New Downtown Hotel at Monroe and Louis

[GRDadof3]

If you look at the caption on Mlive's article it says (Courtesy Rendering)  This hotel hasn't been designed yet, we have no idea what it will look like. 

 

It's true that it's just a conceptual rendering, and probably won't look totally like this when it's completed. But "courtesy rendering" just means it was provided courtesy the source of the article. Not a rendering done as a courtesy by the architect. HTH

[MJLO]

Outside of the giant Microfiche reader built at the corner of Commerce and Fulton,  I actually like buildings built downtown over the last 10 years.  I think we are spoiled as a community on here having so much development and $ pour into this town.   It seems that no matter what is proposed people here shred and hate every design put forth these days.  Even if it's just a rendering intended to give a sense of space.   I'll laugh my arse off if the final design comes back looking like a retarded Holiday Inn Express. 

[RegalTDP]

I really like this design, but I think the rendering should do a better job making clear which surfaces are glass.  If the building just looks like all white walls, it wouldn't look a hotel to me.  I'm looking forward to the next rendering...

 

Is the 50 Monroe de-skinning actually expected to happen?  I thought they were just yanking our chain, I wasn't awaiting any follow-through.  I was apathetic before, but now I think it might look interesting connected to a new design like this.

 

 

If the Monroe Center ramp was made into a hotel, it'd look like any other Comfort Suites in Downtown Anywhere USA. Is that what we're going for? In addition, I don't think you can assess how this addresses pedestrian activity at all from this rendering. If it's transparent glass with activity inside, it will accomplish that. It doesn't have to have finials to excite people.

 

Regardless, I hope there is good pedestrian activity.  It's Monroe and Louis, for crying out loud.  We can't waste that corner.

 

 

I like it. I hope they bring a new brand to town with this as well, Aloft? I had a pipedream that there would be a really tall building 500'+ built on that site, it would be a great spot for the tallest building to even out the skyline! oh well. 

 

Overlooking the circle?  Ooh, man, that would be perfect.

[GR_Urbanist]

If you look at the caption on Mlive's article it says (Courtesy Rendering)  This hotel hasn't been designed yet, we have no idea what it will look like. 

 

Uh Oh. Guess we will have to hold our breaths. But Yantrasast isnt exactly known for designing stuff that just blends in, so at least it will be interesting.

[GRDadof3]

I really like this design, but I think the rendering should do a better job making clear which surfaces are glass.  If the building just looks like all white walls, it wouldn't look a hotel to me.  I'm looking forward to the next rendering...

 

Is the 50 Monroe de-skinning actually expected to happen?  I thought they were just yanking our chain, I wasn't awaiting any follow-through.  I was apathetic before, but now I think it might look interesting connected to a new design like this.

 

 

 

Regardless, I hope there is good pedestrian activity.  It's Monroe and Louis, for crying out loud.  We can't waste that corner.

 

 

 

 

Totally agree. That would at least tie Rosa Parks Circle to Fridays to The Bob before you reach no mans land and then picks up again on Grandville.

[hygge]

Urbanist's dream.  No parking (especially since there already is too much parking in the area), interesting design, and mixed use.  This building would add a ton of life, especially during non working hours, to this area.  There is no way that the medical mile hotel, Embassy Suites, and this all get built in the next ten years with monthly occupancy rates where they are (low 60s?).  It makes sense that RDV would want to get in on this as it would potentially keep other operators away from their downtown hotel fiefdom.  My guess is that if this goes through it would be hard for the Embassy Suites to get off the ground anytime soon... which is a bummer for sure.

[Jippy]

To add a bit:

 

In the last 10 years, there have been 2 built downtown -- JW and City Flats....did I forget any? 

 

I certainly think DT could absorb 3-5 new hotels in the next 10 years with the current rate of growth. Probably goes without saying, but the total number of hotels rooms is the determining factor of how many hotel developments downtown can absorb. 

 

I would imagine that occupancy rates are higher in the downtown sub-market at the expense of the burbs. My bet is the Embassy Suites doesn't get built, but DT does need an extended stay hotel.  

