31 replies to this topic

[Allan]

Soldier Field architect to design Alticor's new hotel
Friday, September 10, 2004
By Chris Knape
The Grand Rapids Press
The next big change to Grand Rapids' skyline will be designed by an internationally known Chicago architect.

Alticor Inc. has hired Lohan Caprile Goettsch of Chicago to design a 300- to 400-room hotel for the southwest corner of Pearl Street and Campau Avenue NW where Israels Designs for Living now stands.

BETA Design of Grand Rapids will provide local assistance for the project, which is expected to cost $60 million to $70 million.

Israels has been liquidating its downtown store in preparation for a move to the former John Widdicomb Furniture factory on the city's Northwest Side.

No decision has been made about whether the former Israels building will be incorporated into the new building. Officials from both firms referred questions about the project to Alticor.

When the new venue opens, Alticor will control the only hotels connected to the $216 million DeVos Place convention center, including the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and Courtyard by Marriott.

Some convention planners have said Grand Rapids needs more hotel rooms in order to attract large, national conventions.

The only other hotel within walking distance to DeVos Place is the Days Inn off Pearl Street NW on the west side of the Grand River. It is owned by Bob Sullivan.

Lohan has extensive experience designing upscale hotel towers around the world.

Examples of Lohan's work tend to emphasize modern designs with large amounts of glass and metallic trim.

BETA's work includes the Spectrum Health South Health Pavilion and Steelcase's pyramid-shaped corporate development center.

Lohan designed the new Soldier Field in Chicago. Its marquee hotel projects include the Four Seasons in Mumbai, India; the Grand Hyatt in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and the 65-story Cityfront Center Plaza in Chicago.

Based on Alticor's plans, the hotel is expected to be slightly shorter than the existing 30-story tower at Alticor's Amway Grand Plaza Hotel across the street from the new hotel site.

Alticor officials are reviewing four upscale hotel brands -- Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Westin -- as potential "flags" for the new hotel, said Joseph Tomaselli, president of the Amway Hotel Corp.

A decision on branding and the selection of a general contractor should be made this fall, he said.

The hotel is expected to open in July 2007.

Hotel officials already are working with convention planners to market the rooms for events in January of 2008.

Plans for the hotel were announced almost a year ago by the families of Alticor co-founders Richard DeVos and Jay Van Andel.

DeVos has said he considers the project his and Van Andel's "last big hurrah" after more than three decades of involvement in downtown development projects. Future projects are expected to be taken up by their children.

"Jay and I are so proud of Grand Rapids and so grateful for everything the community has given to us," DeVos said in a press release. "We want this hotel to be something that the people of Grand Rapids can be proud of, too."

Lohan principals James Goettsch and Michael Kauffman will lead the hotel project with John Arzarian Jr. serving as senior designer.

© 2004 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission

[superNOVA]

Quote

DeVos has said he considers the project his and Van Andel's "last big hurrah" after more than three decades of involvement in downtown development projects. Future projects are expected to be taken up by their children.

Maybe Dan DeVos can bring back the old 500' planned office tower.

[Allan]

Yeah, that would be nice. What was the name of that tower again? I have a rendering at home but can't think of the name.

[superNOVA]

It was the Ottawa and Lyon Tower project, never had a name because he never found a large tenant willing to pay for the name. I still have a feeling that this one is still up in the air. I saw an interview with him a year or so ago and when asked about it, he basically said that it is not dead, just dormant.

[Allan]

Wow. I thought Lyon at Ottawa was a completely dead project. It's good to know that it still has a chance of happening. I need to remember to bring back that rendering from home when I go back next week or the week after.

[superNOVA]

I think Dan DeVos took the failure of that project personally. Actually it wasn't his fault it was the economies fault. But with current CBD vacancy rates dropping below 8% again this one could be dusted off. He always seemed like it was a sure thing, I would expect a similar project (if not the same one) to pop up again.

[joeDowntown]

First of all, I am very happy to have found this forum. I have always been looking for a forum to discuss downtown development with others.

About the Alticor Hotel, aren't plans supposed to be unveiled any day now (I thought I read somewhere around the 10th of December). A friend of mine lives in the Plaza Towers and their newsletter described the new buildings look as a "football on a 20 degree angle". Either way, I am hoping for something world class. The architectural firm definitely seems capable of doing a world class building.

