By By Clarence Fanto,Gillian Heck — The Berkshire Eagle,The Berkshire Eagle

Copyright berkshireeagle

LENOX — A wedding for 100-plus guests? A birthday party for a 1-year-old with two-dozen guests?

Belvedere Lenox, a newly renovated two-level event space downtown, is positioning itself as a hub for weddings, birthdays, business gatherings and more — with room for 280 guests inside and 70 more on its patio. The facility at 21 Housatonic St. underwent a renovation and an addition by owner and downtown real estate entrepreneur Drew Davis.

Davis’ managing partner is former Kemble Inn proprietor Scott Shortt.

The venue is an 8-minute walk from 217 guest rooms in the downtown area, according to Shortt. Parking for events hasn’t been an issue to date.

“It was conceived as a purpose-built event space,” Shortt said during a tour of the building this week. “It was a gut renovation, pretty extensive, and it took a long time. Everything was done through the lens of how do you actually execute events here.”

The Select Board approved the project in December 2022. Shortt and Davis declined to provide cost estimates for the purchase of what was the Casablanca boutique site from Schulze Lenox Properties LLC or the cost of the renovation.

“The end result shows a significant level of financial investment and design consideration to create a purpose-built, multi-use, professional grade event space in the center of Lenox,” Shortt said.

During the tour, Shortt pointed out that the main floor, with a capacity of 130, is designed with an acoustic seal to minimize noise so patrons can converse easily. A projector is available for screening videos during events.

The lower level includes a flexible bar and lounge, including a video wall for photo slide shows and other visual presentations. “It’s a way for people to personalize the space, making it their own,” he said.

A commercial kitchen is used by caterers hired by hosts of celebrations such as full weddings, including rehearsals and receptions, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, bar mitzvahs and other large celebratory gatherings for extended families and friends, as well as business functions.

Shortt designed the interior and served as general contractor during the nearly two-year buildout. “It’s not my first rodeo,” he said, a reference to his major renovation of the Kemble Inn before he sold it.

So far, business is “absolutely tracking to our plan for the first year,” said Shortt. He foresees revenue rising to a plateau in three to five years.

He originally thought the site primarily would support pre- and post-wedding gatherings. But as it turns out, four weddings were booked for this year, and more next year.

“The space performs very well for full weddings, including ceremonies,” Shortt said.

He added, “We’re going to be more bullish about that and promote it more, based on feedback.”

The goal is to work with event professionals, including planners, caterers, photographers, videographers and florists to spread the word, Shortt said, though some clients contact Belvedere Lenox directly, he added.

“We’re still in the early days,” Shortt said. He said word-of-mouth has been favorable, including positive feedback from servers, bartenders and caterers, as well as from event hosts.

“As people experience different uses, including cocktail parties or intimate dinners, or other types of events, they tell me they didn’t realize how flexible the space is,” Shortt said.

The best-case scenario is that the event space becomes the first choice for all of the area’s lodging establishments — from small inns needing a dining destination for 25 people to larger properties with 100 rooms offering lodging for wedding guests headed to Belvedere Lenox for the ceremonies and celebration.

So far this year, bookings have included 24 guests at a 1-year-old’s birthday party, an 80th birthday party for 53 people, a wedding for 90 and a cocktail party for 150, Shortt said.

Pricing is variable, based on seasonal factors, the day of the week, the week of the year, the number of guests, and the start and end time, including preparation and cleanup, and whether the commercial kitchen will be needed.

For example, a Saturday night in July for just 10 people may be too costly for potential clients, compared to a Thursday in July or a Saturday in November.

An all-day meeting might cost $1,500, while $15,000 would cover a typical wedding — “very competitive in this part of the world, a tremendous value because it’s cost-inclusive,” Shortt said.

Overall, he has been pleasantly surprised that inquiries and bookings for full weddings have topped his expectations. “Now, I’m not shy at all about booking weddings here,” he said.

“I really do want a rich, diverse use of the space, that’s the reality,” he said. “I want people to reach out when they have a use, like 7:30 a.m. yoga as part of a wellness week. Ideally, I’d like to have seven events a week here and in the winter, it might include a sewing group. Realistically, it will be more from May through October, and less the rest of the year, averaging two to three a week year-round.”

Maybe, eventually, a pop-up cooking school, Shortt suggested.