Proposed 400 room Hotel at Devos Place

[Pattmost20]

5 minutes ago, x99 said:

Of course, if that's the case, I would find it rather difficult to understand why someone else wouldn't just build the thing in the first place.  

From the MLive Article: “If a developer came in and said we will build you a 400-room hotel with meeting rooms, ballrooms, conference rooms right next to a convention center, we would love that,” said Charlie Secchia, a Grand Rapids businessman and CAA member. “It hasn’t happened yet so don’t think we’re trying to shut out the private sector. It’s the other way around. We would love them to do it. We just don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Maybe they are trying to drum up interest from the private sector by pushing forward with a feasibility study.

[GRDadof3]

3 hours ago, Pattmost20 said:

From the MLive Article: “If a developer came in and said we will build you a 400-room hotel with meeting rooms, ballrooms, conference rooms right next to a convention center, we would love that,” said Charlie Secchia, a Grand Rapids businessman and CAA member. “It hasn’t happened yet so don’t think we’re trying to shut out the private sector. It’s the other way around. We would love them to do it. We just don’t think it’s going to happen.”

Maybe they are trying to drum up interest from the private sector by pushing forward with a feasibility study.

I just don't know that anyone locally has the wherewithall and means to bring a $150 Million hotel project to fruition. Everyone here at UP pretty much knows all of the downtown developers.  Studio C is of that price tag but it took many many years bringing all of the development partners together on that. They're all going to be booked for a while. 

I do think Suburban Inns could be a good candidate to bring in to at least partner with. They certainly know hotels and have decent brands under their umbrella now. 

[MJLO]

1 hour ago, GRDadof3 said:

I just don't know that anyone locally has the wherewithall and means to bring a $150 Million hotel project to fruition. Everyone here at UP pretty much knows all of the downtown developers.  Studio C is of that price tag but it took many many years bringing all of the development partners together on that. They're all going to be booked for a while. 

I do think Suburban Inns could be a good candidate to bring in to at least partner with. They certainly know hotels and have decent brands under their umbrella now. 

The only ones that I can think of would be the DeVos's.

[joeDowntown]

25 minutes ago, MJLO said:

The only ones that I can think of would be the DeVos's.

I think what you’ll see is CAA  ownership of the building, with Amway outbidding everyone to lease/operate the hotel. Just looking in my crystal ball.

Joe

[MJLO]

https://www.grbj.com/articles/92444-caa-taking-steps-on-180m-hotel-and-amphitheater-projects

It looks like SMG is working with an architect to understand true costs ect.  This article doesn't really say more than the article that triggered last months discussions, but perhaps we might see some actual renderings soon.  Also appears that the CAA is looking to get city and county buy in on going forward.  They look to be pretty serious about this.  I do think there are a lot of hurdles if they were to actually attempt it.

[GRDadof3]

22 minutes ago, MJLO said:

https://www.grbj.com/articles/92444-caa-taking-steps-on-180m-hotel-and-amphitheater-projects

It looks like SMG is working with an architect to understand true costs ect.  This article doesn't really say more than the article that triggered last months discussions, but perhaps we might see some actual renderings soon.  Also appears that the CAA is looking to get city and county buy in on going forward.  They look to be pretty serious about this.  I do think there are a lot of hurdles if they were to actually attempt it.

And potentially $5 Million more coming from the State next year, according to the article. 

[GRDadof3]

Is there any more info in this article? All I can see is an intro (but I'm not a subscriber). 

https://www.grbj.com/articles/92487-140-million-hotel-would-tip-scales

[GVSUChris]

9 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

Is there any more info in this article? All I can see is an intro (but I'm not a subscriber). 

https://www.grbj.com/articles/92487-140-million-hotel-would-tip-scales

First - whenever I meet my max I just open the article on another device (phone, ipad, someone else's computer, etc.) 

Second - basic gist is that they're hope to open it on January 1, 2022. SMG/Experience GR/et al seem to be extremely fired up about making this happen. I'll be curious.

It says it would be 26 floors, which previous I thought it was to be 24. All of that is speculative I'm sure. 

They hoping to bring a brand not currently in the market here. 

[MJLO]

If they go through with this my prediction is that it will be a flagship brand.  They have two brands higher than flagship, and an overload of midlevel brands.   It makes no sense to spend that level of $ for a mediocre brand anway.  Think Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt.  Starwood hotels are almost absent from the area (Sheraton, Westin) though it's now owned by Marriott brands so their loyalty members can still get points in the market.   Both Marriott and Hilton have upper echelon brands adjacent to the proposed space (JW Marriott, and the Amway is marketed under the Hilton Curio moniker).   Then you have Hyatt, which has almost no market presence at all(soon to have Hyatt Place opening).  It would be a good flagship brand to add to the market.  Though I admit I've never seen a Hyatt in a smaller market.  It'll be interesting to see what brand they choose if it ends up going forward. 