I would also love to see the Lyon / Ottawa project get resurrected. It was a really cool building. Vacancy downtown is low, I heard that what killed it initally was that Varnum was considered to be the major tenant until Bridgewater sweetened their deal (hence, the Varnum sign).

Joe

[joeDowntown]

Rockford/Pepper Picked For Hotel
By Daniel Schoonmaker

GRAND RAPIDS — Alticor Inc. announced today that its new hotel in downtown Grand Rapids will be built by a joint venture that includes Rockford Construction and Chicago-based Pepper Construction Group.

To design the hotel’s interiors, Alticor selected Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors of New York City, a firm that has designed interior environments for hotels, restaurants and hospitality projects throughout the world.

“The pieces are almost in place to break ground next year,” said Alticor hotel project leader Bert Crandell in a prepared statement. “We recently selected two highly respected architectural firms to design our hotel, and now we have two outstanding construction firms in Rockford and Pepper to build it ...We are very fortunate to have these firms move our project forward.”

The planned 300-to-400-room hotel, slated to open under the Marriott brand name in 2007, is the latest in a string of partnerships between the two companies.

Only blocks away, the new Grand Rapids Art Museum also is a Rockford and Pepper joint venture project, and they currently have four additional projects underway as well.

“We are excited and honored to work with Alticor on building a hotel that will definitely have a positive impact on Grand Rapids and the West Michigan region,” said Rockford President Mike VanGessel in a statement. “Pepper Construction is a strong partner to make it happen.”

Rockford will the add the renovation of the Israel’s Design for Living building at 226 Pearl St. — across the street from Alticor’s Amway Grand Plaza Hotel — to a long list of historically significant projects in downtown Grand Rapids, including the Cherry Street Landing district and renovations of the Grand Rapids Police Department and the former Steketee’s building.

Much like Pepper brought high-profile museum experience to the GRAM venture, the family-owned construction company brings a wealth of hotel experience to this new project. The firm has built numerous high-rise hotel properties throughout the United States, including Chicago’s 390-room Hard Rock Hotel and a renovation of the 450-room Allerton Hotel.

“We’re happy to continue the partnership we’ve built with Rockford Construction and the opportunity to put that team to work for Alticor,” said Pepper CEO Dave Pepper in a statement. “We’re looking forward to putting our expertise to work on this challenging project that will shape the Grand Rapids skyline for decades to come. Together, we are dedicated to building a hotel that will rank among the best in the nation.”

As construction managers, the two firms will be responsible for project quality, including the hiring of subcontractors.

Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors is a recognized leader in designing elaborate lodging and hospitality environments. Among the hotel projects the firm has designed include the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, Conrad Indianapolis, and the Shagri-La Hotel in Sydney, Australia.

In September, Alticor selected Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects Inc. of Chicago and BETA Design Group Inc. of Grand Rapids to design the hotel. The architects will work in tandem with a Rockford/Pepper executive committee, as well as onsite managers and crews from both companies, throughout the construction.

Source: Grand Rapids Business Journal 12/03/2004

[Allan]

The plans for the hotel are supposed to be released in early December. I am eagerly awaiting them.

The Lyon/Ottawa project was an awesome project. I wouldn't be surprised to see it resurected sometime in the next year or two. Downtown development really seems to be picking up momentum.

[Allan]

I am going to merge this with the current hotel thread, since we already have on of those going.

[joeDowntown]

Hotel: Last Project For Partners
By David Czurak

GRAND RAPIDS — One reason Amway Corp. founders and local philanthropists Richard DeVos and Jay Van Andel decided last year to build a new hotel downtown was that they wanted to work together one more time. With the death of Mr. Van Andel last week, the hotel becomes their final gift to the city.

"It is the last project they would do together," said Bert Crandell, hotel project leader for Alticor Inc., formerly the Amway Corp.

Crandell made that remark as part of his presentation to the Downtown Development Authority last week. Afterward, board members pledged to give the project up to $5 million worth of street, riverwalk and plaza improvements, along with help on ADA compliance.

"To some extent, the success of the convention center is dependent on hotel rooms," said DDA Executive Director Jay Fowler. The DDA gave $10 million to the construction of DeVos Place.

"We probably would have gotten to Campau (Avenue) eventually anyway, so we'll just move that up," he added.

The new hotel will be built at the corner of Campau Avenue and Pearl Street, with part of the development to extend south on Campau. Crandell said they will see a schematic design on Friday and that will include a recommendation on the Israels Building, which was built in 1899 on the corner of Pearl and Campau.

