50 Monroe to get de-skinned?

[joeDowntown]

Agreed. I think the surface lot and the Davenport building could be the best spot on the city for a large, signature building. So they may not be too concerned. And imagine, with how dirty those building were in the 70s, I’m sure that white facade with modern windows was a breath of fresh air  (even though they jacked up some pretty buildings)  

I’m still not in like with the “finished project”, but I’m still excited to see what kind of street level activity both buildings add to the city. The were big, empty walls with a new stand on one side, restaurant on the corner. It definitely didn’t have any interaction with the street. This part of the building should be a huge improvement to the vinbrancy of that area. 

Joe

[Khorasaurus1]

6 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

Agreed. I think the surface lot and the Davenport building could be the best spot on the city for a large, signature building. So they may not be too concerned. And imagine, with how dirty those building were in the 70s, I’m sure that white facade with modern windows was a breath of fresh air  (even though they jacked up some pretty buildings)  

I’m still not in like with the “finished project”, but I’m still excited to see what kind of street level activity both buildings add to the city. The were big, empty walls with a new stand on one side, restaurant on the corner. It definitely didn’t have any interaction with the street. This part of the building should be a huge improvement to the vinbrancy of that area. 

Joe

Yeah, the 70s era building was designed to be entered from the atrium in the middle - i.e. from the parking lots on either side, not from Monroe or Ottawa. 

The thought process from the 60s-70s is pretty obvious in retrospect. It's almost like they bulldozed the dime store block, built the new Monroe Ave, pedestrian mall, and the amphitheater, and then said "uh oh, there are big old buildings visible from the Mall and all the way up at Grand Center and City Hall"..."well, then let's tear down those too"..."eh, there's more old crappy buildings and a power plant on the other side of them"..."ok, then we need to make them look modern."

[mpchicago]

4 hours ago, Khorasaurus1 said:

I was standing in front of DeVos Place the other day and looking south at this project, and it occurred to me why they covered these buildings in the first place. The Ottawa and Monroe frontages were beautiful, and their restoration, even if not perfect, is definitely a step forward for those corridors.

But the north side of the buildings is VERY visible. It forms a terminal vista on Monroe and a backdrop to Rosa Parks Circle. And they weren't designed to be that visible. When they were built, there were buildings on Louis, and obviously Herzburg's and the Dime Store Block where RPC is today. 

The de-skinning has added some urgency to developing the parking lot at Monroe and Louis, to cover up the common brick (in addition to enclosing RPC with more vibrancy and getting rid of a high-profile surface lot). 

Sam Cummings agrees with your assessment.     His goal was to build a new hotel on that parking lot before plans changed,  deciding instead to use 50 Monroe for the hotel.    wHY architecture, the folks that brought you the Grand Rapids Art Museum across the street were hired to design an "iconic" hotel.  

“This site, which is literally in the center of our city, has been a parking lot for at least 30 years,” said (Sam) Cummings.  “We are thrilled with the prospect of adding an iconic structure to this important location.”   “Because it’s in the center of the city, it demands an iconic building,” 

“Place-making is more than just the current buzz word; it’s a real movement with real momentum here,” said CWD co-managing partner Scott Wierda. “This mixed-use development will further solidify that the core of our city is the place to work, live and be entertained.”

https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/2014/02/cwd_real_estate_investment_unv.html

Unfortunately, we probably won't see a building on that lot in the foreseeable future, but I think Cummings is still hopeful they will build something "iconic" there at some point. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by mpchicago

[Khorasaurus1]

1 hour ago, mpchicago said:

Unfortunately, we probably won't see a building on that lot in the foreseeable future, but I think Cummings is still hopeful they will build something "iconic" there at some point. 

Not sure I agree with "foreseeable future." Seems to be that site will be in the next "generation" of projects, whether that comes up next year or after the next recession or something. It's just too good of a site. 

[GRDadof3]

6 hours ago, mpchicago said:

Sam Cummings agrees with your assessment.     His goal was to build a new hotel on that parking lot before plans changed,  deciding instead to use 50 Monroe for the hotel.    wHY architecture, the folks that brought you the Grand Rapids Art Museum across the street were hired to design an "iconic" hotel.  

“This site, which is literally in the center of our city, has been a parking lot for at least 30 years,” said (Sam) Cummings.  “We are thrilled with the prospect of adding an iconic structure to this important location.”   “Because it’s in the center of the city, it demands an iconic building,” 

“Place-making is more than just the current buzz word; it’s a real movement with real momentum here,” said CWD co-managing partner Scott Wierda. “This mixed-use development will further solidify that the core of our city is the place to work, live and be entertained.”

https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/2014/02/cwd_real_estate_investment_unv.html

Unfortunately, we probably won't see a building on that lot in the foreseeable future, but I think Cummings is still hopeful they will build something "iconic" there at some point. 

That project was incredible. Would have loved to see it. 

[ironyisadeadscene]

Roofposting

[joeDowntown]

Couldn’t get a picture of it, but they were punting (priming?) the middle section of the red building on Ionia (the old, ornate steel portion). It was a bright white, so I hope it is the primer color. But it really made some of the ornamental pieces “pop”. 

Joe

[GVSUChris]

3 hours ago, joeDowntown said:

Couldn’t get a picture of it, but they were punting (priming?) the middle section of the red building on Ionia (the old, ornate steel portion). It was a bright white, so I hope it is the primer color. But it really made some of the ornamental pieces “pop”. 

Joe

Oh my god I just saw that this afternoon too and hoped it was only primer. It's pretty...intense...haha. 

[GRDadof3]

Updates. They do look purdy.