 

Urbanist's dream.  No parking (especially since there already is too much parking in the area), interesting design, and mixed use.  This building would add a ton of life, especially during non working hours, to this area.  There is no way that the medical mile hotel, Embassy Suites, and this all get built in the next ten years with monthly occupancy rates where they are (low 60s?).  It makes sense that RDV would want to get in on this as it would potentially keep other operators away from their downtown hotel fiefdom.  My guess is that if this goes through it would be hard for the Embassy Suites to get off the ground anytime soon... which is a bummer for sure.

[Veloise]

Outside of the giant Microfiche reader built at the corner of Commerce and Fulton,  I actually like buildings built downtown over the last 10 years.  I think we are spoiled as a community on here having so much development and $ pour into this town.   It seems that no matter what is proposed people here shred and hate every design put forth these days.  Even if it's just a rendering intended to give a sense of space.   I'll laugh my arse off if the final design comes back looking like a retarded Holiday Inn Express. 

Please.

[CarpenterJoseph]

FWIW - I'm told the rendering isn't a far cry from the style and form the owners hope to achieve. 

[x99]

To each his own, I suppose.  I understand why they chose the architect they did.  I just don't think his work is very good (and I hate to see more of it clogging up our cityscape), and that this building, like the art museum, will not stand the test of time. 

 

Need a lens into the future?  Look into the past.  http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/harold-washington/p/About/  has the five competing designs for the Harold Washington Library in Chicago.  They almost build the second one down--which was the far more modern and "chic" design.  Today, of all the entries, one two wouldn't look hopelessly dated and awkward. They stand the test of time because they were not trying to be "transformative" but respectful of the location in which they were being placed.  Oh--and what you don't see?  One of the sidewalls facing a narrow sidestreet is all glass. 

 

How many people today would still like those other "chic" buildings, compared to what is actually standing?  Forward-thinking at the time, they would have been long-term failures if built.  Same here, I submit.

 

 

 

If the Monroe Center ramp was made into a hotel, it'd look like any other Comfort Suites in Downtown Anywhere USA. Is that what we're going for? In addition, I don't think you can assess how this addresses pedestrian activity at all from this rendering. If it's transparent glass with activity inside, it will accomplish that. It doesn't have to have finials to excite people.

[sfloria]

To each his own, I suppose.  I understand why they chose the architect they did.  I just don't think his work is very good (and I hate to see more of it clogging up our cityscape), and that this building, like the art museum, will not stand the test of time. 

 

Need a lens into the future?  Look into the past.  http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/harold-washington/p/About/  has the five competing designs for the Harold Washington Library in Chicago.  They almost build the second one down--which was the far more modern and "chic" design.  Today, of all the entries, one two wouldn't look hopelessly dated and awkward. They stand the test of time because they were not trying to be "transformative" but respectful of the location in which they were being placed.  Oh--and what you don't see?  One of the sidewalls facing a narrow sidestreet is all glass. 

 

How many people today would still like those other "chic" buildings, compared to what is actually standing?  Forward-thinking at the time, they would have been long-term failures if built.  Same here, I submit.

 

So lets just do everything that has been proved successful in the past and never attempt anything new and creative?!?  If every comedian told jokes they've previously told, or chefs always put items on their menu that they've done before, or the Rolling Stones kept coming out with the same music year after year... oh wait, bad example.

 

There are always going to be certain designs that don't stand the test of time.  If we didn't have unique architecture then every city would look the same.  And hey, they're going to take the skin off of 50 Monroe, so now you'll get your history back. 

[RegalTDP]

Need a lens into the future?  Look into the past.  http://www.chipublib.org/branch/details/library/harold-washington/p/About/  has the five competing designs for the Harold Washington Library in Chicago.  They almost build the second one down--which was the far more modern and "chic" design.  Today, of all the entries, one two wouldn't look hopelessly dated and awkward. They stand the test of time because they were not trying to be "transformative" but respectful of the location in which they were being placed.  Oh--and what you don't see?  One of the sidewalls facing a narrow sidestreet is all glass. 

 

 

The second one down?  That's a Brutalist look, which certainly wasn't chic in 1988.  That model was dated even back then.  I can't believe they almost built that! 

 

I get what you're saying, and I agree, to each their own.  I still like this design though.

[tamias6]

So lets just do everything that has been proved successful in the past and never attempt anything new and creative?!?  If every comedian told jokes they've previously told, or chefs always put items on their menu that they've done before, or the Rolling Stones kept coming out with the same music year after year... oh wait, bad example.

