Grandover Resort

[cityboi]

Grandover is without a doubt Greensboro's most luxurious hotel and offers world class accomidations.

This is what Grandover will look like after future expansion. The hotel will have over 900 rooms

[Roadgeek]

Man, you can see that place on I-85 anywhere in SW Greensboro. It's huge!

[DigitalSky]

I drove thru the neighborhood section of Grandover... and i've been through from time to time over the last few years, can anyone please tell me why none of the lots are selling!. it seems to be prime real estate oppourtunity

[ezcheese]

the rooms at the grandover are pretty nice, but if i was visiting from out of town, i would still stay at the o.henry over grandover. if i wanted the actual resort aspects of grandover, then of course i would stay there. but as far as the quality of the rooms is concerned, i like o.henry better, plus it's a better location.

[Route]

Citi,

any idea when the expansion will start? When JK introduced it back in the '90's i believe they talked about the expansion and it didn't sound then like it would be too many years away. Now it's been over a decade. What's the word?

[cityboi]

Citi,

any idea when the expansion will start? When JK introduced it back in the '90's i believe they talked about the expansion and it didn't sound then like it would be too many years away. Now it's been over a decade. What's the word?

There is no timetable for the expansion. from what I understand it will still happen. Things were more on fast track when the developer of Grandover, Joseph Koury was still alive. One thing that did affact the hotel/travel industry was 911 but hotel/travel is on the rebound now.

[cityboi]

I drove thru the neighborhood section of Grandover... and i've been through from time to time over the last few years, can anyone please tell me why none of the lots are selling!. it seems to be prime real estate oppourtunity

I think one big reason is the cost of land. Many of those plots are in the hunndred thousands and that doesnt include the cost of the house itself. The less expensive lots are selling. Grandover is pretty exclusive though

[cityboi]

the rooms at the grandover are pretty nice, but if i was visiting from out of town, i would still stay at the o.henry over grandover. if i wanted the actual resort aspects of grandover, then of course i would stay there. but as far as the quality of the rooms is concerned, i like o.henry better, plus it's a better location.

The O'Henry Hotel is more authentic because its early 20th century Greensboro, Whereas with Grandover its like Europe was transplanted in Greensboro. The O'Henry is a more urban style hotel but Grandover has more amenties that pamper the guests. I guess thats what you would expect with a resort hotel. Mainly the white collar business types stay at Grandover where they can play golf. Its interesting because the Green Valley Office Park, where the Proximity Hotel is being built and near the O'henry, use to be a golf course. I guess it could have been considered an urban golf course becasue it was only 2 miles away from downtown.

[DanRNC]

Grandover doesn't mirror anything in Europe-its more like Vegas. I have always though its looks cheap and gaudy.

[suburban george3]

Hmmm, outside of the two front desk employees these pictures are devoid of any human life signs Captain. What does this mean? Should we send an away team?

[nowensone]

I drove thru the neighborhood section of Grandover... and i've been through from time to time over the last few years, can anyone please tell me why none of the lots are selling!. it seems to be prime real estate oppourtunity

There are in my opinion several problems with it. First, it's location right off of the interstate is a little odd, yes the neighborhoods are away from this, but the interstate is still it's "face" focus. Feels odd to me at least. Then there is the fact that it is too far from retail, the nearest being Adam's Farm shopping Center or the small strip mall at Vandalia/Groometown, both of which may not be ideal for the type of person having a house there. Then there is the impediment to developing the neighborhoods along new Guilford College - the super power lines. How easily are these relocated? For me the place lacks a neighborhood feel as it was placed on the outskirts of everything other than Sedgefield and feels like it is in the middle of nowhere despite it's close proximity to Jamestown and High Point Road.

[DigitalSky]

I agree, those are some good points. Yeah it is in an odd location between Sedgefield (whose streets need to be paved badly) and bustling I-85.

[nowensone]

^I was wondering recently if they could change the whole character of the place by developing a long thin line of retail shops along Grandover Pkwy sandwiched between it and I-85 (yes, sprawl style), to provide both a buffer for the residents from the "interstate feeling" and provide them their own shopping facilities, including some high end shops for visitors to the resort. This should also allow for more successful res. developments along Grandover on the other sides of new Guilford College and Groometown. This solution has issues definitely, but seems ironically the only thing that would work in this particular case.

