The Divine Lorraine
The Divine Lorraine was originally constructed in 1892 as a luxury apartment building and ultimately converted into an interracial hotel by the civil rights leader Father Jealous Divine. Alesker and Dundon's task was to restore the exterior of the 11 story historic building and it's 5 story annex to its original condition while adapting it's interior for apartments, restaurants, and the necessary support spaces. The building's interior was decimated by age and abuse, and left with no restorable material on floors 2 through 11. These floors were redesigned as modern apartments respecting the buildings original unique configuration. The first floor was redesigned as lobby and restaurant space, restoring the remaining historic material. The basement was designed as restaurant space opening to a new sunken garden created from an abandoned adjacent street. All existing building systems were removed and replaced with new modern services.
The project is under construction with completion to be fall of 2016. All images are before renovation.
