One of the last remaining vacant spaces on Gay Street is now set to become downtown's tallest rooftop hotel.
The Hyatt Place announced Monday it will manage the 165-room hotel in downtown Knoxville. The building is currently vacant, but goes back nearly 100 years from its days as a ballroom hotel in 1917.
It's a history developer Rick Dover holds close. "This is the corner and one of the most prominent buildings in all of downtown," he said.
Hyatt plans to develop the inside with modern renovations, but maintain the building's historic appeal with canopies over Gay Street and Clinch and a vintage blade sign.
It's the latest in a string of hotels to open up downtown. It comes as another luxury hotel, the Tennessean Hotel and Residences, is setting up shop near World's Fair Park.
"There's huge momentum downtown," Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero said.
With both set to open in 2017, she says it's another step in the right direction for the city.
"When the heart of your city is vibrant, when there are no more vacant buildings and there are improvements to the street scapes... it's generating revenues to support the entire city."