Crandall said the hotel, which will be owned by the Amway Hotel Corp. and be part of the Marriott national chain, has 340 rooms right now and a 13,500-square-foot ballroom that can seat up to 1,000 for dinner. The parking deck will go up south of the hotel and will offer from 600 to 750 parking spaces.

An unveiling of the hotel's final design will be held in February, with Richard DeVos doing the unveiling. Construction will get underway next year and Crandell said the grand opening would take place in September 2007. The hotel has been projected to cost up to $70 million to build.

Chicago's Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects and BETA Design Group of Grand Rapids are designing the project. Chicago-based Pepper Construction and Rockford Construction of Belmont will build it. And Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Interiors of New York was hired to design the hotel's interior.

Crandall said a study the company commissioned last year projected that hotel occupancy would be between 65 percent and 68 percent when the new hotel opens, a figure roughly 10 to 13 percent higher than it is this year.

He added the opening would pull the overall rate down a bit and that the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel on Monroe Avenue, also owned by the Amway Hotel Corp., would see its occupancy rate drop a few points, too.

The Amway Hotel Corp. also owns the Courtyard by Marriott near the corner of Monroe and Fulton Street.

The DDA will spend $2 million on public improvements near the hotel site and also reimburse Alticor for $3 million of public enhancements the company will make as part of the project. The DDA expects to receive about $100,000 annually in taxes from the new hotel, and board members will finalize their commitment to the project in January. BJX

[Allan]

I guess now we will be waiting until February for the renderings. Oh well, the project is a welcome addition to downtown.

[joeDowntown]

I think they postponed it because Jay VanAndel died earlier last week. It was supposed to be unveiled right around the time of his death. I caught a glimpse of a rendering on the news yesterday evening, and while it might not be final, it looked very cool. Really curvey. I'm sure whatever it is, they will build something that becomes a signature in the skyline.

Joe

[Allan]

Well at least it will look cool. It's definately time for an addition to the skyline.

[joeDowntown]

Israels building will fall for hotel

Wednesday, December 15, 2004
By Chris Knape
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- The former Israels Designs for Living building in downtown Grand Rapids will be torn down to make way for a towering Marriott hotel, its owners say.

Alticor Inc.'s first acknowledgment of demolition plans came during an informal presentation about the hotel to Grand Rapids city commissioners Tuesday. Alticor asked its architects to consider keeping the Israels building in the plan, but integrating the 118-year-old structure proved too challenging, said Bert Crandell, who is managing the hotel project for Alticor.

"We kept a pretty open mind and we charged our architects with that, because it is an old building," Crandell said.

Local building preservation advocate Rebecca Smith-Hoffman said she was disappointed, but not surprised.

"I think it's a usable building, but I hate to get into what's more important than something else," said Smith-Hoffman, co-owner of Past Perfect, a historic preservation consulting firm. "It's certainly in excellent condition because Israels has been there."

Had the Israels building fit functionally or architecturally with the new hotel, it may have been saved, Crandell said. He pointed to the restoration of the old Pantlind Hotel and Exhibitors Building as part of the neighboring Amway Grand Plaza Hotel as examples of Alticor's desire for preservation when it makes sense.

A plan for the $60 million to $70 million Marriott hotel shows trees and wide sidewalks flanking the site, along with part of the hotel on the portion of the property occupied by Israels.

The 24-story hotel tower would front on the Grand River, with drive-up entrances along Campau Avenue and Louis Street.

By comparison, the Amway Grand tower across the street rises 30 stories, while the Plaza Towers building to the south is 34 stories tall.

Israels announced plans to sell the building to Alticor in 2003. The furniture retailer and design firm moved out this fall after 28 years.

During its history, the building was home to a shoe factory, furniture showroom, automotive design center and carpet store.

Demolishing the building will require Alticor to go before the city's Historic Preservation Commission. The Preservation Commission then can make a non-binding recommendation about the plan to the city Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission will need to approve the hotel's site plan, but its decision can be appealed to the City Commission.

Crandell said the idea behind the development is to soften the southwest corner of Pearl Street and Campau Avenue to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

More detailed architectural plans are expected to be unveiled in February.

Preparations for the hotel have accelerated in recent months.

Last week, the city's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) approved spending more than $5 million on public improvements in the Campau area in conjunction with the hotel development.

Snow-melt systems, raised planters, rebuilt streets and improvements to the Louis Campau Promenade walkway are among the improvements planned.

