The Lenox has been sitting on Mill Street looking like Cape Town had forgotten where it put one of its old hotels, but that may finally be changing, writes Jasmine Stone .
The Lenox in Cape Town’s Gardens district is being restored as a Newmark boutique hotel, with a French artist residency planned around the heritage building.
Peerutin Karol Architects recently posted that the historic Gardens building is being transformed into a new hotel for Newmark Hotels & Reserves, with the architects saying the work will draw on their heritage refurbishment experience.
On their Instagram page the Peerutin Karol Architects wrote
Something exciting is coming to the Cape Town City Bowl…
We’re bringing our experience in heritage architecture to the transformation of an existing historic building into a new hotel for newmarkhotels
The Lenox has been part of Cape Town’s built heritage for generations. Dating back to 1897, the building has a long history as a residential hotel, with its distinctive character contributing to the streetscape of Upper Orange and Mill Street.
For Peerutin Karol, the project brings together two areas of our practice that we particularly value – working sensitively with heritage and creating contemporary spaces that give existing buildings a renewed purpose. Our experience in heritage refurbishment has taught us the importance of understanding what gives an existing building its character and significance and finding thoughtful ways to adapt it for contemporary use.
The Lenox presents an opportunity to give this much-loved, but neglected, old building a new purpose, while responding to its history, architecture and setting.
We’re excited to see this next chapter begin.
More to come.
The building is not exactly a newcomer to the neighborhood.
The Lenox, in Cape Town’s Gardens district, dates back to 1897 and is one of the area’s oldest buildings.
Peerutin Karol described The Lenox as a “much-loved but neglected” old building and said the project is about giving it “a new purpose, while responding to its history, architecture and setting.”
Newmark’s earlier announcement described the plan as a 47-room boutique hotel, operated and managed by Newmark Hotels & Reserves, with a specialised restaurant, conference facilities, a restored garden and an artist-residency floor.
“Newmark prides itself on creating bespoke hospitality experiences,” Carl Haller, New Business Developer for Newmark Hotels & Reserves, said in that announcement. “We earmarked The LENOX as a possible future site a decade ago and are excited about the potential that this project poses.”
Newmark’s later growth update lists The Lenox as “a cultural landmark reimagined in Cape Town’s Gardens district” and places it on the group’s 2027 horizon.
The art side has its own timeline. The French Institute of South Africa says Villa Lenox will run a first off-site pilot phase in 2027, before officially opening in 2028 with three live-in studios and space for up to nine francophone artists a year.
It also says the residency will sit inside The Lenox, whose heritage restoration is being carried out by MEMORIST, the French preservation and heritage company that owns the property.
So, yes, Cape Town may be getting another boutique hotel. But this one comes with 1897 bones, a French arts residency, and a building that has already done its time as a residential hotel.
Sources: Peerutin Karol Architects, Newmark Hotels & Reserves and The Lenox