Amway Grand Plaza Facelift

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

They did interior and it's still a crumbling hunk of crap.

Was it built in the 70s when the tower was built?  I thought the usable life of a parking structure was only around 50 years.  It'definitely ugly and a waste of some prime real estate.

[cstonesparty]

23 minutes ago, Floyd_Z said:

Was it built in the 70s when the tower was built?  I thought the usable life of a parking structure was only around 50 years.  It'definitely ugly and a waste of some prime real estate.

I know I'm in the minority here as to views on cars, but reality is hotels don't work without parking nearby.  So while another use in that space would be wonderful, I'm curious as to your solution if you ran the Grand.  Where would you put your parking?  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, cstonesparty said:

I know I'm in the minority here as to views on cars, but reality is hotels don't work without parking nearby.  So while another use in that space would be wonderful, I'm curious as to your solution if you ran the Grand.  Where would you put your parking?  

Oh yeah I totally get it.  I was more so saying it would be a much better use of space as parking with linear buildings or parking with a building on top.

I'm sure this never even crossed their minds in the 70s when DT was completely different.

Hopefully we won't see anymore  stand alone parking structures in the city.

[Cookin_peacocks]

4 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

I know I'm in the minority here as to views on cars, but reality is hotels don't work without parking nearby.  So while another use in that space would be wonderful, I'm curious as to your solution if you ran the Grand.  Where would you put your parking?  

For sure. But I new ramp with ground floor retail and office or event space above it would be great there. Hell, Amway could even dip their toes in the property management industry and open apartments above the event space and office space. 

[Khorasaurus1]

18 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

I know I'm in the minority here as to views on cars, but reality is hotels don't work without parking nearby.  So while another use in that space would be wonderful, I'm curious as to your solution if you ran the Grand.  Where would you put your parking?  

I don't think anyone is suggesting that there shouldn't be a parking ramp there. Just that specific one is old, ugly, and in poor condition. And there's definitely an opportunity to build a new ramp with other uses in the same structure (ground floor retail, upper floor event/hotel/office/residential space).  Or even just a more attractive and modern parking ramp. 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Khorasaurus1

[cstonesparty]

Thanks for the replies to my comment.  I totally agree that a liner building or other use atop parking at that location would be great ways to take advantage of a great location.  Perhaps a I reacted too strongly to the phrase 'waste of some prime real estate.'  I frequently see similar phrases here in reaction to parking downtown (topic for a different thread I suppose) and while we can debate on many of those, the reality is that a hotel just can't function without parking was my point.  Improving that structure definitely makes huge sense.  

[joeDowntown]

5 hours ago, cstonesparty said:

Thanks for the replies to my comment.  I totally agree that a liner building or other use atop parking at that location would be great ways to take advantage of a great location.  Perhaps a I reacted too strongly to the phrase 'waste of some prime real estate.'  I frequently see similar phrases here in reaction to parking downtown (topic for a different thread I suppose) and while we can debate on many of those, the reality is that a hotel just can't function without parking was my point.  Improving that structure definitely makes huge sense.  

It would be interesting to know what the lifespan of that parking ramp is, and how close it is to end of life. I would think the parking structure is 40 years old. I think that is when (and only when) we'll see something happen with the ramp. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to re-clad the ramp or make major upgrades if it doesn't have much life left in it (which could still be 10-15 years, and I'm completely guessing :P).

Joe

[GRDadof3]

On 3/17/2021 at 5:37 PM, joeDowntown said:

It would be interesting to know what the lifespan of that parking ramp is, and how close it is to end of life. I would think the parking structure is 40 years old. I think that is when (and only when) we'll see something happen with the ramp. It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to re-clad the ramp or make major upgrades if it doesn't have much life left in it (which could still be 10-15 years, and I'm completely guessing :P).

Joe

Agreed. I think that ramp is pretty much done. 

[Cookin_peacocks]

Cool to see the glass continue to come down and new glass replace it

 

 

[wingbert]

Might as well make the crane a permanent fixture since by the time they are done, this glass will be outdated and they’ll have to start over again at the top with a new design.

[joeDowntown]

Make it into a spire to increase the elevation. Haha

 

[Cookin_peacocks]

9 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Make it into a spire to increase the elevation. Haha

 

LED weather spire. 

[ctpgr34]

1 hour ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

LED weather spire. 

Move the weatherball back downtown

[Cookin_peacocks]

3 hours ago, ctpgr34 said:

Move the weatherball back downtown

The Flint weatherball was a favorite of mine as a kid. Just loved it

[Cookin_peacocks]

Coming down slowly but surely!

[Cookin_peacocks]

Kind of a cool picture

 

 

[Cookin_peacocks]

I also want to update that the top few floors are now open to guests in the tower portion. 

[kwl]

I know the pandemic changed things, but seems like this project has taken longer than the original tower construction? 

[Cookin_peacocks]

58 minutes ago, kwl said:

I know the pandemic changed things, but seems like this project has taken longer than the original tower construction? 

They are literally removing concrete walls from the facade of the tower. Though it was cladded in glass, the windows were not floor to ceiling like they are being transformed to. 

[joeDowntown]

1 hour ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

They are literally removing concrete walls from the facade of the tower. Though it was cladded in glass, the windows were not floor to ceiling like they are being transformed to. 

When you drive by at night, you can definitely tell that the renovation makes the rooms much more open. At first I thought it was just the transparency of glass, but I heard most of the glass facade still had drywall over it, where the new rooms will have a lot more glass / better views.

Joe

[Cookin_peacocks]

18 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

When you drive by at night, you can definitely tell that the renovation makes the rooms much more open. At first I thought it was just the transparency of glass, but I heard most of the glass facade still had drywall over it, where the new rooms will have a lot more glass / better views.

Joe

Bingo. They are basically removing the outside facade under the glass. It's a major process.

 

That being said, they hope the tower crane comes down in July

[Cookin_peacocks]

Getting closer!

[Cookin_peacocks]

[GRDadof3]

23 hours ago, Cookin_peacocks said:

It's looking great. I see they have the metal framing on the lower parts of the tower (that are ensconced in concrete) to put the new facade on. Can't wait for that concrete to be covered up. 

[Raildude's dad]

Your bland concrete covered up with plain black. That's not an improvement in my book. Yes there are glass windowed walls in the rooms but as can be seen in a previous photo, now the window curtains can be seen in multiple stages of closed / open.  That looks tacky to me.