Local Entrepreneurial News
From The Dispatch:
Planners unveil convention hotel
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
By Barbara CarmenThe planned $140 million Hilton-Columbus Downtown convention hotel will start to rise above N. High Street next August, a project team told Franklin County commissioners this morning.
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Not the best design but its a big plus in the right direction to add more hotel rooms to keep up with other large cities in our region..Im not sure of the exact height you could probably compare it to the Residence Inn downtown or the Ohio Courts building on Front street…also with more and more people slowly moving downtown I hope in the next few years more retailers will start to see the progress and come downtown.
Wow. Very large and boxy. In that that second rendering it actually looks a little bit like Ibiza when looking south with the glass stacked on top of brick like that.
I’m also not a big fan of the skywalk. We want our visitors to experience the city, and that means walking around outside. I can understand why Colin might think that argument sounds a little silly, but there is also the argument that sidewalk foot traffic = safety. The more eyeballs you have out on the street, the less likely you are to have crime. I don’t think the skywalk is a complete buzzkill for the project though, as I’m sure the added foot traffic of the 500 new hotel rooms should be putting more people on the sidewalks than there were there before. A net gain overall.
Otherwise, I’m a fan of the added density to the Downtown landscape. One less parking lot, and one more building. One more step in the right direction… and a fairly large and significant step at that. This project is going to have a very significant impact, not only on Downtown, but the entire region. Big kudos to everyone involved in making this happen.
jpizzow Says: So it’s not as tall as originally planned eh. (15-18 stories) oh well…
Where did you hear that? I don’t recall seeing a building height being mentioned before.
jpizzow Says: ok nationwide, let’s see another tower to fill in that gap between the hotel and arena. 300,000 sq. ft. you say?
Yeah, will be very cool when we can get more than just a teaser on that. Looking forward to that being announced eventually. ;)
Oh, I also forgot to mention… it’s hard to tell from the renderings, but it looks like some of the High Street frontage may be utilized as retail space for the restaurant(s) and bar(s) that will be built into the hotel (similar to Latitude 41 in the Renaissance Hotel). If that is the case, then that will be great addition for the retail presence along High Street. There’s a pretty large gap currently between the Char Bar and Barrio that needs to be filled in a bit better.
Im sure people are going to check out the surrounding areas while staying at the new Hilton…The Arena District, downtown, and the Short North are all within walking distance and people staying in Columbus are not going to be cooped up in their hotel room during there visit.
Not overwhelming impressed with the design eventhough the atrium appears to go from floor to the roof that would bring a lot of natural light into the building.
The skywalk was off putting but that could still be easily axed in final designs.
The hotel is certainly looks massive. That site line on high street will be drastically changed.
In general I dislike skywalks
But in this case, this might be one situation where you might have to a skywalk.
Almost every convention center hotel (Toledo, Denver, Seattle for sure, pretty sure Louisville, Cincinnati, Cleveland do as well) I’ve ever been has been directly connected to the accompanying convention center. It’s become an expected amenity for conventions.
Convention goers really really seem to like those, especially those who are setting up booths. It wouldn’t surprise me that the preference might be enough that it would even play into whether a convention decides to come to the city or not.
I just hope they include enough first floor attractions to pull people to the street in their off convention hours.
Looks good. I think they should have an upscale nightclub/bar on the top floor with an outdoor terrace overlooking downtown and the short north. That would be way cool.
I like the look. Hopefully the semi-captive audience of the hotel will one day spur the convention center to add a retail front itself instead of its faux streetscape.
I also agree that skywalks are ‘expected’ these days. It does have its place if you are running back and forth to booths and exhibits in an area that has winter weather. I hope they keep it glass.
@ ZHC – i’ve been in way too many convention hotels and they almost all universally have them.
however i really like the one in Cinci that goes nowhere:
Not a fan. I think there is far too much brick. The building gives me the impression of being very ‘heavy’.
As for the skywalk. We got rid of the one at City Center because it divided High Street. The sky walk will do the same in this instance which is counter intuitive to what the Cap is trying to achieve by connecting Downtown with the Short North. It will also interfere with the arches that span High Street in the Short North. If they are going to do a connection, they need to go under the street. I can’t imagine it being too hard to build under it as it is already a bit of a bridge/viaduct in the area.
Overall, I am disappointed with overall scheme. I was expecting so much more. I am curious to know what the hotel looked like before the county conventions board said to scale it back.
JRemy Says: As for the skywalk. We got rid of the one at City Center because it divided High Street. The sky walk will do the same in this instance which is counter intuitive to what the Cap is trying to achieve by connecting Downtown with the Short North. It will also interfere with the arches that span High Street in the Short North.
The City Center skywalk was much much wider than any other skywalk in the city. It actually housed part of the Lazarus store, so it was more than just a pedestrian crossing. The width made the underneath fairly dark and depressing. I don’t see this one having quite the same negative impact in that regard. I imagine it will be similar to the one located a block south connecting Nationwide One to Sensenbrenner Park.
Also, the Short North Arches don’t start for another 2 or 3 blocks northward. I don’t think this skywalk would interfere with their aesthetic at all.
I still don’t like it though. ;)
Walker. Not sure how to quote you on this page but I think the skywalk will still be bad for line of site with the arches, even if they do start 2 or 3 blocks away. I think they are close enough. I see your point with the City Center Skywalk.
I appreciate the comments about the skywalk. I am not a fan either, but there is an element of conventioneer safety and convenience.
Additionally, as someone who both drives and walks in the Short North, I don’t mind hundreds of people having easy access to their hotel rooms at the end of their day (aka rush hour). It is my experience that a fair number of people forgo the skywalk anyway and walk along the streets. And the Short North will undoubtedly pull people out to the other bars and restaurants.
(I have no comment at this time about the damn casino.)
However, a bigger concern for me is the sidewalk accessibility along High Street. The drop-off/pick-up area at the Hyatt on Capitol Square on South Third Steet is a great example of terrible design, essentially pushing guests at the hotel to park on a heavily-travelled sidewalk.
It is critical that this Hilton allow room enough capacity for hotel guests to pull off of High Street and the sidewalk. Blocking the sidewalk with hotel guests checking in or out is unnecessary.
“I’m supposed to get to the meeting I came to town for. But instead I will go to the Char Bar. Thank God I walked outside and saw that.”
Did anyone else notice in the first picture that one of the gaps on the other side of High St. is capped with a park space? Or am I just seeing it wrong?
I’d be okay if the gerbil tube was COMPLETELY glass. Imagine walking across an all glass skywalk looking down at all the cars and seeing the lights of Short North, etc. Okay, nevermind, I still hate the skywalk… :-)
Lose horrifying skywalk at City Center. Replace horrifying skywalk at convention center.
Was thinking about the skywalk and it might be a necessary evil. If you’re staying at the hotel and need to haul stuff over to the convention the last thing you want to do is battle traffic and the weather.
daedalus11 Says:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:17 am It is critical that this Hilton allow room enough capacity for hotel guests to pull off of High Street and the sidewalk. Blocking the sidewalk with hotel guests checking in or out is unnecessary.
I suppose it won’t be much different than the crappy valet stand at Hyde Park. It could be a new “thing” for High Street. Stopping your car wherever you feel like and getting out.
So is the architect saying people aren’t smart enough or too lazy to cross the street the old-fashioned way? or both?