February 16, 200718 yr Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
February 16, 200718 yr wow, you're like three weeks late.... youre right on time policing this thread. only a few hours after my post...good copwork.
February 16, 200718 yr BUMP ( let's get this to page 11 so my browser at work won't freeze loading all 10,000 images :P ) Anywho, nitpick here, it hasn't broken ground. No construction has started, sans the gutting and interior removal of those three West Main Street structures. I'm hoping that this latest hurdle can be overcome...
February 16, 200718 yr wallaaa, that oughta help your little browser... check out the new future on their website http://www.museumplaza.net/discover/tour.htm
February 26, 200718 yr Hotel operators reject bill for Museum Plaza funding By Sheldon S. Shafer The Courier-Journal The developers of Museum Plaza, a planned riverfront skyscraper, appealed today for hotel operators to support a pending state bill designed to financially help the $465 million project. But Brad Walker, president of the Greater Louisville Hotel & Lodging Association, said the group’s opposition will stand. He said the organization fears the bill would set a dangerous precedent and divert money from efforts to promote Louisville as a destination for travelers. The association’s arguments opposing the measure “are hypocritical and false,” Craig Greenberg, one of the Museum Plaza partners, said at a news conference near Seventh and Main streets, the project site. He said the hotels are primarily afraid of competition from a planned Westin Hotel that would be part of Museum Plaza.
February 27, 200718 yr Committee approves Museum Plaza bill The bill, to provide funding for work on public infrastructure using some hotel room taxes, was approved today by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. This now goes to the House. Article information: "Committee approves Museum Plaza bill, By Marcus Green, The Courier-Journal, Tuesday, February 27, 2007"
February 27, 200718 yr Committee approves Museum Plaza bill FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill that would help provide funding for work on public infrastructure connected with construction of Louisville’s Museum Plaza project was approved early this afternoon by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee. The legislation, which now goes to the full House, would allow part of the room taxes from a hotel in the proposed skyscraper to be used to repay developers for improvements such as building a floodwall and extending River Road. Check www.courier-journal.com for updates. Reporter Marcus Green can be reached at (502) 582-4675. :clap: :clap: :clap:
February 28, 200718 yr Museum Plaza tax plan may face battle in House, Panel advances bill despite opposition By Marcus Green The Courier-Journal FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill that would allow some hotel-room taxes to be used for public improvements connected with Louisville's Museum Plaza project may face a fight in the House of Representatives. House Bill 549 was overwhelmingly approved by the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee yesterday despite opposition from several hotel and tourism groups. The bill's supporters, including Rep. Scott Brinkman, R-Louisville, and Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, disputed claims by those groups that using the money for purposes other than tourism marketing would set a precedent. State law permits the room tax to be spent on facilities that attract tourists, Brinkman and Webb said. "This project includes a museum that's … going to attract visitors, …" Brinkman said. The bill would allow a portion of new city room taxes from a Westin hotel proposed for Museum Plaza -- an estimated $22 million over 30 years -- be paid to the developers for public infrastructure, such as a River Road extension and new floodwall. But the tax plan, part of a larger economic-development bill, could face a battle on the House floor. Twenty-four of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee's 27 members voted to send the bill to the full House, but several lawmakers expressed concern about its possible impact on room taxes.
March 1, 200718 yr House passes Museum Plaza bill A bill that Museum Plaza developers say is critical to their downtown Louisville project passed the Kentucky House today. House Bill 549, which would allow Museum Plaza to use room taxes from a Westin hotel to be built on the site to pay for nearby public infrastructure, was approved 79-13. In the process, the House voted down an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, that would have stripped the bed-tax financing from the bill. In the weeks leading to today’s vote, hotel industry and tourist groups across Kentucky lobbied against the bill because it contained the bed-tax provisions. They feared it would set a precedent for using the bed-tax for private developments. But Museum Plaza developers and other supporters of House Bill 549 say it won’t. The bill only would affect the share of bed-taxes collected by Louisville’s convention and visitors’ bureau, which has agreed to the deal. It would not touch taxes that go to state-wide tourism marketing. Full article: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/NEWS0101/70301062
March 2, 200718 yr :clap: :clap: Museum Plaza bill OK'd by House Measure provides one-fourth of funding By Marcus Greenand and Joseph Gerth The Courier-Journal FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Museum Plaza is a step closer to becoming reality in Louisville after the House overwhelmingly endorsed a plan that would pay for more than one-fourth of the $465 million project. House Bill 549 now heads to the Senate, where that chamber's leaders have indicated they will support the measure. The bill establishes three ways to pay for the project's public improvements, including a floodwall and extension of River Road. They include: - An estimated $22 million in room taxes from a Westin hotel that will be built there. - Extending the project's taxing district from 20 to 30 years, capturing new taxes generated at Museum Plaza. - Rebating sales taxes on construction material used in the project. Full article: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/NEWS0101/703020441
