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| REAL ESTATE REDO: Jud Pankey and his Prescott Realty Group are revitalizing Uptown’s historic Stoneleigh Hotel. photography by Elizabeth Lavin |
Jud Pankey, the founder and recently named CEO of Prescott Realty Group, is racing around Prescott’s corporate headquarters in an office tower off North Central Expressway, just north of Mockingbird Lane. No wonder Pankey’s rushing these days. His 10-year-old, full-service commercial real estate investment, development, and operating company has been in overdrive lately with ambitious projects. Among them: the Lake Highlands Town Center, the gated Regent’s Park residences, and the 22-story Tower Residences at the Stoneleigh Hotel.
The current jewel in the company’s crown, though, is its total renovation of the historic Stoneleigh Hotel and Spa itself. As of press time, the revamped, 170-room property on Maple Avenue was scheduled to open its doors in February. The $36 million project was in keeping with the roots of Prescott, which has long focused on urban infill sites and mixed-use development.
“We literally got our start working on Prescott Street and Oak Lawn [Avenue],” Pankey recalls. “We bought duplexes in addition to office buildings, and so [we were] always focused on the urban environment. We renovate, rebuild, and develop new neighborhoods.”
Following a shuffle of different Stoneleigh management companies, Prescott and New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors stepped in together with a renovation plan for the Uptown landmark in 2005. The Stoneleigh, which was built in the 1920s, had “nostalgia and heritage,” Pankey says. “But we [had] to sell something beyond just that because the reality is, the hotel was in horrible condition.”
That’s no longer the case. The revived Stoneleigh will offer such new elements as an art collection showcasing past and current Texas artists, a restaurant featuring Iron Chef challenger David Bull, a swimming pool, and a number of “tribute suites” in honor of famous Stoneleigh residents or guests like Elvis Presley and Judy Garland. As a result, guests will soon be able to soak up some Stoneleigh history even as they luxuriate in 21st century comfort.
STONELEIGH BY THE NUMBERS:
Original hotel opened in 1923. Expected renovation delivery date: February 2008.
Renovation began in November 2006 and cost $36 million.
The renovated hotel consists of 12 floors and 170 guest rooms and suites including 51 superior rooms, 46 premier rooms, 57 studio suites, two 1930’s historic suites, nine tribute suites, and two corporate suites.
Room rates start at $245.
The hotel offers more than 6,000 square feet of private function space as well as a 5,200-square-foot spa.
The Tower Residences at the Stoneleigh Hotel is an adjacent 22-floor building offering one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes and penthouse suites.
