Rowe Hotel- Olds Manor

[Chester Cheeto]

Like I said earlier, I'm waiting for the finished product, and details like this sure are helping.

[GRDadof3]

12 hours ago, mielsonwheels said:

Like I said earlier, I'm waiting for the finished product, and details like this sure are helping.

Looks nice, and I'm glad to see the Rowe getting trees around it. It always looked so naked and afraid. 

[WMrapids]

Just thought that this was pretty cool to share. My brother has some old tableware from Olds Manor that he got from my mom. He actually has quite a bit. 

[grandrollerz]

Slightly off topic, but I may have convinced my family to move downtown and we are looking at a unit at Rowe, but very preliminarily.   Anyone know anyone who lives there?

You all have me very nervous about investing in a condo here with all the "is the post office moving" talk every year in the annual predictions thread.  Part of me knows its going to come down, and then something tall will go up.

Wife fell in love with a west looking unit with this view (see pic), and I just don't think I can take that risk!!!

 

[GrSportsGuy]

I think if the post office ever moves, that’s where the convention center expansion will go. It wouldn’t be all that tall.

[organsnyder]

Never count on amenities that you don't control (either directly or implicitly, through a condo association or government agency).

[GRDadof3]

9 hours ago, grandrollerz said:

Slightly off topic, but I may have convinced my family to move downtown and we are looking at a unit at Rowe, but very preliminarily.   Anyone know anyone who lives there?

You all have me very nervous about investing in a condo here with all the "is the post office moving" talk every year in the annual predictions thread.  Part of me knows its going to come down, and then something tall will go up.

Wife fell in love with a west looking unit with this view (see pic), and I just don't think I can take that risk!!!

 

Any time you buy in an urban environment you always run the risk of getting something built right next to you, in a lot of instances. However, the post office site is HUGE. It's over 170,000 square feet, and most hotel or residential towers only have a footprint of 12,000 - 15,000 square or so. As an illustration, you could fit 9 Gallery on Fulton projects on the post office site (and no one is going to do that). You could do the same with the JW marriott tower or the Amway Grand Tower.

Most likely if any tower or towers are built on the post office site, they'll put them in the prime spot, right on the riverfront. 

 

 

Having another tower/building close by may actually "improve" your view. It adds context and scale. If you've ever been in River House in one of the units that has a view of Bridgewater Place, you don't feel "invaded" by Bridgewater in your sight, it's somewhat mesmerizing. Same with towers in downtown Chicago, the neighboring towers don't impinge on your view, they make it more interesting (as long as you're not completely blocked from seeing anything. Of course there are those few condos in Monroe Terrace that now face 601 Bond but it's only a very few (and they knew the property next door was going to be an apartment tower for the last 15 years). 

Another illustration. Would a tower way over there ruin the view? I would say, absolutely not. 

 

I don't think you have to worry about GR being like downtown Vancouver in our lifetimes.

[wingbert]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Another illustration. Would a tower way over there ruin the view? I would say, absolutely not. 

Would a developer snug the tower up against the freeway like that?

Regardless, after announcing their 36 floor condo/hotel tower on the river it would probably get VE’d down to 5 or 6 floors by the time it’s built anyway.  It is Grand Rapids after all.

[MJLO]

47 minutes ago, wingbert said:

Would a developer snug the tower up against the freeway like that?

Regardless, after announcing their 36 floor condo/hotel tower on the river it would probably get VE’d down to 5 or 6 floors by the time it’s built anyway.  It is Grand Rapids after all.

If the post office moves, and the CAA moves in to expand for more convention space, The footprint and height likely wouldn't change at all.

 

[GRDadof3]

1 hour ago, wingbert said:

Would a developer snug the tower up against the freeway like that?

Regardless, after announcing their 36 floor condo/hotel tower on the river it would probably get VE’d down to 5 or 6 floors by the time it’s built anyway.  It is Grand Rapids after all.

It's just an illustration of a tower at the far end of the site. The site is big enough there may be two on the river. All this is to show that I highly doubt they'd snug a tower up against the Rowe. I would think that'd be the last place. 

[jonrapley]

1 hour ago, MJLO said:

If the post office moves, and the CAA moves in to expand for more convention space, The footprint and height likely wouldn't change at all.

Who knows, maybe they use this site to expand the convention and build a convention hotel as well. 

[SupercityGR]

Given the trend along the highway I would guess parking garage lol

[GRLaker]

I guess I wouldn't see a problem with having a view of another tall tower out your window if your intent is to live in an urban setting. If you want a view of wide open spaces, you build out in Caledonia/Byron Center. If you want to live downtown, having other tall buildings out your window comes with the territory. Plus, I would prefer seeing a 20+ story tower out my window over looking down at the top of a mid-century brick post office. Honestly, I would say go for it if you like the unit. No matter what comes in next door, it will end up being a net positive compared to what is there now.