The question is, how much developable width is there between Grandover Pkwy and I-85, in particular the length between Groometown and New G.C.?

[cityboi]

^I was wondering recently if they could change the whole character of the place by developing a long thin line of retail shops along Grandover Pkwy sandwiched between it and I-85 (yes, sprawl style), to provide both a buffer for the residents from the "interstate feeling" and provide them their own shopping facilities, including some high end shops for visitors to the resort. This should also allow for more successful res. developments along Grandover on the other sides of new Guilford College and Groometown. This solution has issues definitely, but seems ironically the only thing that would work in this particular case.

The question is, how much developable width is there between Grandover Pkwy and I-85, in particular the length between Groometown and New G.C.?

Joe Koury had a vision that there would be small canals included in the Grandover retail Development, and it would have looked sort of like Venice. That would be a nice shopping experience to go from store to store by boat

[nowensone]

^Where exactly did he envision putting this Venice canal style retail? It does sound great. Or were you being sarcastic?

The visions he has are sound, but it is hard to wonder how he got the where so wrong in this. Unless I-85 can be removed psychologically from the picture, this place is never going to make it, IMO. For that matter, some of the existing development on Groometown so close to the Resort/Upscale nieghborhood is not going to be viewed well by the kind of residents it is aiming to attract.

[DigitalSky]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=k&om=1

There is where the retail should have gone, I think/

[nowensone]

Good shot, the aerials take away any ambiguity. So looks like some of this is ready to go, just has not been constructed yet. You could certainly fit a few shops, etc. around the ponds there, and they're obviously contoured for something, but Venice may be a stretch... Also looks like there is little room to do anything between the Pkwy and I-85 along the main face of the resort since some of what little there is must be highway easement, etc.

EDIT- I'll have to take a drive down there later, was panning around the map, these images are at the very least a year and a half old, my guess is more like 2 and a half. This was being discussed in another topic here for Charlotte, whether the images are composites from different dates, either that is the case here or Greensboro's imagery as a whole is quite out of date.

[cityboi]

^Where exactly did he envision putting this Venice canal style retail? It does sound great. Or were you being sarcastic?

The visions he has are sound, but it is hard to wonder how he got the where so wrong in this. Unless I-85 can be removed psychologically from the picture, this place is never going to make it, IMO. For that matter, some of the existing development on Groometown so close to the Resort/Upscale nieghborhood is not going to be viewed well by the kind of residents it is aiming to attract.

lol..actually im not being sarcastic. Thats what Joe Koury envisioned for a retail village. Unfortunately Joe Koury has died and the people who are running Koury Corp dont have the same passion Joe Koury did and are more conservative now. I think a canal stlye retail village would have been a destination that would attract people form far away and would be one of the nation's most intersting shopping villages.

[cityboi]

Good shot, the aerials take away any ambiguity. So looks like some of this is ready to go, just has not been constructed yet. You could certainly fit a few shops, etc. around the ponds there, and they're obviously contoured for something, but Venice may be a stretch... Also looks like there is little room to do anything between the Pkwy and I-85 along the main face of the resort since some of what little there is must be highway easement, etc.

EDIT- I'll have to take a drive down there later, was panning around the map, these images are at the very least a year and a half old, my guess is more like 2 and a half. This was being discussed in another topic here for Charlotte, whether the images are composites from different dates, either that is the case here or Greensboro's imagery as a whole is quite out of date.

I think Venice wasnt a stretch in Joe Koury's mind. One thing about this man, he did things in Greensboro that people thought couldnt happen. When he built Four Seasons Mall back in the 70, he built it with 3 levels, but the third level was closed to the public and did not have retail. People though he was crazy for building the mall for 3 levels of retail. A 3 level mall back then was unheard of, especially for a city the size of Greensboro. But he planned for the future and in 1986 the third floor opened with retail. Joe Koury was a patient man. He would by land and do nothing with it for decades unti he was ready. He started purchasing land for his Grandover Resort back in the 1950s. I wish we had more Joe Kourys in Greensboro today. Maybe Roy Caroll, builder of Center Pointe, will fill his shoes.