[GRDadof3]

1 hour ago, GVSUChris said:

First - whenever I meet my max I just open the article on another device (phone, ipad, someone else's computer, etc.) 

Second - basic gist is that they're hope to open it on January 1, 2022. SMG/Experience GR/et al seem to be extremely fired up about making this happen. I'll be curious.

It says it would be 26 floors, which previous I thought it was to be 24. All of that is speculative I'm sure. 

They hoping to bring a brand not currently in the market here. 

Yep, I did finally read it on my phone. Sounds like there's a lot of broad support, although I did notice an absence of anyone from the county commenting.

[GRDadof3]

24 minutes ago, MJLO said:

If they go through with this my prediction is that it will be a flagship brand.  They have two brands higher than flagship, and an overload of midlevel brands.   It makes no sense to spend that level of $ for a mediocre brand anway.  Think Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt.  Starwood hotels are almost absent from the area (Sheraton, Westin) though it's now owned by Marriott brands so their loyalty members can still get points in the market.   Both Marriott and Hilton have upper echelon brands adjacent to the proposed space (JW Marriott, and the Amway is marketed under the Hilton Curio moniker).   Then you have Hyatt, which has almost no market presence at all(soon to have Hyatt Place opening).  It would be a good flagship brand to add to the market.  Though I admit I've never seen a Hyatt in a smaller market.  It'll be interesting to see what brand they choose if it ends up going forward. 

A Westin would be sweet. They have a lot of hotels connected to (or very near) convention centers. 

[joeDowntown]

The same article as GRBJ, but WZZM aired this segment today:

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/money/business/grbj/community-leaders-propose-convention-style-hotel-for-devos-place/69-08558f40-d257-4d40-a4f1-feae9e1cd263

Joe

[kwl]

On 1/19/2019 at 9:20 AM, MJLO said:

If they go through with this my prediction is that it will be a flagship brand.  They have two brands higher than flagship, and an overload of midlevel brands.   It makes no sense to spend that level of $ for a mediocre brand anway.  Think Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, Westin, Hyatt.  Starwood hotels are almost absent from the area (Sheraton, Westin) though it's now owned by Marriott brands so their loyalty members can still get points in the market.   Both Marriott and Hilton have upper echelon brands adjacent to the proposed space (JW Marriott, and the Amway is marketed under the Hilton Curio moniker).   Then you have Hyatt, which has almost no market presence at all(soon to have Hyatt Place opening).  It would be a good flagship brand to add to the market.  Though I admit I've never seen a Hyatt in a smaller market.  It'll be interesting to see what brand they choose if it ends up going forward. 

Interestingly, Hyatt has a very limited presence in Michigan (for being an Illinois brand). Hyatt Place is the only brand in Michigan (we do not have a Regency, House, Hyatt, etc. in the state). 

I do agree with you though. It seems Hyatt Place, AC, and Home2 will satisfy the younger, hipper millennial hotel options. The article doesn't mention much about a Spa, so I would gander that probably rules out higher end brands such as Intercontinental, Conrad, etc. Although intended room number probably eliminates a large number of brands such as W, Aloft, etc. 

One out of left field guess would be an EDITION. It's more of a luxe property, but Marriott has hinted that they'd like to get a portfolio of about 100 of them. JW Marriott Grand Rapids was the first JW in the midwest, which may make the organization comfortable to take a gamble. I would argue that if AHC & George Aquino are heavily involved that they'll want to make a splash. 

[MJLO]

1 hour ago, kwl said:

Interestingly, Hyatt has a very limited presence in Michigan (for being an Illinois brand). Hyatt Place is the only brand in Michigan (we do not have a Regency, House, Hyatt, etc. in the state). 

I do agree with you though. It seems Hyatt Place, AC, and Home2 will satisfy the younger, hipper millennial hotel options. The article doesn't mention much about a Spa, so I would gander that probably rules out higher end brands such as Intercontinental, Conrad, etc. Although intended room number probably eliminates a large number of brands such as W, Aloft, etc. 

One out of left field guess would be an EDITION. It's more of a luxe property, but Marriott has hinted that they'd like to get a portfolio of about 100 of them. JW Marriott Grand Rapids was the first JW in the midwest, which may make the organization comfortable to take a gamble. I would argue that if AHC & George Aquino are heavily involved that they'll want to make a splash. 