 

 

The AC Hotel has signs up and some really cool lighting going on inside, that you can on a dreary day like today. 

[mpchicago]

I've seen these renderings associated with his specific AC location a couple of times now.   Assume its accurate....We will see.

[GVSUChris]

21 minutes ago, mpchicago said:

I've seen these renderings associated with his specific AC location a couple of times now.   Assume its accurate....We will see.

If you go by the AC at night you can see in the lobby and bar and my god are they stunning! I was shocked last night. Also, they’ve done some really nice uplighting on the Monroe facade of the AC that brings a whole new energy to the street. 

[GRDadof3]

29 minutes ago, mpchicago said:

I've seen these renderings associated with his specific AC location a couple of times now.   Assume its accurate....We will see.

Yes, those are the lights I saw today, with the curvature. Pretty sweet. 

[joeDowntown]

2 hours ago, GRDadof3 said:

Updates. They do look purdy.

 

 

The AC Hotel has signs up and some really cool lighting going on inside, that you can on a dreary day like today. 

I like the color they used on the trim. When I first saw the white primer, I was a bit worried.

I’ve also been peaking at the inside of the AC every day. I wondered what the cool, curving lights were. Looks like the rendering is pretty accurate  

Joe

[GR_Urbanist]

What's going on with the big archway behind the red truck?

 

I hope that isnt the final look for that spot!

[waygo]

Close to completion! Hotel to open in a month.

https://www.grbj.com/articles/93238-firm-redevelops-six-story-office-building-downtown

[mpchicago]

Sam Cumming's gave a tour today of the nearly completed 37 Ottawa and 50 Monore.  

Cummings says he’s confident there’s demand to fill the rest of the building, including 7,000 square feet of ground-floor space designed for a restaurant.

“We don’t want to just move people around downtown,” Cummings said. “We’re interested in attracting new people wherever possible and growing. That’s really what we’re focused on.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/05/restored-grand-rapids-office-building-hotel-prepare-to-open.html

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by mpchicago

[GRDadof3]

On 5/2/2019 at 3:33 PM, mpchicago said:

Sam Cumming's gave a tour today of the nearly completed 37 Ottawa and 50 Monore.  

Cummings says he’s confident there’s demand to fill the rest of the building, including 7,000 square feet of ground-floor space designed for a restaurant.

“We don’t want to just move people around downtown,” Cummings said. “We’re interested in attracting new people wherever possible and growing. That’s really what we’re focused on.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2019/05/restored-grand-rapids-office-building-hotel-prepare-to-open.html

 

 

 

 

I saw today they were covering up that small section of cinder block on the exterior East wall with some black panels and windows. 

This part, right in the middle that I shot a few weeks ago:

[ironyisadeadscene]

Signage on the hotel is going up. Its very ugly.

[kwl]

Starting rates at this point look to be $264 (Weekday) and $246 (Weekend)....Yikes! Are downtown rooms really in that short of supply? I paid $195 to stay in the AC in Manhattan during Christmas season. 

[MJLO]

2 hours ago, kwl said:

Starting rates at this point look to be $264 (Weekday) and $246 (Weekend)....Yikes! Are downtown rooms really in that short of supply? I paid $195 to stay in the AC in Manhattan during Christmas season. 

It just depends,  the days around Xmas are very slow for business travel and you can get great rates in a lot of places.  If you weren’t staying in midtown or right off Times Square $195 is a pretty phenomenal rate, but not uncommon during that time(even on Manhattan). 

If the AC is opening during a busy weekend, ie festivals/concerts, or convention, the rates are inline with the market.  Hotel rates fluctuate by the day, there are people staffed with the sole purpose of calculating rates per demand.  This hotel is managed by Amway, as are the 3 others along the river.  They are probably setting price points centrally.  

The AC is a brand echelon higher than the courtyard across the street.  $250ish is a fairly common price point at the courtyard on the weekends.  I’d be curious to see if the courtyard is running under $200 now.  It would make sense to me if they had been running the courtyard at a price point higher than average due to lack of supply, and have subsequently dropped it.

[GR_Urbanist]

We payed 200 a night at our hotel in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, last August. Just a short hike from Central Park. 11 blocks from Times Square.

 

264 for GR? Well I hope the service is excellent and amenities are outstanding.

[Guest]

Yup it's all about location and dates desired.  I worked in a fancy ski town and a $1500 room around Christmas would sell for $90 in the off-season.  Granted GR isn't like that, but if there's a large event, high demand, and  high occupancy, the rates will definitely go up.  Most hotels have dynamic pricing and it changes very frequently. Sometimes daily if not more.   It's pretty interesting.

On a funnier note, any other Free Beer and Hot Wings fans love how they still hate on this building?  They had a fire alarm go off mid-show this week

[joeDowntown]

Bad photo while driving alert. Thought I’d get a pic of the signage. Someone said it looks horrible. I like it. :) It will be interesting to see how much this corner brightens up in the dark. Even when TGIF was around, it was kind of a dark stretch, and pretty lifeless with the dark windows. 

 

[GRDadof3]

On 5/8/2019 at 7:10 AM, joeDowntown said:

Bad photo while driving alert. Thought I’d get a pic of the signage. Someone said it looks horrible. I like it. It will be interesting to see how much this corner brightens up in the dark. Even when TGIF was around, it was kind of a dark stretch, and pretty lifeless with the dark windows. 

 

It's not bad, but.... le sigh:

[GVSUChris]

17 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

It's not bad, but.... le sigh:

I just keep telling myself: "hey, the parking lot is still there for something *great* down the road..."