Editor's note: A previous version of this story misstated the final sale price of the Flat Iron Building. This story has been updated to include the correct final sale price with the addition of the property's condominium owners.

ASHEVILLE — The historic Flatiron Building has sold to the development group that will write its next chapter, potentially starting as soon as late this year.

The 20 Battery Park Ave. property was acquired Aug. 27 for about $15 million by Flatiron Preservation Group, LLC, a group headed by developer Philip Woollcott, a special warranty deed filed in Buncombe County shows. It consolidates ownership of the building to a single entity ahead of a multimillion-dollar renovation effort to convert the Flatiron into a 71-room hotel with restaurant, street-level retail and commercial office space.

The plan — drawing much scrutiny from neighbors and other community stakeholders — narrowly was approved in June in a contentious City Council vote.

A spokeswoman for Woollcott said the new ownership structure will "ensure that the property can be restored to the highest standards and preserved for generations to come." The building previously was split between majority owner Russell Thomas and Midtown Development Associates as well as Marshall and Sylvia Kanner. The deal also includes a consolidation of a series of Midtown’s condominium owners, making up roughly one-third of the total sale price.

MORE:

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The new owner plans to finalize so-called tenant relocation packages, expected to be completed by the end of November. One of the most consistent concerns from area residents about the project's hotel conversion was about displacing some 80 primarily small-business tenants. Woollcott previously proposed an estimated $300,000 for tenant relocation packages.

His offer included extending tenants — many of whom reportedly are on month-to-month leases — up to six months of paid rent to help wind down operations in the building and move their businesses elsewhere.

Plans call for beginning renovations on the Flatiron in December, a spokeswoman said.

A hotel moratorium?

The Flatiron remains the last hotel to win approval by council, one of three to do so this year. But its passing drew scorn from lodging critics, particularly directed at Councilwoman Julie Mayfield, who initially opposed the Flatiron rehab in May before flipping to approve it the next month. It's since led to discussions of a hotel construction moratorium, a move now recommended for a full council vote after being discussed last month by the three-member Planning and Economic Development Committee.

Council is expected to hold a public hearing Sept. 24 and at the same meeting to vote on it.

The next hotel project scheduled to be heard by the body is Create 72 Broadway, a mixed-use development proposed for 72 Broadway St. with 138 hotel rooms, 37 residential units, a parking deck and commercial space.