There was a Hyatt Regency in Dearborn close to Ford's headquarters (attached to Fairlane Town Center) for about 30 years.  I believe it lost it's branding during the 08-09 downturn.  It had a revolving restaurant, and at one point a monorail ran from the mall to the hotel.  Since then there are no mainstream Hyatt's in the state.    I don't think there's enough room in this market for a brand like EDITION.  It's under the Marriott umbrella and targets higher end clients in MAJOR international markets.  (Though it would be very amusing to see Grand Rapids listed as a location next to the super elite cities you find them in) 

If this goes through the CAA is going to have to be careful with the market position.  At this point if they were to go with another mainstream high end brands it could almost work against them.  Organizers of larger conventions pay attention to the amount of hotel rooms, but also the kind of hotel rooms offered.  There are already two upper echelon brands in the JW and the Amway.  Bringing a 3rd in wouldn't make sense even with Amway Hotel Corp managing it.   There's about to be a glut of rooms coming online from  mid-level brands.   That leaves a big hole in the middle for a flagship brand.  My money is on Hilton or Sheraton.  A wild card for a Westin, Intercontinental, or Omni .  I doubt it would be Hyatt.  There are 5 different Marriott brands downtown already so a Marriott wouldn't make much sense either.

[Raildude's dad]

The former Hyatt Regency in Dearborn was just recently closed by the city

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2018/12/14/edward-hotel-closed-dearborn-fairlane/2310682002/

How about this for our economy minded convention center visitors - it's the tallest one I could find

[GR8scott]

SInce the Hilton on 28th rebranded to a doubletree (presumably to find a newer nicer property) it left GR as the largest metro area without a flagship brand (although JW and Curio would be considered higher end). Also the flatiron/triangle/pizza shaped building was rumored to be Hilton before being considerably downsized. I would put my money on Hilton although I would be happy with any new to the area brand. Also I thought there was a Marriott planed southwest of the airport in the industrial park?

[RegalTDP]

55 minutes ago, GR8scott said:

SInce the Hilton on 28th rebranded to a doubletree (presumably to find a newer nicer property) it left GR as the largest metro area without a flagship brand (although JW and Curio would be considered higher end). Also the flatiron/triangle/pizza shaped building was rumored to be Hilton before being considerably downsized. I would put my money on Hilton although I would be happy with any new to the area brand. Also I thought there was a Marriott planed southwest of the airport in the industrial park?

You're right and I had to go back and look this up - most recent news I could find was from August 2016: https://mibiz.com/item/23928-two-hotels-planned-near-switch-data-center-site

The article said construction would begin in 2017 and obviously that didn't happen.  Can't find any more recent news than that.  "Town Center Hotel Group LLC" is still listed as the owner of the parcels on AccessKent.

 

[GRDadof3]

5 hours ago, RegalTDP said:

You're right and I had to go back and look this up - most recent news I could find was from August 2016: https://mibiz.com/item/23928-two-hotels-planned-near-switch-data-center-site

The article said construction would begin in 2017 and obviously that didn't happen.  Can't find any more recent news than that.  "Town Center Hotel Group LLC" is still listed as the owner of the parcels on AccessKent.

 

There's a hotel going up behind the gas station (with the Subway in it). I posted pictures of the construction in some thread late last year, can't remember which one.  

[WMrapids]

7 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

There's a hotel going up behind the gas station (with the Subway in it). I posted pictures of the construction in some thread late last year, can't remember which one.  

I was gonna say, I think the Marriott is being constructed.

[GRDadof3]

5 hours ago, WMrapids said:

I was gonna say, I think the Marriott is being constructed.

Last time I saw it it was just a tower of cinder blocks for the elevator and stairwell. Also a very similar scene off of Walker Avenue by Walkerview. Is that a Marriott brand too? 

[RegalTDP]

8 hours ago, WMrapids said:

I was gonna say, I think the Marriott is being constructed.

 

3 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Last time I saw it it was just a tower of cinder blocks for the elevator and stairwell. Also a very similar scene off of Walker Avenue by Walkerview. Is that a Marriott brand too? 

Thanks - No news so just wrongly assumed there's wasn't any movement.  Hope it is the Marriott, and not the Holiday Inn...

[GRDadof3]

53 minutes ago, RegalTDP said:

 

Thanks - No news so just wrongly assumed there's wasn't any movement.  Hope it is the Marriott, and not the Holiday Inn...

From all of their submittals and approvals everything looks to have been done consecutively, like they're building both hotels at the same time (relatively speaking). 

[GRDadof3]

The report is back and it's looking pretty good for this hotel from a demand perspective:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/04/idea-of-publicly-financed-convention-hotel-raises-questions-in-grand-rapids.html

[MJLO]

The undertone of everything I read about this just feels like the CAA really wants this hotel.   Especially with their good financial position and the fact they can do this exempt from taxes, seems pretty likely it will get built. 

[discgrab21]

4 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

The report is back and it's looking pretty good for this hotel from a demand perspective:

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/04/idea-of-publicly-financed-convention-hotel-raises-questions-in-grand-rapids.html

That was a well-written piece.  It sounds like the people involved are taking great care to project how conservative and analytical their approach and analysis is.  So many people, especially in a conservative region like ours have a knee-jerk reaction to public enterprise = bad/boondoggle/destined to fail.   Personally, I think the track record of the CAA has earned it the benefit of the doubt.