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Business First of Columbus wroteBuckeye Federal developer sets year-end for Residence Inn debut
by Brian R. Ball
Renovation of the former Buckeye Federal Savings & Loan building into a 126-suite Residence Inn by Marriott has entered the final stages, ahead of a planned opening by the end of the year.
“We should be on target for a late December opening,” said Rob Kennedy, the hotel’s general manager. “The finer pieces are coming together.”
The developer has 7,800 square feet of commercial space available on the building’s ground floor in the bank’s original lobby – a space with 40-foot-high ceilings – and some mezzanine space in the back.
“We’re looking to put in, I hope, an upscale restaurant,” said real estate agent Carol Wass of the Continental Realty Ltd. brokerage.
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An upscale restaurant? :? There’s already Latitude 41, Mitchell’s, and Due Amici all in a one block radius, but no grocery store. We already have plenty of upscale restaurants so how about something….different?
A grocery store in a hotel? I’m all for thinking outside the box, but I’m thinking there might be a certain lack of synergy there.
Thing is though gram if it was any other hotel I’d agree 100%…but Residence Inn suites are all full kitchen equipped…so it may make more sense.
As long as the 20 foot inflatable rat is still out front I’ll be happy – It really brought that certain je ne sais quoi to the block.
if the grocery store was on the first floor of the building, with seperate entrance from the hotel lobby, i see nothing wrong with this.
You know… I was there when one of the construction workers was killed on the job. It gave me a new appreciation for the rat.
I hope this is the case. I think it would be too hidden from everyone if you were required to walk through a hotel lobby to get to it.
I hope this is the case. I think it would be too hidden from everyone if you were required to walk through a hotel lobby to get to it.
Well, there are grocery stores that exist on floors higher than the first floor and without a seperate entrance. Case in point the grocery store in the Hancock building in chicago, it is on the 25th floor or someething along those lines I believe. Granted with the number of residents in that building those residents alone can support it, but grocery stores on upper levels of residential buildings do exist.
But will it support itself on a secont floor in COLUMBUS? I doubt it. It’s nice that there are second floor groceries in Chicago, but this isn’t Chicago (and before anyone jumps me for being anti-Columbus, I just want to say that I support any downtown business, but if I don’t see it as a viable option YET in the evolution of the downtown.)
Did you not read my first post? I said it should be on the first floor with a seperate entrance. I never said it should be located on the 20th floor of a residential building, muchless a HOTEL. No one thinks that a 20th floor grocery would be successful here at this point, i was just stating the fact that such stores exist. Read my first post again.
Monday, December 3, 2007
BY MIKE PRAMIK
It’s taken nearly four years to turn a former Downtown financial institution into a hotel, but sometimes you can’t bank on the pace of change.
But in early 2008, a Residence Inn finally will open for business inside the 16-story Buckeye Building, 36 E. Gay St. It will be the only extended-stay hotel Downtown and will continue the transformation of Gay Street.
The city this year has turned the road into a two-way street, installing medians and creating parallel parking on the north side of the street. With an ambitious residential project part of the mix to the east, the city is viewing Gay Street as a key to the transformation of Downtown.
Residence Inn should be open by early February, said General Manager Robert Kennedy. Concord Hospitality of Raleigh, N.C., will operate the hotel and is part-owner along with Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds of Philadelphia and other investors.
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Another piece of the puzzle falling into place.
Will be interesting to see how this place does, given that it’s going to be the first business of its kind in the downtown market.
I have loved this project since they announced it.
I have been, patiently, watching the construction the past few years. This project was announced just after the Broad & High project, and look both of them took a little while to get up, going, and opened. Done at last though!
Posted by Paul Bonneville on February 12, 2008
Marriot’s 126 room Residence Inn on Gay St., in the former Buckeye Finance building, is slated to open February 20th according to another snippet in the print edition of Business First last Friday. They still do not have a commercial tenant for their massive ground floor space.
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Wouldn’t smaller spaces with an “s” be better? Like someone mentioned before, look at those large retail spaces over in the AD; empty since its inception.
But will it support itself on a secont floor in COLUMBUS? I doubt it. It’s nice that there are second floor groceries in Chicago, but this isn’t Chicago (and before anyone jumps me for being anti-Columbus, I just want to say that I support any downtown business, but if I don’t see it as a viable option YET in the evolution of the downtown.)
Who needs another fancy shmancy restaurant when we can have a Jewel in a densely populated urban location!?!? Oh wait. Gay isn’t densely populated…YET.
I think people will get used to it being on the second floor fairly quickly. Many of the extended stay visitors will likely come from larger cities (on business) where such things are less unique.
The big vacant space on the ground floor could be a liability, though.
that is one big rat, the building has been vacant for too long
Monday, February 25, 2008
The former Buckeye Federal Savings & Loan building made its debut Monday as the Residence Inn by Marriott.
The opening comes after 18 months and $24 million in renovations to the building at 36 E. Gay St. The 15-floor building is equipped with 126 suites and 7,800 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.
The new hotel is at the center of city efforts to revitalize the downtown area for residential and commercial growth. The push has included a nearly $8 million project to allow two-way traffic on Gay Street, which has the most densely packed residential area – and a notable spike in restaurants – in downtown’s central business district in the few blocks surrounding it.
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Friday, March 7, 2008
Business First of Columbus
When the Residence Inn by Marriott hotel opened downtown in late February, it culminated a four-year, $24 million effort to transform the historic office building at 36-42 E. Gay St. into an extended-stay lodge.
The transformation of the former Buckeye Federal Savings & Loan Co. building came after an extensive gutting of the 11 stories set for 126 guest rooms and meticulous care not to damage the historic Classical Revival architectural details of the 40-foot-tall lobby and the building’s exterior.
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