Joyce Lambeth, Im Take Over Carnall Interior Design

Since Fayetteville architect Jim Lambeth died suddenly of a heart attack on March 11, his wife Joyce has stepped in to replace him as a partner in the $7.2 million renovation of Carnall Hall, the second oldest building on the University of Arkansas campus.

Joyce Lambeth said she and Hunbae Im have been working on the “final details,” which include lighting, color and furniture for the building’s interior. The renovation even includes new “wavy glass” in the windows to match the original glass, which is still in place in some windows, Im said.

Im was Jim Lambeth’s associate in his architecture firm. Most of the exterior design had already been completed by Jim Lambeth before his death.

“I’m the architecture partner now,” said Joyce Lambeth, who owns a travel agency, Gulliver’s International Tours of Fayetteville. “I’m not an architect, but I’ve been around it for 30 years.”

Joyce Lambeth is a 20 percent partner in the project. Other partners include Richard Alexander and Rob Merry-Ship, the developers, (40 percent), Miles James (20 percent), and Ted and Leslie Belden (20 percent). Together, the partners are Carnall Inn Development Co. LLC.

“As much as we miss [Jim Lambeth] and wish he was here,” Merry-Ship said, “he had already done a lot of the decision making … He had done, I guess, 95 percent of the architectural stuff. He was a pretty good visionary on that.”

Merry-Ship said the renovation should be completed by early August. The work will convert the 48,000-SF building into the 49-room Inn at Carnall Hall.

Carnall Hall will also be home to Ella’s Restaurant, which will be operated by Miles James. Miles James is owner and chef of James at the Mill, the upscale restaurant at Inn at the Mill in Johnson, which was designed by Jim Lambeth. Miles James is married to the Lambeths daughter. Ella’s will be able to accommodate about 280 diners. Miles James said Ella’s will serve northern Italian cuisine. The inn also will include a bar called The Faculty Lounge. Merry-Ship said the renovation is being financed primarily by the UA ($2 million), a grant ($2.2 million) and the Beldens ($2 million).

Carnall Inn Development Co. will have a 41-year lease on the property, which will still be owned by the UA. The length of the lease will allow developers to get tax breaks to renovate a historic building.

The university will get half of the profits from the inn and restaurant and will be able to use the facility and staff to teach classes on hospitality through its School of Human and Environmental Sciences (formerly the Department of Home Economics). Lambeth Inc., Jim Lambeth’s company, which now belongs to Joyce Lambeth, will manage Carnall Inn.

Built in 1905, Carnall Hall was the first women’s dormitory at the UA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Paula Marinoni, a local activist, was instrumental in the campaign to save Carnall Hall.

Jim Lambeth, who died at his home at the age of 60, taught architecture at the UA for 20 years.