 

There are always going to be certain designs that don't stand the test of time.  If we didn't have unique architecture then every city would look the same.  And hey, they're going to take the skin off of 50 Monroe, so now you'll get your history back. 

 

I can see both sides of the arguement. Tried and true designs do stand the test of time. Classical architecture is a supreme example of that. Sticking to tried and true pricipals will yeild a building that will stand the test of time. On the other hand if architecture stuck with just tried and true we would not have big game changers like Frank Loyd Wright and things would get stail. But we cannot forgo what has worked. Otherwise we have crap that may look good at first but will not stand the test of time. The bottom line is this (And this is coming from an artist) You have to learn the rules in order to brake them in the right ways, Master the art of breaking the rules in the right ways then you will have game changing creations that DO stand the test of time.

[x99]

You've hit the nail on the head here, I think.  Unfortunately, I think a lot of the "forward thinking" architects of the last 40 years haven't bothered to learn the rules--to learn what works--and then come up with subtle yet clever ways to advance the art.  They want to make a seismic leap forward, which often doesn't work over the long run (or in the short term..).

 

Wright is a great example.  His early designs were somewhat innovative, but really nothing all that unique from other homes being built around Oak Park at the time.  Some were downright traditional--the George Blossom house, for example, is nothing more than a nice example of a Greek Revival.  Unity Chapel is a fairly straightforward simple, Shingle structure, as are a few of Wright's other early buildings.  The Moore house had a good bit of Tudor Revival in it (subsequently redesigned heavily by Wright).  And there was obviously a lot of Sullivan's Chicago-school in his work.  Even if he didn't particularly care for those forms, he had a fairly evident mastery of them.  His uniqueness was bringing in some Asian elements, and really combining a lot of elements of those other forms.  There are a lot of other early, more traditional, designs he did that many aren't familiar with, as well.  There is what could be described as a fairly simple, but unique cottage, a few clever derivations on Foursquares, and lots of remodels.  And then then things started to get more interesting, and the Prairie style evolved.  But you could see where it came from, and where it was going, which is why it worked.  As Wright progressed and became a bit more radical into the 50s, it would probably be fair to say that a few of those designs weren't as enduring, but even then, they weren't out of place or all that radical when built.  They are still some of the better examples of that architectural period.  Perhaps most importantly, when Wright did design buildings, there was an articulable logic and rationale to the design choices.  He tended to carefully design the building for its surrounds, and its placement on the site. 

 

If you ask me what surrounding architectural influences the guy designing this hotel is drawing on, I really haven't a clue.  If you ask me what architectural vocabulary is being used here, I haven't a clue.  I doubt that he does either.  It's just a box with stuff poking out of it, because, well, that's unconventional "greatness" and very exciting.  I bet to differ.  This isn't a skyscraper or a statement piece.  And it isn't exciting.  It's a fairly small hotel design that is thoroughly out of place and which looks even more ridiculous than that hideous, cold, and awful museum he designed.  Now, drop this creation onto a beach in Miami on an acre parcel and my opinion would probably be different. 

 

I can see both sides of the arguement. Tried and true designs do stand the test of time. Classical architecture is a supreme example of that. Sticking to tried and true pricipals will yeild a building that will stand the test of time. On the other hand if architecture stuck with just tried and true we would not have big game changers like Frank Loyd Wright and things would get stail. But we cannot forgo what has worked. Otherwise we have crap that may look good at first but will not stand the test of time. The bottom line is this (And this is coming from an artist) You have to learn the rules in order to brake them in the right ways, Master the art of breaking the rules in the right ways then you will have game changing creations that DO stand the test of time.

[GRDadof3]

Had a conversation with someone last night and there's been talk of a skybridge to connect the new hotel with the art museum. I told them they should just vacate Louis Avenue except for a service drive for GRAM and a motor lobby for the hotel. Continue the Louis Campau Promenade all the way through to Ottawa. Hardly anyone uses that little stretch of Louis anyway.

 

What do you guys think of that idea?

[mpchicago]

Had a conversation with someone last night and there's been talk of a skybridge to connect the new hotel with the art museum. I told them they should just vacate Louis Avenue except for a service drive for GRAM and a motor lobby for the hotel. Continue the Louis Campau Promenade all the way through to Ottawa. Hardly anyone uses that little stretch of Louis anyway.

