Amway Grand Plaza Facelift

[MJLO 984]

That decor looks very 70s chic.  Will probably look dated very quickly. 

[GlassGuy 0]

Would someone mind posting a new picture of how far they've come on replacing the glass?

[Cookin_peacocks 94]

Well, since the MDRD opened (and closed cause of the pandemic) and pictures have been posted, I don't think I'm doing any harm.

 

Some of the decorations are... An acquired taste perhaps. But the bright open spaces gave me that fluttering excited feeling. I really like it. I really love the space.

 

 

[joeDowntown 1753]

The terraced area really has amazing views. I see that they still have the spiral staircase. Is the layout similar to Cygnus with a few banquet rooms upstairs? I didn't like the murals when I first saw them, but I think GRDad brought up a good point, it's probably designed, lit for evening hours. All the shots I've seen are during the day, but I bet it looks really good at night

[mgreven 244]

I'm very eager to see it in person.  There's something about that space that when we'd go there, I just felt a world away from home.  Hope the new place feels the same!

[Cookin_peacocks 94]

4 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

The terraced area really has amazing views. I see that they still have the spiral staircase. Is the layout similar to Cygnus with a few banquet rooms upstairs? I didn't like the murals when I first saw them, but I think GRDad brought up a good point, it's probably designed, lit for evening hours. All the shots I've seen are during the day, but I bet it looks really good at night

Yeah two rooms that I went in.

Today:

 

[Cookin_peacocks 94]

Got more! Close up of the progress from a room.

 

 

[joeDowntown 1753]

Went downtown this weekend at night and the Amway Grand looks amazing at night. Brings the night time skyline to the next level (the Residence Inn looks nice as well). Hard to get a good photo, and I was in a hurry to pick up takeout, but here's a photo (it's much better in person):

 

[gvsusean 63]

is gvsu blue the new color for the city?

[grandrollerz 134]

ahem, it's bridge blue. :-)

It's red and green for christmas right now

[joeDowntown 1753]

19 hours ago, grandrollerz said:

ahem, it's bridge blue. :-)

It's red and green for christmas right now

But bridge blue IS actually GVSU blue (there's an interesting story about it here: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2011/03/grand_valley_state_university_34.html). While the skyline is definitely blue, I there's more variatiom in the colors. My photo didn't isn't the greatest representation. 

Either way, I love all of the lighting being added to buildings. I'm interested to see the lighting on the DeVos building when it's done. I saw some test lighting a year ago, and it looks like it'll be pretty brightly lit as well. 

Joe

[GRDadof3 3983]

On 12/14/2020 at 9:15 AM, joeDowntown said:

But bridge blue IS actually GVSU blue (there's an interesting story about it here: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2011/03/grand_valley_state_university_34.html). While the skyline is definitely blue, I there's more variatiom in the colors. My photo didn't isn't the greatest representation. 

Either way, I love all of the lighting being added to buildings. I'm interested to see the lighting on the DeVos building when it's done. I saw some test lighting a year ago, and it looks like it'll be pretty brightly lit as well. 

Joe

Agreed. I'm rarely out at night this year but happened to be coming back from Holland last night and saw all the city lights from the I-196 hill. Was blown away by how cool it looks now (the whole skyline).

[Cookin_peacocks 94]

Update.

 

[HavingAhoot 155]

Seems to me they have a lot of work to do yet if they still want to finish up by April.

[wingbert 848]

[MJLO 984]

On 12/19/2020 at 11:02 AM, HavingAhoot said:

Seems to me they have a lot of work to do yet if they still want to finish up by April.

It could be. Though I think the bulk of the work was structural stuff we couldn't see, including the restaurant over haul.  I don't think the replacement of the facade will take that long as evidenced by the progress they've made just since the last pictures. 

[joeDowntown 1753]

1 hour ago, MJLO said:

It could be. Though I think the bulk of the work was structural stuff we couldn't see, including the restaurant over haul.  I don't think the replacement of the facade will take that long as evidenced by the progress they've made just since the last pictures. 

I wonder how quickly they move. If they could do a floor a day (per side), April seems feasible.

Joe

[deja vu 90]

Spotted both of these recent pictures on Instagram . The first was posted just two days ago, by @hoteldistrictgrandrapids -

The second is from November 30, posted by @chadronald -

[GR8scott 165]

Are they now redoing the entire tower? I though the original plan was just the top which kind of looks weird with two different color glass 

[mpchicago 596]

20 minutes ago, GR8scott said:

Are they now redoing the entire tower? I though the original plan was just the top which kind of looks weird with two different color glass 

The plan has always been the full tower.   Looking good so far.

[joeDowntown 1753]

2 hours ago, mpchicago said:

The plan has always been the full tower.   Looking good so far.

And it's always been two types of glass. @GR8scott, go back a few pages and look at the renderings. I think it'll make more sense if you see the final design.

Joe

[thebeerqueer 453]

Murder restaurant and lounge visible during today’s last bits of sunlight.


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[GreatLakesPrintShop 155]

10 hours ago, thebeerqueer said:

Murder restaurant and lounge visible during today’s last bits of sunlight.

Better not be foreshadowing here.

Would make for a cool time lapse video  watching the scaffolding drop and the glass color change.

[Cookin_peacocks 94]

18 hours ago, thebeerqueer said:

Murder restaurant and lounge visible during today’s last bits of sunlight.


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That's actually the suites. Restaurant is above the LED gap.

 

And murder restaurant? Did I miss something??

[deja vu 90]

  

22 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

And murder restaurant? Did I miss something??

 

^ The restaurant is rebranded as MDRD - a moniker that might not age too well. I think it's meant to be a play on the word "Madrid" but it looks an awful lot like MRDR a.k.a. "Murder"

Edited January 9 by deja vu