CRE Celebrates Virgin Hotels New Orleans Grand Opening

On Thursday, October 8th, Christina River Exchange joined members of BPGS Construction’s hotel development team to travel to New Orleans to celebrate the city’s resilience and continued growth as an international destination with the opening of Virgin Hotels New Orleans, the most recent hotel from Sir Richard Branson’s expanding brand of lifestyle hotels.

Sir Richard arrived on property, baton in hand, accompanied by the Marching 100, St. Augustine High School’s internationally acclaimed band from nearby Lafayette Square.

Hotel owners The Buccini/Pollin Group and Virgin Hotels New Orleans presented the school with a donation to help and support with damages to the building sustained from Hurricane Ida, while Virgin Hotels Chief Executive Officer James Bermingham and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson addressed the students.

“We’re glad to be part of this community and embrace the incredible spirit of New Orleans,” said Sir Richard. “How wonderful it is to celebrate this beautiful new property and becoming part of the continued growth of one of the world’s most magical cities.”

After the marching parade arrived en masse at Virgin Hotels New Orleans, Sir Richard, James Bermingham and Dave Pollin of Buccini/Pollin Group presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony that reflected Sir Richard’s dedication and commitment to the Big Easy. Students and attendees received a native magnolia tree to plant from Common Ground Relief, whose Plant a Million Trees campaign aims to help the city and Gulf Coast communities build healthy, robust coastal wetlands.

No Crescent City event is complete without music and the grand opening event delivered. Musical guests and performers including Ivan Neville and DJs Boyfriend, Logic and Jodeci Juice showcased the hotel’s fabulous dining and entertainment spaces. Performances took place throughout the property — from the ground level Shag Room and Commons Club to the 13th floor Pool Club and Dreamboat.

“Our excitement in opening Virgin Hotels New Orleans grows stronger each day that we get to witness the passion and pride New Orleanians feel for their hometown. The city’s welcoming spirit, lively entertainment and incredible culinary experiences are all things we’re excited to bring to life at our hotel,” said Bermingham.

CRE Procurement Manager Brenda Layne and Procurement Specialist Sabrina Matheson were instrumental in bringing this 225 room hotel to fruition. Please join us in congratulating the entire project team on this momentous occasion!

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Progress Update on Virgin Hotels NOLA

Image Credit: Virgin Hotels

Earlier this summer, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson took to The Big Easy to celebrate the groundbreaking of Virgin Hotels New Orleans. The occasion signified the brand’s 7th property in addition to the existing Chicago and San Francisco locations, the soon-to-open Virgin Hotels Dallas, and under construction Virgin Hotels New York, Las Vegas, Edinburgh, and Nashville (which CRE has the pleasure of working on as well).

Local New Orleans interior design firm Logan Killen Interiors are designing the hotel to incorporate a Southern residential feel while combining colorful, tropical architectural motifs with Virgin’s signature style of fun and smart. The hotel will feel more like one’s home away from home than another city hotel. Common spaces like the lush rooftop pool deck and the Jazz Age-inspired Commons Club inspire curiosity and exploration around every turn.

As the season comes to an end, we caught up with CRE project manager David Summerfield to get a progress update on the procurement process for Virgin Hotels New Orleans.

What is the inspiration behind the design of the hotel in your opinion?

The overall design celebrates the spirit, music, art and cuisine of New Orleans all while having a personalized touch by Virgin to create that unique and welcoming experience for guests.

Were there any brand standards that were followed during this project?

Like all of the other locations, Virgin Hotels New Orleans features the brand’s charismatic and contemporary style alongside ample communal space and a signature restaurant. Similar to Nashville, the new-build hotel will feature over 200 chambers, the brand’s take on guestrooms, the Commons Club, the brand’s flagship space, a rooftop pool and lounge, gym, and dedicated meeting and event spaces.

Can you breakdown the FF&E installation process?

