Grove Park Inn sprucing up for 100th anniversary

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The Grove Park Inn is getting a $25 million renovation in time to celebrate its 100th birthday.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports (http://avlne.ws/116bJfN ) one of the Great Hall's two huge fire places underwent $200,000 worth of construction to restore it to working status. The hall's large columns have been stripped to their core and recovered with handcrafted panels.

In addition, the hotel's 166 Vanderbilt wing rooms are getting an update, and a new retail shop area is under construction.

The inn was constructed on Sunset Mountain and opened in 1913. It was designed by architect Richard Sharp Smith and built by St. Louis pharmaceutical tycoon E.W. Grove.

The private equity group KSL Capital Partners last year reached a deal with Sammons Enterprises to buy the mountainside inn.

___

Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com