By Ann Marie Byrd, Feature Writer
The Harvey—a beloved New Bern landmark, drenched in history—has recently been reinvented as an e-boutique hotel by Charles Cushman and Gary Curry of Heron Hospitality, with a remodeling budget of over two million dollars. With ten sumptuous guest rooms, and a unique blend of historical charm and modern amenities, the hotel redefines hospitality in New Bern, setting an entirely new standard for down east luxury.
“The bricks were laid for the Harvey when John Adams was the President,” says Charles Cushman. “But it’s modern now, too. Super-efficient, super-connected, super-smart. The foundation in this basement consists of ship ballast stones from England, carried over when a transatlantic crossing took at least eight weeks. But today, your bathroom mirror will never fog up, no matter how long you shower. Once upon a time, John Harvey pulled up to this building in a horse drawn carriage, 100 years before the first car drove down New Bern’s streets. Now, you can set your smartphone down on any of our bedside tables and it will start charging without even plugging in any cords. This is the theme of this project. Taking one of the grandest and oldest buildings in New Bern and adding new technology and luxuries.”
The 8200 square foot building was originally constructed in approximately 1797 for John Harvey as a family home and mercantile business, and over the years it has served multiple uses: “The Harvey family held onto the building for nearly 100 years,” says Charles. “During the Civil War, this served as the provost, or military police, headquarters during the Union Army’s occupation of the town. Later, in the 1940s, it became Cherry Point Apartments, housing enlisted Marines in our newly-commissioned Air Station. In the 1960s, it began an entirely new life as the birthplace of Craven Community College. My grandfather, Dr. Charlie Barker was one of the original College Trustees, so he helped oversee things here until the Glenburnie Road Campus was purchased in 1971. That same year, this building was added to the National Register of Historic Places, one of the first structures in New Bern put on that prestigious list. Bob and Coral Clark completed a thoughtful renovation in 1981. The 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s saw it become ‘The Harvey Mansion’ – a wonderful restaurant with a basement bar where somehow, every New Bern wedding party seemed to wind up. This building has had a lot of lives!”
After Charles finished law school, he spent a good amount of time as a bachelor hanging out in the basement bar of The Harvey Mansion, eating oysters, drinking some beer, making new friends, and watching Jeopardy. Years later, he partnered up with Gary Curry and they started investing in property together.
“Gary and I were at a birthday party for the one-year-old son of one of our friends in 2012. Our buddy was telling us that nobody ever bought the homes he was selling at auction on behalf of Craven County in tax foreclosure sales. We resolved to start buying them and flipping them. We did that for years as a side hustle, with our properties getting a little bigger and nicer each time. We learned that we worked well together, and had complimentary skill sets. Gary and I originally met during the 2007-2008 Leadership Craven class, administered by the New Bern Chamber of Commerce.”
In the Fall of 2020, Charles got a phone call from Johnny Robinson with a tip that the Harvey’s owner was ready to sell, but wasn’t listing it. He put them in touch. There was never any hesitation. “The only things that could have spoiled the deal were if the building had a bad roof or troubled foundation, but neither of those were the case,” says Charles. “We knew we had to replace most everything else, but we were ready for a project. With the Harvey, we just knew that it was a central element to downtown. It was highly visible, perfectly located, and everyone already knew the place. Gary is a wizard at hotel operations and it just seemed like the perfect size for us to create something of our own.”
Despite some concern about challenges that might have arisen with the City’s Historic Preservation Commission during the remodeling process, Charles and Gary began putting together a team to begin the renovation. That team included Tripp Eure and Emily Sigmon of MBF Architects, Sallie Baxter as interior design/décor, and Jim Henderson for exterior components and the site plan. Gary Curry collaborated with Sallie with the interior design and made sure the physical design was guest-friendly and functional for the staff. The General Contractor, Lee Hiner of Bruin Builders, had the rather daunting task of renovating a 230 year old building. “Lee was able to take the vision and make it reality, even when that required creative thinking and adapting on the fly, which was almost every day,” says Charles.
The three year renovation of the hotel was a massive project: “The greatest challenge was replacing all of the systems – plumbing, electrical, HVAC, sprinklers, alarms, gas, and data,” says Charles. “Over the decades, previous owners had just put one set of wires or ducts on top of older ones. We knew we had to have a unified design and remove pretty much everything that was existing. MBF Architects and the engineers they worked with helped us figure all of that out. We wound up using the basement to run infrastructure into the center of the building and then had a vertical chase from the basement to the attic that carried all of those pipes, cords, and cables. Each floor has a closet that accesses this central ‘spine’ of the building.”
But once the infrastructure was complete, Charles was able to focus on the aspect of the project that he has enjoyed the most: the history of the building. “In collaboration with experts from Tryon Palace, the New Bern Historical Society, and the Kellenberger Room at the Library, I curated ‘New Bern’s Smallest History Museum’ on our third floor hallway. It contains photos, maps, and documents, each with information placards, that tell the building’s story. We preserved all the original (1797) woodwork, including mantels, cornices, crown moldings, window and door framing and trim, and fold-away shutters. But then we added dedicated fiber Wi-Fi, smart locks, smart TVs, wireless phone charging pads on each bedside table, individual climate controls, LED anti-fog bathroom mirrors, and more.”
Sallie Baxter’s interior design is absolutely exquisite: lush, inviting, while achieving a perfect, unique balance in each room. It is a feast for the eyes—beautifully executed.
Now, Charles and Gary are like proud parents, finally able to share their treasure with the New Bern community. Although parents aren’t really allowed to pick favorites, there are certain features in the renovated Harvey that are near and dear to their hearts: “I love the original woodwork, especially as it appears in Room 22, John Harvey’s ballroom,” says Charles. “It was probably the most lavishly decorated room in all of New Bern at the turn of the Nineteenth Century and we can still enjoy it today. Second, I love the balconies we added. We removed two dangerously deteriorated wooden balconies and replace them with four engineered steel balconies (wrapped in tasteful wooden elements, of course). Sitting out there with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and getting a river breeze is pretty tough to beat. Finally, I love the parlor. It’s such a welcoming introduction to the building. It helps that it is decorated with numerous original paintings by my favorite artist…my wife, Audrey Cushman!”
So, what is still on the Horizon with The Harvey? “Eventually, we will do something with the basement. We are still not sure what that space will become, but we are quite confident that it will never be the rowdy bar that it once was. (Even though everyone loved it, especially myself). It has been tough to justify much investment down there with the ongoing risk of flood. We’ve been focused instead on spending all we could upstairs to make it the best possible product. As revenue turns on, we will consider our options. We will also listen to our hotel guests to see what they might call for. A coffee shop? Fitness center? Rec room? Maybe it becomes a unique breakout meeting room for the Riverfront Convention Center? Time will tell.”