GREENSBORO, N.C.—Built to use 40 percent less energy and 30 percent less water than a comparable hotel, Proximity Hotel offers a glimpse of the future while celebrating the past. Sustainable practices, custom-designed furnishings, commissioned art and innovative design await guests in every corner of the 147-room luxury hotel and the adjacent Print Works Bistro.
Proximity Hotel’s sustainable design and construction follows the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
With the goal to attain Platinum Certification (the first hotel in the United States to achieve the highest LEED certification), Proximity features ultra efficient materials, the latest in building technology, North America’s first installation of the Otis Gen2 elevator which generates electricity as it descends, restoration of 700 linear feet of a stream and 100 solar rooftop panels that heat enough hot water to supply a hundred homes.
Abundant Natural Light
While many of the more than 70 energy and health enhancements will not be outwardly visible to guests, they are sure to notice oversized windows that provide abundant natural light and large amounts of fresh air.
“How can you tell if the hot water for your shower was heated by yesterday’s sunlight or with natural gas?” asks Dennis Quaintance, Chief Design Officer of the hotel and restaurant. “We made sure none of our sustainable practices caused one iota of sacrifice in comfort for our guests.”
Guests will also enjoy flavorful food, custom-designed furniture and original artwork in each room. As guests enter the hotel, they’ll encounter interesting architecture and décor including a “floating” front desk made of a striking 12-foot steel cantilever sculpture, a 28-foot-long mohair sofa, an interior balcony overlooking the Social Lobby and 22-foot high windows overlooking the Bluebell Garden.
The hotel features 7,000 square feet of private event space, a spacious fitness studio, outdoor swimming pool, and a “guest living room” on each floor. Proximity’s oversized guestrooms and suites have 50-square-foot windows, custom furnishings, high definition televisions, Magi beds and signature bathrooms.
Fresh, Local Food Emphasized
Proximity’s restaurant, Print Works Bistro, uses fresh, local food in creating both traditional and modern versions of classic European bistro dishes. With three walls of windows overlooking the gardens in the dining room, no seat is far from any one of the 52 seven-foot-tall operable windows. In addition to an extensive wine list, Print Works offers a smoke-free bar and plenty of outdoor terrace dining by the restored stream. Sustainable practices there include sensor-controlled ventilation for the kitchen, geothermal energy for the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment and tabletops made of reclaimed walnut.
Built and operated by Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels, the new hotel and restaurant are just down the road from their sister businesses, Lucky 32 Kitchen and Wine Bar, the Four Diamond O.Henry Hotel and the Green Valley Grill. Like the O.Henry, Proximity will be in and of her community, evidenced by such things as using local architectural influences and local artisans. The hotel and restaurant are named after the Proximity Manufacturing Cotton Mill (1896) and Proximity Print Works Mill (1912), which are central to Greensboro’s rich textile history.
Go the Proximity Hotel.