[cityboi]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=k&om=1

There is where the retail should have gone, I think/

looking at that arial, you can see that Grandover could actually become bigger than it is today and has plenty of room for more development. They do need to add the retail wether it has water canals or not and it needs to be a village style shopping community and it should be just as large as Friendly Shopping Center. But Grandover is unfinished and I think we'll see this development blossom over time as the years go by. Koury Corp could even decide to build other hotels on the property that would catur to the different needs of those who do not want to spend a zillion dollars a night in a resort hotel.

[nowensone]

You go away for 11 years and people die, was not aware of that, though provides some context for the unfinished look the place has.

Yes, I agree that would be an attraction that would draw people from a long way off, but there would be, IMO, quite a few thin lines NOT to tread across there. I forget what it is called, but there is some variation on this theme near Myrtle Beach that has the Hard Rock Cafe, the Crab House, the Aquarium, and bunches of shops, other restaurants, theatres, etc. that meander along an artificial lake. It could be NOTHING AT ALL like that, which is what your casual developer would end up building. It also can't have even a hint of outlet mallishness, which is another danger. Then you have to attract not just boutiques and the real high class shops, but some authentically diverse restaurants. Thankfully GSO has some base for that. Also, an architect and/or designer should be brought in, I'm sure there are builders than can handle true European architecture/design, but why risk it. It would have to feel like a place that was there with a reason, not just slapped up in a field, quite a few things to be done in that regard, like public areas along the water, perhaps a small natural amphitheatre, the right trees/fauna, night lighting, a couple of classy lounges for nightlife, parking really far away and/or completely hidden, etc. OK, I could go on for a while here. Say, you aren't looking for a designer are you??

[cityboi]

You go away for 11 years and people die, was not aware of that, though provides some context for the unfinished look the place has.

Yes, I agree that would be an attraction that would draw people from a long way off, but there would be, IMO, quite a few thin lines NOT to tread across there. I forget what it is called, but there is some variation on this theme near Myrtle Beach that has the Hard Rock Cafe, the Crab House, the Aquarium, and bunches of shops, other restaurants, theatres, etc. that meander along an artificial lake. It could be NOTHING AT ALL like that, which is what your casual developer would end up building. It also can't have even a hint of outlet mallishness, which is another danger. Then you have to attract not just boutiques and the real high class shops, but some authentically diverse restaurants. Thankfully GSO has some base for that. Also, an architect and/or designer should be brought in, I'm sure there are builders than can handle true European architecture/design, but why risk it. It would have to feel like a place that was there with a reason, not just slapped up in a field, quite a few things to be done in that regard, like public areas along the water, perhaps a small natural amphitheatre, the right trees/fauna, night lighting, a couple of classy lounges for nightlife, parking really far away and/or completely hidden, etc. OK, I could go on for a while here. Say, you aren't looking for a designer are you??

I agree with you. Grandover has so much potential to become far more what it is today. We just may see that happen if some of the folks in Koury Corp still have vision. Another idea is to get rid of those big surface parking lots and put the parking underground. Grandover should be a city within a city.

[mbunch181]

I just got word that the new Grandover Swim & Racquet Club that was slated to open on May, 27th will now be opening June, 16th. Apparently there were some critical material back orders that held construction up a bite, but things are now rolling and seem to be right on time with meeting the new projected date. Having visited the old Sedgefield Club where this new construction is now taking place, I can tell you there is an night and day difference between what was and now what is! For instance, the new Grandover Clubhouse will include a full-service restaurant, outdoor fireplace, weight-room/gym, his & her locker-rooms w/saunas and a tennis pro-shop modeled after the golf pro-shop in the hotel. Outside they are going to resurface the hard tennis courts, add exterior rest-rooms, relocate and reconstruct the kiddie pool and of course land-scape. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post, but would love it if someone did. I'll try to keep up-dates coming.

[cityboi]

Thanks for the update! hopefully as soon a tourism picks up quite a bit in this region, Koury Corp will go ahead with its hotel expansion plans for Grandover. The hotel was designed to expand to 900 guest rooms, 114 rooms less than the Sheraton Four Seasons. Joe Koury envisioned the whole Grandover resort/residential/office park complex much bigger than it is today. Its suppose to include retails with water canals and become a major destination for the region.

Here is what Grandover Resort & Conference Center looks like today

Here is what the Grandover Resort looks like after that big expansion. It would be as large as those mega resorts you see in Florida.