having installed technology in many a HGI.. this one is a standard cookie-cutter look to it.. trouble with building nice-looking true to city hotels is that the ROI on the added costs isnt there.. Hotel guests in the 21st century arent wow’d by mini bars, Long distance phone calls, in-room movies and certainly dont want to pay for the internet…

in short a HUGE psrt of a hotel’s original revenue stream is now gone.. so spending lots of money on a fancy building isnt an option.. yes room rastes go up some.. but guests simply demand lower rates, competition for rooms gets stiff, and RAC rates must drop or a hotel stays empty..

more and more of the sites I install telecom in, look like the “last one” built in a brand.. standard plans, standard fixtures, standard everything.. and most of it pretty cheap-looking… even in upper brands..

I’d like to sdee the city fight back a bit to keep some character, but my guess is that they developer will just pull back… and it may be a case like mentioned where the 170 rooms make a difference for the DNC possibilities.. and YES buildings ARE built for one-time events.. can we say olympics?

and of course the coat-tails effects that landing the DNC would have.. expose people to the city who then recommend it for their future cons.. or a convention being able to say “in a city that was home to the DNC”.. all sells hotel rooms…
-Christopher

I can’t help but hope that it is not only aesthetically better, but also taller. Can’t help it-I like height!

Same height as originally planned but it’s still going to be a tough battle because it will require the demo of the historic Trott & Bean building. – http://columbuslandmarks.org/endangered-no-3-trott-bean/

Winner of the First Annual James B. Recchie Design Award and an award from the Architects Society of Ohio, the former plating and silvering plant was located on Naghten Street, an area now on Nationwide Boulevard. Vaudvillities used the building for rehearsal, stage and set construction until 1979 before attempts to turn it into a retail center failed. It was purchased by Continental Development and Trott & Bean Architects, Inc. as a joint venture and renovated and restored for private office space and conference facilities. The building is threatened with demolition for the development of a new hotel on the site.

From the agenda: Conceptual review for a 12 story, 170 room Hilton Garden Hotel. Construction at that location will necessitate the demolition of the 2 story HER Real Estate Building CC3359.05(C), 3359.23

The historic aspect came up during the last presentation so the developer is fully aware. Maybe in this round they’ll attempt to integrate new & old?

I’ve brought up the Hampton Inn a few times before and can’t help doing it again, such a great job with the preservation of the old High St storefronts.

That’s encouraging…

I’m usually a big proponent of historic preservation. But I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this building being replaced. If you look at the fascades of the buildings that Hampton incorporated or even the fascades of the buildings next to this one, they have character and detailing that’s worth preserving in my opinion. Especially in a town that has bulldozed much of its past. But come on, the HER building is not so much historic as it is old. It’s really just a plain 2 story building with a slight detail towards the top of the brick columns. And the massive modern windows further remove any historic feel. If we were going to preserve something, it should have been the trautman building,but this can one can go. I just hope the new hotel design surpasses the last one.

This is an improvement… I think though more could be done to create a greater contrast between what is existing and what is new. I think it would be cool to see more glass in the new section built above the existing.

And updated rendering as well –