The Davenport Lusso, a 48-room hotel located across Sprague Avenue from the Historic Davenport Hotel, is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation and rebrand, complete with a name change.

Located in the historic Miller Building, at 808 W. Sprague, The Louie, as it will be called following completion of the renovations, will pay tribute to Louis Davenport, founder of the Historic Davenport Hotel whose friends often called him Louie.

“The Miller Building was really important to Louie,” says Melissa Green, vice president and area managing director of the Davenport Hotel Collection. “That’s where he lived during the construction of (the Historic Davenport Hotel), and we want to make an ode to that.”

The renovation project is expected to be completed in late January 2025, Green says. Construction began Oct. 15.

“The entire hotel, from top to bottom, is getting an entire facelift,” she says.

All 48 guest rooms and the lobby are being completely gutted.

“It’ll be an extreme difference for those travelers and those guests that frequent the Lusso,” Green says. “The Louie will be a complete change from the experience now.”

The Louie will have more of a residential feel than the Lusso did, Green says. The design team drew inspiration from the apartment Davenport lived in at the building.

“It’s going to be the most elevated hotel that we have within the market,” says Green. “The idea is to be that boutique companion to the Davenport.”

The Louie will offer a butler experience that isn’t available at the other hotels in the Davenport Hotel Collection—the Historic Davenport, the Davenport Tower, the Davenport Grand, and the Centennial by Davenport Hotels.

“Our butlers will be over there to provide a one-on-one experience,” she says. “A butler will be there to greet them. A butler will have a bar cart upon request in the lobby.”

Guests of The Louie will have full access to the amenities offered at the neighboring Historic Davenport Hotel.

All 48 rooms at The Louie will have king-size beds, Green says. There won’t be any two-bed options.

“There’s 48 different room types, so each room has a unique layout,” says Green, who adds that most hotels typically have just a handful of room layouts. “I think that’s what makes that hotel very special.”

The lobby of The Louie will be much more open than it was at the Lusso, and the fitness center space will be transformed into a billiard room, adding to the intended residential feel, Green says.

The renovations come just a couple months after a renovation project was completed across the street at the Historic Davenport Hotel, which included the new Lobby Bar and The Emporium retail shop and coffee bar.

As was the case with that project, the design team behind The Louie renovations has put in a lot of effort to preserve the historical features of the Miller Building, Green says.

“As we continue to upgrade the hotels within the portfolio, that’s really important to us,” she says.

Green declines to disclose the total cost of the renovations, however, she says it is a multimillion-dollar project.

Chicago-based Harken Interiors LLC is the design group for the project and Jade Group Inc., of Duluth, Georgia, is the contractor.