Amway Grand Plaza Facelift

[Cookin_peacocks 60]

20 minutes ago, grandrollerz said:

so wait, are they not doing the glass all the way down the building?!

Sent from my Acer Chromebook R11 (CB5-132T, C738T) using Tapatalk
 

They are. Just two different tints. 

[Raildude's dad 352]

Looks like a lot of money to change from  squarish glass with windows that appear to open to rectangular glass w/o windows that open. 

[Cookin_peacocks 60]

Here's the new facade facing Pearl.

 

 

[Raildude's dad 352]

Sure looks like a lot of money to change the look of the glass.

[joeDowntown 1679]

32 minutes ago, Raildude's dad said:

Sure looks like a lot of money to change the look of the glass.

I wonder if there’s more to it? Maybe it was starting to leak?  Either way, I like the new look. But yeah, $40M is a lot. They could have built another wing for that $$. 

Joe

[Raildude's dad 352]

Rooms cost from $179  - 1 bed to $429 - luxury suite. All rates have a 40%  convenience fee added to the rate.  It would be interesting to see a pro forma on the $40M.  Just curiosity, that's all to see how the payback is calculated. 

[Cookin_peacocks 60]

On 10/25/2020 at 11:44 AM, joeDowntown said:

I wonder if there’s more to it? Maybe it was starting to leak?  Either way, I like the new look. But yeah, $40M is a lot. They could have built another wing for that $$. 

Joe

A lot of it was redoing Cygnus as well.

 

I wish they had added signage to the east side of the tower as well, but the west still looks great.

Speaking of signage, the PNC sign is all sorts of messed up and only half working. Different topic I suppose.

[deja vu 72]

Speaking of Cygnus, here is the recent rendering for the new restaurant that will replace it, named MDRD (& pronounced "Madrid) -

Source: WoodTV

[RegalTDP 546]

32 minutes ago, deja vu said:

Speaking of Cygnus, here is the recent rendering for the new restaurant that will replace it, named MDRD (& pronounced "Madrid) -

Cool concept, but I hope they reconsider the name.

If you have to explain how to pronounce it, you're not doing it right.  People are going to call it "Murdered." 

[joeDowntown 1679]

1 hour ago, RegalTDP said:

Cool concept, but I hope they reconsider the name.

If you have to explain how to pronounce it, you're not doing it right.  People are going to call it "Murdered." 

I’m in Marketing and totally agree. Don’t try to be so cool or clever that nobody understands how to pronounce it. They have several bars that have really dumb names. The other one is so dumb, I can’t even remember the name.
 

Joe

[NoDustBusterNoMore 243]

13 hours ago, RegalTDP said:

Cool concept, but I hope they reconsider the name.

If you have to explain how to pronounce it, you're not doing it right.  People are going to call it "Murdered." 

That's the first name that popped in my head too!

Maybe we need to get our heads chckd... 

[HavingAhoot 149]

13 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

I’m in Marketing and totally agree. Don’t try to be so cool or clever that nobody understands how to pronounce it. They have several bars that have really dumb names. The other one is so dumb, I can’t even remember the name.
 

Joe

IMO think the IDC or (I Dont Care) in Amway is even worse yet. Cause even when you do figure out what it means it just gets worse.

Edited October 27, 2020 by HavingAhoot

[GRDadof3 3930]

43 minutes ago, HavingAhoot said:

IMO think the IDC or (I Dont Care) in Amway is even worse yet. Cause even when you do figure out what it means it just gets worse.

We were in there about a month ago and it was abandoned. Not even anyone behind the bar (we could have ransacked the place). It really did look like no one cared (to show up for work). 

Here's another image that George Aquino posted. Looks like they opened up an additional third level? And no windowed ceiling? 

 

[wingbert 812]

19 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

We were in there about a month ago and it was abandoned. Not even anyone behind the bar (we could have ransacked the place). It really did look like no one cared (to show up for work). 

Here's another image that George Aquino posted. Looks like they opened up an additional third level? And no windowed ceiling? 

 

Both those images make me think there is a tremendous lack of windows considering the location on top of the tower.  Who wants to go up there to sit in those dark tones?  

[Cookin_peacocks 60]

49 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

We were in there about a month ago and it was abandoned. Not even anyone behind the bar (we could have ransacked the place). It really did look like no one cared (to show up for work). 

Here's another image that George Aquino posted. Looks like they opened up an additional third level? And no windowed ceiling? 

 

They physically added a slanted floor above the ceiling, I believe. 

[joeDowntown 1679]

7 hours ago, HavingAhoot said:

IMO think the IDC or (I Dont Care) in Amway is even worse yet. Cause even when you do figure out what it means it just gets worse.

That's the name I couldn't remember! Honestly, the ONLY thing that popped in my head was OU812. But I knew it wasn't that. LOL. That's another bar they're opening in the near future... j/k.

[joeDowntown 1679]

6 hours ago, wingbert said:

Both those images make me think there is a tremendous lack of windows considering the location on top of the tower.  Who wants to go up there to sit in those dark tones?  

I think it's the angle. If I'm not mistaken, the area where the people are dancing use to be a hallway you accesssed via the spiral staircase or elevator. I wonder if there's a private banquet room behind the green wall (which would look at the east side).

I'd imagine other angles will have a lot more windows (although it would be kind of amusing if they decided it'd be cool to make "MDRD" more cozy and they blocked the $40M worth of windows) 

BTW, whoever said it, I can't unsee M-ur-D-e-R-e-D now. 

Joe

[GVSUChris 627]

They’ve been doing all kinds of testing of the lights at the Amway tonight. Overall it is really great as it adds a dramatic touch to downtown and makes it feel like a vibrant place. As I typed this they turned them off. Sorry for the poor quality pic.
 

 

[droonus2000 49]

It was red when I drove by last night. 

[Cookin_peacocks 60]

I believe tonight it'll be lighted in ceremony

[wingbert 812]

I saw on LinkedIn that the Grand Rapids Chamber posted images of MDRD and they are much brighter than what is seen earlier in this thread.  Can’t say I’m a huge fan of gold trim and the rest of the decor, but perhaps the images don’t do it justice.

[joeDowntown 1679]

3 hours ago, wingbert said:

I saw on LinkedIn that the Grand Rapids Chamber posted images of MDRD and they are much brighter than what is seen earlier in this thread.  Can’t say I’m a huge fan of gold trim and the rest of the decor, but perhaps the images don’t do it justice.

Yeah, I saw some of the murals they were painting, and they looked out of place compared to the renderings. 

Here's the photos from the chamber. It does have a lot more windows (especially on the "stepped" portion of the layout):
 

[organsnyder 407]

It looks like a cruise ship.

[deja vu 72]

I like it better than the darker renderings, that's for sure. Those renderings must have been implying the second (or third) seating, after the sun has set

 

[GRDadof3 3930]

Eesh. I think it's probably best at night in the dark. lol.