is adorned with the most beautiful plaster work and woodwork. What\u2019s interesting is he created this crazy Y-shaped floor plan and a 7-story tower to capture views, yet was still very successful at applying classical motifs to the building. A lot of people say it looks bigger than it really is because it\u2019s so grand in its setting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet behind the architectural ornament, the approximately 130,000-square-foot hotel was about as sturdy as a sandcastle: its steel framing so rusted that it was literally disintegrating from the inside out. This was true not only of the original 1927 framing, but even the steel from a 1990s renovation of one wing. Why so much damage? Coastal high winds and salt air contributed, but the real problem was fa\u00e7ade penetration. The original frame was built directly behind the masonry veneer,\nwhich opens up potential for cracks in the\nmasonry, as well as steel rust. Then there\nwere the head joints in the fa\u00e7ade, where\nholes had been drilled into the brick to\nallow water to drain. Instead, the holes let\nthe water inside.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Cavalier\u2019s famed interior saltwater pool leaked like a sieve. Because the team could not identify where the water was going, they created a new pool within the original one. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fixing the problem was tricky. \u201cWe had to perform all the steel replacement from the inside out. We didn\u2019t want to disrupt the masonry skin,\u201d Rutledge explains. \u201cWe knew we couldn\u2019t repoint the brick on the whole building. We\u2019d have done more damage than good. So we hung scaffolding around the building and for a year we found every hole we could, cut out the head joint and repointed it.\u201dWhat the architects did not do, however, was repaint the exterior cast stone decoration, a decision that initially caught the client off-guard. \u201cIt had been painted a few times over the years, and we spent a lot of time stripping that paint off,\u201d the architect adds. \u201cThe cast stone has an aged patina, which I think adds a whole lot to the fa\u00e7ade.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The famed indoor saltwater pool provided a typical if mysterious problem. \u201cIt leaked like a sieve, and we did not know where the water was going. It would just disappear,\u201d Rutledge remembers with a laugh. \u201cSo we had to basically build a new pool inside that old pool.\u201d The renovation\ndid something more, though: It made the\nCavalier pool area feel like 1927 again, with\nits originally high ceilings, crown moldings\nand arched windows made operable again\nto capture the sea breezes. Surrounding\nbalconies with their iron detailing, as well\nas the tiled monogram of the hotel\u2019s name\non the pool floor, were all made new again,\nas well, and a new spa and fitness center\nwere added.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intact Charm\n<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If the bones of the building needed radical reconstructive surgery, the good news was that the interiors, particularly the grandest public spaces, were mostly still there as originally designed and only needed cosmetic attention. The original paneling, plaster ornamentation, terrazzo flooring and painted ceilings were all reconditioned to historical accuracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOS:<\/strong> Robert Benson Photography<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"Although
Although the Cavalier\u2019s bones needed radical reconstructive surgery, the grandest public spaces only needed cosmetic attention.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Upstairs, the team received permission from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond, to make one major change: combining two rooms into one (as long as the original circulation path was maintained) to substantially increase the size of each room. But it took a more than\n200-room hotel down to 85 rooms. \u201cYou\nalmost never want to reduce the number of\nrooms in a hotel. Most people are fighting\nto get more rooms,\u201d Cuffee explains. \u201cBut we\nfelt we had to deliver the guest experience\nthat we wanted.\u201d Despite the added space\nper room, general contractor W.M. Jordan\nCo., Newport News, Va., and subcontractor\nJRC Mechanical, Chesapeake, Va., also faced\na kind of Houdini act to give the Cavalier all\nnew plumbing and electrical wiring without\ndisturbing the rooms\u2019 historic ceilings.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Nathan Berryman, vice president of operations for JRC Mechanical, in the hotel\u2019s heyday, the water tower on top of the building had a vat in which maintenance workers tossed blocks of ice. The water then was gravity-fed into the building so guests would have cold water. During the renovation, a flexible PEX product was run through the interstitial space between the hotel\u2019s irreplaceable ceilings and its floors. \u201cWhen it comes to a plumbing and mechanical system in this type of building, one of the largest challenges is the space constraints,\u201d Berryman states. \u201cWe had to run large diameter piping throughout the entire build- ing, and we wondered how we would be able to do that given the space constraints. It is one of the reasons we [used PEX].\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cavalier Hotel\u2019s basement level also has been brought back to its original splendor, anchored by the Hunt Room, which began as a Prohibition-era social lounge for men but is now the hotel\u2019s primary res- taurant. Its signature oversized hearth was substantially deteriorated, but the team carefully dismantled the fireplace brick by brick, gave it a new foundation and carefully mortared all the bricks back into place. Adjacent to the Hunt Room downstairs is what may be the first distillery in the U.S. within a hotel: Tarnished Truth Distilling Company, which specializes in small-batch bourbon and vodkas. Luckily, the truth is this is the only tarnish left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During its illustrious history, the Cavalier has hosted a succession of U.S. presidents,\nas well as celebrities, like Frank Sinatra. But\nas recently as a few years ago, its future\nwas in doubt. Zoning would have allowed\nhundreds of new condos or apartments to\nbe built on the site, seemingly a more lucra-\ntive endeavor. And clearly the old beauty\nneeded a lot of work. Gold Key | PHR was the\nonly bidder for the Cavalier that intended\nto restore the hotel. \u201cI honestly think if they\nweren\u2019t the successful bidder, the hotel\nwould have been lost,\u201d Rutledge says.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as the rave reviews have poured in, betting on the hotel\u2019s matchless presence seems to be paying off, as does the decision to rebuild it the right way. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you right now, if the Big Bad Wolf or another big storm comes through, that\u2019s where you want to be,\u201d Cuffee says with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019ll be there for another 100 years. That we made sure of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTOS:<\/strong> Robert Benson Photography<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Cavalier\u2019s basement is home to what may be the first distillery within a U.S. hotel: Tarnished Truth Distilling Company, which specializes in small-batch bourbon and vodkas. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Retrofit Team<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Developer:<\/strong> Gold Key | PHR<\/a>, Virginia Beach, Va., <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARCHITECT: <\/strong>Hanbury<\/a>, Norfolk, Va.<\/p>\n\n\n\n