 

What do you guys think of that idea?

 

Like the one between Millennium Park and The Art Institute of Chicago?  I don't see the point. Like you said not much traffic, so not hard to cross the street.  I'd rather see them use the money to fix 50 Monroe.  As far as vacating Louis, maybe, but it would just make it that much harder for suburbanites and out-of-towners to navigate downtown.  I think the city said no to Kendall College's idea to vacate Pearl between Ionia and Division? Traffic pattern, and emergency vehicle concerns?

[GRDadof3]

Like the one between Millennium Park and The Art Institute of Chicago?  I don't see the point. Like you said not much traffic, so not hard to cross the street.  I'd rather see them use the money to fix 50 Monroe.  As far as vacating Louis, maybe, but it would just make it that much harder for suburbanites and out-of-towners to navigate downtown.  I think the city said no to Kendall College's idea to vacate Pearl between Ionia and Division? Traffic pattern, and emergency vehicle concerns?

 

True. If there weren't so many stupid one-way streets, it would be totally do-able (and smart).

 

I agree a skybridge seems a bit excessive. And no, not quite like that one but enclosed. More habitrails.

[TheLonesomeHobo]

my apologies if the state of this project was addressed elsewhere but, has there been any news on this in the last year?

[fotoman311]

my apologies if the state of this project was addressed elsewhere but, has there been any news on this in the last year?

 

There's been some dumpsters on Pearl that I've noticed they've been emptying stuff into.  Seems like there's been some construction setup on Ottawa off and on when I've been by, too.  I think they're moving along.

[mpchicago]

There's been some dumpsters on Pearl that I've noticed they've been emptying stuff into.  Seems like there's been some construction setup on Ottawa off and on when I've been by, too.  I think they're moving along.

 

CWD was suppose to present plans to the city last summer, and start construction in 2014.  But then I was told by someone at CWD  late last year that this was kind of on the back burner as they had a lot on their plate. 

[GRDadof3]

There's been some dumpsters on Pearl that I've noticed they've been emptying stuff into.  Seems like there's been some construction setup on Ottawa off and on when I've been by, too.  I think they're moving along.

 

Nothing has been presented to the city commission or planning commission since the fancy rendering, as far as I know. I'd be shocked if that work was related to the hotel. Probably tenants moving around from 50 Monroe over to the Trust Building? 

[fotoman311]

Nothing has been presented to the city commission or planning commission since the fancy rendering, as far as I know. I'd be shocked if that work was related to the hotel. Probably tenants moving around from 50 Monroe over to the Trust Building? 

 

I would think they would have a back-up plan if the hotel did/does not pan out.  Seems dumb to kick all your paying tenants out without being pretty sure you have something to replace them.  

But, things happen.  Would still love to see this hotel there.

[GVSUChris]

It looks like TGI Fridays is closing Friday.

https://www.facebook.com/TGI-Fridays-Downtown-GR-247328300196/?fref=ts

"It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. November 21st will be the last day we are open for business. We would like to thank everyone for the many years of business and support. Please stop in and say your goodbyes, we would love to see you! And hope to see everyone at one of our other locations in the future.
-TGIF Downtown Team" (Taken from their Facebook page)

I also believe Huntington Bank is now over in their new digs. Any thoughts on whether Fifty Monroe might finally be moving forward to new life?

 

 

[GRDadof3]

16 minutes ago, GVSUChris said:

It looks like TGI Fridays is closing Friday.

https://www.facebook.com/TGI-Fridays-Downtown-GR-247328300196/?fref=ts

"It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. November 21st will be the last day we are open for business. We would like to thank everyone for the many years of business and support. Please stop in and say your goodbyes, we would love to see you! And hope to see everyone at one of our other locations in the future.
-TGIF Downtown Team" (Taken from their Facebook page)

I also believe Huntington Bank is now over in their new digs. Any thoughts on whether Fifty Monroe might finally be moving forward to new life?

 

 

 

The Huntington sign is off the building now too. That would be cool if something IS finally happening. This is one of my favorite (looking) projects. 

[SupercityGR]

I liked eating there. Always got a free steak there for my birthday and a nice beer