The model room installation is in currently in progress. All model room FF&E is being delivered directly to the project site and stored until the construction is complete and ready to install the FF&E. All FF&E has gone through an approval process to ensure each piece is made to its specification. There is a team on site to handle all deliveries and review the condition of the items once they’ve been received. When the site is complete, all FF&E will be installed, and there will be a review of all FF&E to ensure each piece meets the brands standards.

What is the biggest challenge you’re facing during this project?

The biggest challenge right now is the coordination of all the different FF&E pieces. Because the design has so many exceptional spaces, there are a great deal of unique items that need to be procured.

How are you working to overcome this challenge?

It is crucial to stay in constant communication with the entire project team to ensure everybody is on the same page and expectations are clear.

Is there anything else unique about the project that you’d like to mention?

There are many unique aspects of the project. I especially like that there are so many different spaces and areas to enjoy throughout the hotel. The roof deck is awesome in that it will allow guests to sit back and relax while overlooking the entire city of New Orleans. I’m really looking forward to the completion of this incredible hotel.

Virgin Hotels New Orleans Breaks Ground

Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand by Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, marks a new milestone as Virgin Hotels breaks ground with The Buccini/Pollin Group on Virgin Hotels New Orleans. The groundbreaking ceremony marks Virgin Hotels’ seventh property, behind the current locations open in Chicago and San Francisco, the soon-to-open Virgin Hotels Dallas, and under construction Virgin Hotels Nashville, Virgin Hotels New York, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Virgin Hotels Edinburgh. Virgin Hotels New Orleans is slated to open its doors in 2021.

“I’m incredibly happy to announce that Virgin will now have a home at Virgin Hotels New Orleans, a home for both visitors and locals alike,” said Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson. “It’s going to have all the signature offerings of our hotels including the exceptional customer experience that Virgin is known for. New Orleans is a truly special city and a melting pot of cultures and traditions. We will certainly make sure to celebrate the local character of The Big Easy throughout our hotel. I’m very much looking forward to the rise of Virgin Hotels New Orleans in 2021.”

“We’ve had our eyes on New Orleans for a while, so we’re thrilled to be kicking off construction today,” commented Virgin Hotels CEO Raul Leal. “We were extremely diligent in ensuring we tapped the right partners to develop, design and curate the best hotel product for this extraordinary market. Today’s groundbreaking means we are one step closer to seeing our vision come to life!”

Located in the Warehouse District at 550 Baronne Street, Virgin Hotels New Orleans sits directly next to the Central Business District close to a growing number of new restaurants, galleries and shops. The property will feature over 200 chambers, multiple dining and drinking outlets such as the brand’s signature Commons Club and the recently announced Funny Library Coffee Shop, a rooftop pool and lounge, gym and dedicated meetings and event spaces. Virgin Hotels New Orleans will be completed by Mathes Brierre Architects, CallisonRTKL Architects, and Broadmoor Construction and will be managed by Virgin Hotels.

Local New Orleans interior design firm Logan Killen Interiors are designing the hotel to incorporate a Southern residential feel while combining colorful, tropical architectural motifs with Virgin’s signature style of fun and smart. The hotel will feel more like one’s home away from home than another city hotel. Common spaces like the lush rooftop pool deck and the Jazz Age-inspired Commons Club inspire curiosity and exploration around every turn.

To commemorate the groundbreaking, Virgin Hotels in conjunction with The Buccini/Pollin Group hosted key members of each group for an intimate ceremony. During the event, members of the Virgin Hotels development team took the first shovels to the ground at the future hotel site. Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Hotels Chief Development Officer Allie Hope offered remarks, followed by a brief press Q&A and photo opportunity. Also, on site was brand partner Laughing Man® Coffee Company offering refreshments for guests.

The brand’s second property, Virgin Hotels San Francisco, opened earlier this year in SoMa (South of Market) just steps from Yerba Buena Gardens and the Moscone Center. The brand’s first hotel, Virgin Hotels Chicago, opened in 2015. Virgin Hotels continues to explore cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Austin, Seattle, Washington DC, and London; all locations where they are pursuing hotel and office conversions and ground-up development.