New MGM pictures and details

[detwaa84]

This website has more details and pictures of the new hotel. Make sure you see the room floorplans under "downloads." This will be the most luxurous hotel in Metro Detroit, and probably anywhere in the midwest, outside of Chicago. Definatly deserving a five star rating, don't you think.

http://detroit.mgmgrand.com/meetings/

[Zissou]

From renderings I cant determine that this is a five start hotel or even the most luxurious hotel in the midwest. The rooms seem to have that casino "flair" though. I still think the design is awful.

[Michi]

Instead of building all that new poopy, they should have renovated the MCS.

By the way, the Greektown structure is now the tallest building on the north side of Monroe! A pillar rises above the roofs and already makes the scene look "urban"!

[detwaa84]

From renderings I cant determine that this is a five start hotel or even the most luxurious hotel in the midwest. The rooms seem to have that casino "flair" though. I still think the design is awful.

[RustTown]

From renderings I cant determine that this is a five start hotel or even the most luxurious hotel in the midwest. The rooms seem to have that casino "flair" though. I still think the design is awful.

[Ramcharger]

From the rendering on their web site, it appears they have eliminated the fountain on the south/east corner.

[toog05]

The interior looks very nice. If i didn't know about the $765 million dollar price tag, then this would have been much better than I expected. I think the exterior will look appealing at night with all of the lights, maybe not during the day however, it could have been better but overall I'm satisfied. Besides Detroit does not really have anything modern with the same caliber.

[Zissou]

Are you serious? The design may not be the best, but its certainly not awful. I love the front facade of the casino building, but the tower could have been alot better. It's your opinion though.

[wolverine]

Seriously, it's a casino being built in a city with very low expectations, on the fringe of the core, what did you expect?

Granted, I'd love everything to look like Greektown, but that casino's urban adaptation was an accident. We got lucky that they chose to renovate a dead downtown mall into casino space.

The interior looks nice.

[Zissou]

Something more than what they gave us. Go back and look at all the renderings from the very beginning. I knew things would be scaled back once the room requirement was brought down but to go from a very grand rendering like the twinned tower proposal to a stumpy little thing covered in black glass is disappointing.

The city should be able to make some demands for these buildings. Its not like the casinos are just doing us a favor, they are making a boat load of money. I think we should get some bang for a buck over these watered down plans when we were told to expect something great.

Just my take though.

[RustTown]

It's funny how opinions can very so greatly. I find MotorCity to be far more tacky and cheap looking. I think MGM's exterior is very plain, but the lines are clean and even, they did a decent job with the precast concrete panels, and the colors work. I expected worse.

The clashing red-brick and aluminum panels on MotorCity, the uneven horizontal lines on the tower, etc...it just looks hodge-podge of materials done on the cheap. I'd have been glad with a simple PoMo tower, as long as the design could figure out what it wanted to be. lol

BTW, I don't even compare these to the unrealistic original designs for the permanent casinos released back in the late 90's/early 2000's. Maybe it was just a hunch, but I knew they'd never be built.

[detwaa84]

Let's be thankful that MGM is even investing nearly a billion dollars in Detroit, then complain about the not-so-bad hotel and facade. For now, all you should do is hope that their proposed second multi-million hotel tower will be taller and more pleasing to your eyes. Seriously though, our goal is to make downtown more dense and developed. When that day comes, MGM won't stand out like it does now, so I don't personally think it matters too much how beautiful the building is.

[detroitfan]

MGM is a mixed bag in some areas it turned out better than expected, the blue glass is a big improvement over the tacky gold in the rendering. The biggest disappointments are the exposed mechanital tower and the buildings overall height which gives an otherwise nice design a stubby look

[wolverine]

Wonder Bread is being stripped right now. I agree with the brick on the MC though. Although, I think the glass and aluminum looks really nice. That rooftop feature should look good too.

I do agree that the MGM originals were much nicer. One of them looked like MCS, which I thought was a nice gesture. Shame that never came to be.

[Zissou]

Let's be thankful that MGM is even investing nearly a billion dollars in Detroit, then complain about the not-so-bad hotel and facade. For now, all you should do is hope that their proposed second multi-million hotel tower will be taller and more pleasing to your eyes. Seriously though, our goal is to make downtown more dense and developed. When that day comes, MGM won't stand out like it does now, so I don't personally think it matters too much how beautiful the building is.

[statedude3]

Zissou, do you actually think MGM gives a hoot about the urban fabric or density that we all long for? They want to efficiently make money, and this is probably how to do it. From a business standpoint, we cannot blame them for doing what is best for their company.

[toog05]

You make it seem as though there investment is like a charity case. If MGM didnt get the bid it would be someone else were talking about now. Whoever builds a casino in this town stands to make a ton of money. Proposed second tower? Do you mean the fact they allowed space for future expansion? They wont be expanding for a long long time if ever. So for you poor design is acceptable in Detroit for the sake of density?

[Zissou]

Zissou, do you actually think MGM gives a hoot about the urban fabric or density that we all long for? They want to efficiently make money, and this is probably how to do it. From a business standpoint, we cannot blame them for doing what is best for their company.

[detwaa84]

Zissou, You must have misunderstood. I don't want poor design for the sake of density. I'm saying once Detroit is developed, there will be many apealing buildings around to notice how (what you'd call awful) this one is. Vibrant cities dont' have nice buildings on every block, even Chicago or Toronto. We need diversity in buildings too.

Also, you and me and everyone on this forum may care how nice a building is. But the majority of people that pass by it and will visit the casino everyday could careless how it looks. Correct me if I'm wrong?

[RustTown]

BTW, there was never a formally proposed second tower. It's a very safe assumption that the tower is capable of adding another wing to the back of the elevator core, though. That would not add another 400 rooms, though. But, up until they make that known, it's nothing more than conjecture and heresay, and shouldn't be talked about as if its fact.

[detwaa84]

BTW, there was never a formally proposed second tower. It's a very safe assumption that the tower is capable of adding another wing to the back of the elevator core, though. That would not add another 400 rooms, though. But, up until they make that known, it's nothing more than conjecture and heresay, and shouldn't be talked about as if its fact.

[RustTown]

Interesting. Do you happen to have any links to the papers?

[detwaa84]

Interesting. Do you happen to have any links to the papers?

[toog05]

I am so confused, why on every rendering of the MGM there is gold/light brown glass instead of the blueish glass that we have now, like this one that I just found and was recently released on the website

https://secure02.mgm-mirage.com/omp/index.asp

https://secure02.mgm-mirage.com/omp/images/...randdetroit.jpg

[wolverine]

Probably because they are artistic representations, although gold reflective glass would be really attractive on this building.

I noticed there are some vertical steel bars placed on the outside of the parking structure as if some facade system would be hung from it. I'm curious to know what it will look like since that portion of the freeway is sort of gateway into the CBD. It would be nice to have it lit up like crazy, similar to their temporary casino.