Some of them were planned by the DDA before the hotel project emerged, but the extent of the improvements now has been expanded.

[Allan]

It's too bad that the old building will not be saved. I do not mind too much though, since this project will add density and height to the core of the city.

[joeDowntown]

I agree. I am usually for preservation as every new project (whether it was during the urban renewal of the sixties, etc.) was for the "better good of the city". I think this time though, the $70 million dollar investment will more than make up for it.

I just hope someone salvages the ornate parts of the building.

Joe

[joeDowntown]

City May Amend Hotel Plan
By David Czurak

GRAND RAPIDS — City commissioners will soon get a chance to amend an amendment they amended about a month ago, an action that the city’s Brownfield Authority has already taken.

The revision would add a parcel on Campau Avenue, just south of Louis Street, to the site plan of the downtown hotel that Alticor Inc. plans to build, and add the property to the brownfield plan that has already been approved for the project.

Alticor, the former Amway Corp., plans to build a parking structure on the new parcel for its hotel going up at Campau and Pearl Street. The garage will sit just south of the hotel and will offer at least 500 spaces and possibly as many as 750.

“We’re not asking for any more credit or anything else,” said Bert Crandell, hotel project leader for HP3 LLC, the Alticor division guiding the project.

Commissioners first awarded the brownfield designation to HP3 LLC last June. The next month, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. added its approval. Those actions will let Alticor take a Single Business Tax credit for up to 10 percent of the project’s total tab.

Crandell said last week the hotel would cost from $60 million to $70 million to build.

For the city to be able to grant Alticor a brownfield designation, it had to make what the state calls a “reasonable contribution to the project.” That criterion apparently will be met by the city’s Downtown Development Authority, which pledged to support the project with up to $5 million worth of street and sidewalk improvements along Campau Avenue.

Board members agreed at their December meeting to spend $2 million on the work and to reimburse Alticor for up to $3 million worth of public enhancements the company plans to make as part of its hotel project. The DDA will have until the end of 2030 to pay Alticor for those improvements at an interest rate of 4.5 percent per annum. Board members are expected to formalize their agreement with Alticor next month.

To qualify for the DDA assistance, Alticor has to open the hotel by Dec. 31, 2007. The hotel is expected to create about 250 jobs once the ribbon to the 340-room hotel is cut. The new hotel is also expected to pay about $650,000 in lodging excise taxes to the county every year and $100,000 in taxes to the DDA annually.

Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects of Chicago and local firm BETA Design Group are designing the hotel and turned over the schematic drawing to Alticor officials last week. The design doesn’t include the 105-year-old Israels building and Alticor will have to go before the city’s Historic Preservation Committee and explain why the structure needs to be razed.

The final decision on whether the building on the corner of Pearl and Campau should come down, though, will rest with city commissioners and not the preservation commission because the structure isn’t located in a historic district.

Alticor plans to unveil the hotel’s design in February, with Amway co-founder Richard DeVos doing the honors. The yet-unnamed hotel will be part of the Marriott national chain, but will be owned and operated by the Amway Hotel Corp., which also runs the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel on Monroe Avenue and the downtown Courtyard by Marriott near Fulton and Monroe. BJX

[joeDowntown]

Marriott construction will challenge, says VanGessel
Monday, January 24, 2005 - MiBiz Network

By Rod Kackley
MiBiz Network


GRAND RAPIDS — Rockford Construction President Mike VanGessel had a message for members of the West Michigan chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors about the new Marriott Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids.

The good news is that there will be a lot going on. Timing and coordination will be a challenge. The bad news is that there will be a lot going on. Timing and coordination will be a challenge.

One of the largest downtown Grand Rapids construction projects in recent memory — the new Marriott — will begin this year. The groundbreaking ceremony for the hotel on Pearl Street at Campau Avenue is expected this summer. It should be open in fall 2007.

Rockford Construction Company Inc. and Pepper Construction Group of Chicago are the general contractors for the Marriott Hotel project. They will manage the subcontractors through a joint venture partnership as they are now for the construction of the new Grand Rapids art museum. The Chicago firm of Lohan, Caprile, Goettsch Architects Inc. and Grand Rapids-based BETA Design Group Inc. will team up to design the new hotel.

VanGessel told the December meeting of the ABC that it would be important for all of the subcontractors working on the project to be "good neighbors."

