Business

Cedars project ‘picking back up’ after electrical issue is resolved, owners say

The Cedars Lodge & Spa, a mixed-use development including shops, a restaurant, bar and other amenities, is designed to include 130 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units plus penthouses.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 10, 2025

The most visible construction project downtown since the Historic Courthouse renovation, the Cedars Lodge & Spa development is also the subject of the most curiosity.

Is the project stalled or not?

Shipman family members, the owners of the property on U.S. 64 at North Church Street, insisted in interviews last week that construction work will be ramping up again after setbacks related to electrical meters and a city zoning permit.

“It’s picking back up,” Tom Shipman, whose father, Clifton, bought the property in 1976 from Margaret Bailey Bland, said in an interview on Friday. “We had two or three delays. We had Duke Energy cut us off for a while because they said we used the wrong electrical panels. And then finding 65 electrical panels at one time wasn’t easy and then once we got those in we had to wait on Duke to come back and inspect everything.”

The electrical issue caused a work stoppage that was widely observed and commented on, when the construction crane that towers over the six-story building along Church Street appeared to be idle.

“Of course when the layoff came, Turner sent their crews all over the country and now we’re waiting to get those back,” Shipman said. “We’ve got a few of them back.”

SUBHED

City flagged height

The general contractor, Turner Construction Co., was ready to start on a second wing of the resort-style development when city zoning regulations tripped it up.

“In the meantime, (city community development director) Lew Holloway took one of our permits away when he said the height variance was off and we had to redo the height,” Shipman said  “We’re still waiting on him to give us our permit back.”

City Manager John Connet said that’s in the works.

“Lew just told me that a final set of plans has been delivered today for the remaining part of the project, and we'll be reviewing that,” Connet said Friday. “We had concerns that the second tower would not meet our height ordinance, and so we asked for them to make some changes so that we were well within the height ordinance that went into effect” after a 2006 city referendum that capped downtown building heights at 64-feet.

Subcontractors file liens

There are other signs of financial difficulties, however. Last spring and summer, 10 subcontractors have filed mechanics’ liens in the Henderson County courthouse against Cedars Lodge & Spa LLC seeking total payment of $6,476,176, records show. At least four of the liens also named Turner as a defendant. The claims come from contractors signed up to construct trusses, drywall, exterior siding, plumbing, HVAC and windows.

Both Tom Shipman and his daughter, Amy, who is sales director for the project, say those claims are being taken care of.

“It’s going great,” Amy said. “They’re on the roof. We’re getting it worked out. They’ve been back to work for a month now.”

Jennifer Hensley, the city mayor pro tem who is running for mayor in the 2026 election, acknowledges that constituents ask about the Cedars project.

“The last time I heard anything about it was about a month ago at a Council Conversation” to hear from the public. “John Connet had spoken to them and they were on track to get started again working,” she said. “That was the last I heard. I get a fair amount of questions about it. I tell them the same thing John told me. I know he’s gone over there and physically talked to them. I know they had some rezoning permit things they needed to do.”

‘It’s completely privately funded’

Amy Shipman said her brother-in-law Greg Covin, the Miami developer who is married to her sister, Shelley, remains involved as managing partner.

Unveiled in 2022 as the “Fairmont Heritage Place — The Cedars,” the development on 3½ acres is to be made up of two six-story buildings in an L-shape around the 111-year-old Cedars. The mixed-use development including shops, a restaurant, bar and other amenities is designed to have 130 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units plus penthouses. When the project was announced, units were priced from $400,000 to $3.8 million.

Amy Shipman expresses frustration with the comments she hears that seem to imply the project is somehow publicly funded.

“I love the concern but it is privately funded so I don’t get what the concern is,” she said. “It’s completely privately funded on private property. I get the concern because the work stopped but that was all Duke Power. We’ve got new meters on every floor.”