Peabody Hotel – and ducks – planned for Roanoke

Architectural rendering of the proposed Peabody Roanoke (BOKA Powell)

Bluff City Group, in partnership with Peabody Hotels & Resorts and the City of Roanoke, plans to build a 300-room hotel on Oak Street.

Peabody Hotels & Resorts, a division of Belz Enterprises of Memphis, Tennessee, is a hotel and resort management venture developed around the long-established brand of its historic flagship property The Peabody Memphis, a four-star, four-diamond luxury hotel.

The legendary Peabody originally opened in Memphis in 1869, and is known, among other things, for the March of Ducks through the lobby to the hotel’s central fountain, a tradition started in 1933.

In similar fashion to the original Peabody hotel, The Peabody Roanoke will include an expansive Grand Lobby with an overlooking mezzanine and a large fountain with ducks swimming daily at its center.

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“Yes, we will be bringing the ducks to Roanoke,” said Douglas V. Browne, president of Peabody Hotels & Resorts.

Roanoke Mayor Scooter Giersch announced the addition to the city’s growing downtown area June 29 at the Roanoke Community Center, within blocks of the new hotel’s planned site. Plans are to open The Peabody Roanoke within two years. It will be located adjacent to Roanoke’s new City Hall.

The City of Roanoke, designated “The Unique Dining Capital of Texas” in a resolution passed by the Texas Legislature in 2009, offers everything from fried chicken to barbecue to sushi within its walkable main corridor.

Strategically situated directly between Alliance Park and Texas Motor Speedway, The Peabody Roanoke is expected to draw a mix of business and leisure visitors from throughout the North Texas and Dallas/Fort Worth area.

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“The project is still very much in the planning and financing stages, but we are committed to our partnership with the City of Roanoke and dedicated to bringing the Peabody brand to North Texas,” Browne said.

Originally, there were plans for a smaller boutique hotel on the site, Browne said, “But, the more we investigated the area, the more we realized the need for more rooms and more meeting space.” 

The Peabody Roanoke will be a full-service hotel and conference center with many of the same amenities found at the flagship hotel in Memphis. Feather’s Spa will be located on the rooftop along with the Duck Palace housing the world-famous Peabody marching mallard ducks.

Initial plans include 300 rooms and suites and more than 30,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. Among the other amenities featured in the eight-story hotel will be a restaurant, two bars, a fitness center and a large rooftop swimming pool.

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The Peabody Roanoke will serve as an anchor to South Oak Street.

“This announcement represents a critical piece to the downtown mixed-use project, and will create incredible synergy for the entire area,” said Scott Campbell, the Roanoke city manager.

Bluff City Group represents a team of developers with a wide scope of experience in hotel management, real estate, financing and commercial development.