Even though the final design of what is expected to be a 24-story hotel will not be released until February 2005, it is obvious that just the footprint of the hotel construction site will be massive in terms of the scale of downtown Grand Rapids.

"You have the vertical parking structure that is going up next door to the hotel. That will require a fair amount of staging," VanGessel told MiBiz. "There are skywalks involved. There will be underground work going on. It is going to be a fairly involved area for quite some time."

Four bid packs will be issued to subcontractors for the Marriott project. VanGessel told the ABC meeting that the first of those packs, concentrated on design, would go out in the first quarter of 2005. He said diversity would be a key ingredient in the awarding of sub-contracts.

"The ownership group wants a diversity plan," he said. "Obviously it has to be competitive; that is certainly a goal with any project like this. But it is a paramount goal of the ownership that the area’s greater contractor community see involvement in this job."

The ownership group — Alticor Corp. along with its Amway Hotel Corp. subsidiary — also wants the Marriott to attain U.S. Green Building Council Silver Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification. VanGessel added, "The (Van Andel and DeVos) families also have a desire to bring it in on budget."

Several ABC members expressed concerns over the Rockford-Pepper partnership, worried that West Michigan firms might be passed over in favor of Chicagoland sub-contractors. VanGessel told them that Rockford and Pepper would attempt to work with as many local companies as possible.

"There is no doubt in my mind that we can build this locally," he said. "There is no question about that."

However, VanGessel also said final decisions on the four bid packs would have to wait until it was known what materials and processes would be involved in the construction of the 340-room hotel. After all, the Marriott is a significant project that is going to attract interest from outside Grand Rapids and even West Michigan. He expects bids to be submitted from throughout the Midwest.

Due to the scale of the project, the level of interest it is expected to attract, and because the final design details have not been released, it be a while before any promises are made.

"We have a pretty good idea that it is going to pretty much be a cast-in place concrete structure. That is probably a given," he said. "And local capacity when it comes to that particular trade may need to be analyzed. That will start happening soon. We will start looking at capabilities soon."

Another concern expressed by several in the audience of the December ABC meeting was the rapidly escalating prices of steel and concrete. One ABC member if there would be any protective price clauses built into the subcontracts.

"We are going to try to avoid that," answered VanGessel.

[joeDowntown]

Planners Nix Part Of Hotel Plan
By David Czurak

GRAND RAPIDS — City commissioners will be the next group to check in, and check out, the new hotel being proposed for the corner of Pearl Street and Campau Avenue by Alticor Inc.

Planning commissioners approved much of the hotel’s site plan yesterday, including the demolition of the Israels Building at 226 Pearl St. NW. But they nixed two elements of the design: the helistop and the overhead walkways.

The proposed walkways would have connected the new hotel with the existing skywalk system. The design would have linked the hotel with the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and then connected the hotel with its parking deck, which is to go up south of the 340-room hotel on Campau Avenue. The walkway then would cross Campau Avenue and join the existing skywalk, adjacent to the city’s Louis Campau parking ramp.

“It seems to me to be entirely consistent with the existing walkway,” said Bill Hoyt, city planning director, prior to the commission’s vote.

“It seems to be a logical connection between the two hotels,” he added.

But planners felt the walkway would direct people away from other businesses located downtown.

As for the helistop, the hotel’s project manager Bert Crandell said it was a “land and go” pad that wouldn’t be used for commercial purposes. Crandell told planners that it would mainly be used to shuttle dignitaries to the city, and would likely have a maximum of two stops a day with none occurring overnight.

Crandell added that the pad meets the city’s noise regulations and was allowed under the current downtown zoning ordinance. But planning commissioners felt differently.

The helistop would be built on the roof of the four-story ballroom, part of the 24-story hotel’s design.

Michael Kaufman, a principal with Lohan Caprile Goettsch, the Chicago architectural firm designing the hotel with BETA Design Group, told planning commissioners that a 2,500-square foot urban park would replace the Israels Building at the corner of Pearl and Campau. He said the first floor of the hotel would be lit at night and would provide an “inviting” background to the park.

City commissioners will make the final decision on the hotel’s design. They can overrule the Planning Commission’s decision and allow the overhead walkways and helistop to be built.

Alticor has estimated the cost of the new hotel, to be operated by Marriott Inc., at from $60 million to $70 million. The firm said it would spend up to another $10 million to build the 700-space parking deck. About $11 million of public funds will go to the project.

“We’re not going to do anything that’s not done right,” said Crandell. BJX