Virgin Hotel coming to Nola in 2019

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After some hemming and hawing over building height restrictions, the New Orleans City Council finally approved plans for the new Virgin Hotel in August 2015. Now, the company helmed by eccentric billionaire Sir Richard Branson is finally (just about) ready to break ground on that project.

In a release today, Virgin Hotels confirms that its new location in New Orleans will break ground in April. In addition to 225 rooms, the Warehouse District property at 550 Baronne Street will feature a restaurant and bar called The Commons Club and a rooftop poolside lounge. The Commons Club is a flagship restaurant at Virgin Hotels including the group’s first U.S. property in Chicago, which debuted in 2015.

There’s still no word on who will run the restaurant operations. Reached by Eater, Virgin Hotels could not provide any further details about the all-day restaurant and bar or the lounge; however if the Windy City location is any indication, it’s something to look forward to. The Chicago restaurants have attracted big name chefs including Rick Gresh and are currently led by Top Chef alum Rebecca LaMalfa.

Virgin has tapped RTKL Architects, Mathes Brierre Architects, and Broadmoor Construction to design the building. The company is also slated to bring hotels to Nashville, Dallas, Palm Springs, New York, Silicon Valley. The New Orleans hotel is expected to debut in 2019.

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