March 13, 200718 yr Museum plaza project gets a green light Monday, March 12, 2007 Mark Hebert/WHAS11 news Frankfort, Ky. -- One of the developers of the proposed museum plaza project said today, “It will be built.” Craig Greenberg says he is delighted that the key legislator has given final passage to the bill and will provide about 130 million dollars in funding for the museum, hotel, and condominium project. The state house of representatives gave final passage to the bill about eight o’clock tonight. Supporters say that they expect Governor Fletcher to pass it into law. More at http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/031207whasjdTopstoryMuseum.8158e4d.html
March 13, 200718 yr Museum Plaza gets state aid By Joseph Gerth The Courier-Journal FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Museum Plaza project for downtown Louisville cleared a major hurdle today when the General Assembly passed legislation authorizing the use of $130.million in state and local tax revenue for road, floodwall and other improvements in connection with the $465.million project. Final passage came after the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee made changes in House Bill 549 to allow such tax benefits for similar large-scale projects throughout the state. The bill passed the Senate 35-1. The House approved Senate changes 85-11. And Jodi Whitaker, spokeswoman for Gov. Ernie Fletcher, said he will sign the bill. Full article: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070312/NEWS0101/70312061
April 20, 200718 yr Groundbreaking set Sept. 27 for Museum Plaza tower Key -- 1. Groundbreaking for the 703-ft. Museum Plaza's construction will be September 27. 2. It will be completed in 2010. 3. Features include, 3a. 98 luxury condos 3b. 117 studio loft condos 3c. 270,400 sq. ft. of offices on 13 floors. 3d. 250-room Westin Hotel that has a ballroom, fitness center, spa, restaurant and bar/lounge 3e. 140,000 sq. ft. public plaza 3f. 20,000 sq. ft. of restaurants and shops 3g. 36,500 sq. ft. of studios for the U of L fine-arts program, a glass shop, and fine arts gallery 3h. 40,000 sq. ft. of contemporary art space 3i. 800-space parking garage 4. Over three years of construction, there will be ~560 workers on-site. 5. A 'string of shops' will be constructed behind the three facades that were saved at 615-621 W. Main Street -- providing an entryway over the floodwall into Museum Plaza. Article information: "Groundbreaking set Sept. 27 for Museum Plaza tower, By Sheldon S. Shafer, The Courier-Journal, "
April 25, 200718 yr Two Projects Show It's Not a One-Horse Town Notes -- 1. Two development projects are projected to generate more buzz year-round. 2. Downtown Louisville has been undergoing a transformation in recent years, adding thousands of residential units and opening attractions such as the Muhammad Ali Center. Churchill Downs has also kept up with the times, adding suites that have annual lease rates of $185,000. 3. Two new projects include a 'boldly designed' $465 million mixed-use project that will include a contemporary-art museum, hotels and condos. An arena that will be used by UofL is also moving ahead. 4. The two projects above come as a time when Louisville is transforming from a manufacturing economy to one based on knowledge. It is home to Humana Inc. and Yum! Brands. Non-farm growth increased 1.9% in February, above the national 1.5%. 5. UPS also stated it would invest $1 billion to expand its Worldport air hub at Louisville International Airport. "The goal is not just to have Louisville be a place where people come for two weeks, but a place to come year-round." --Barry Alberts, executive director of the Downtown Development Corp. Article information: "Two Projects Show It's Not a One-Horse Town, By MAURA WEBBER SADOVI, Wall Street Journal, April 25, 2007; Page B4"
September 29, 200717 yr State accepts Museum Plaza's application for TIF district The Kentucky TIF Commission has accepted Museum Plaza's application for tax-increment financing on its public infrastructure. Negotiations now will begin among Museum Plaza developers and local and state government officials to work out the details of the project grant agreement. The agreement will return to the TIF Commission for approval before the project can get started. The TIF Commission is set to meet Oct. 16 to consider the project grant agreement, according to a news release. Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Finance Department, said she could not disclose how much the developers seek the TIF district to generate because that information is confidential taxpayer information. Museum Plaza is planned as a 62-story complex with a contemporary art museum, a Westin hotel, office space, retail shops and residential condominiums. It will be located at Seventh Street and River Road in downtown Louisville and is expected to cost $490 million. The project is slated to break ground in late October and to be completed in late 2010. More at http://www.courier-journal.com/
September 29, 200717 yr I was actually in REX's office on thursday night in NYC and saw about 100 different versions of this project. Pretty bad ass.
September 30, 200717 yr State accepts Museum Plaza's application for TIF district The Kentucky TIF Commission has accepted Museum Plaza's application for tax-increment financing on its public infrastructure. That was pretty much a no-brainer. The governor had all but committed to the project, saying it would spur additional TIF projects -- which it has. Glassworks, RiverPark Place, City Center, etc. Although they drain some of the tax money for a set number of years, the amount generated is all but higher than what the city had been collecting previously, so there is a net gain.
September 30, 200717 yr ^Plus, the state gov't only gives a sh!t about Louisville. Definite no-brainer.
September 30, 200717 yr Uh no. You haven't been to Lexington or NKY, have you? Or the massive trans-industrial park in Bowling Green? The state has invested hundreds of millions in attracting new tenants to industrial parks built during the Patton era (most sit vastly underutilized).
September 30, 200717 yr ^ "Uh no" is right. Louisville has historically not been particularly favored by the state legislature, which is primarly a rural/small town body (but with a good sized representation from Lexington and Louisville). The state legistlature tends to spread the wealth, as Seicer noted. In an earlier generation it was constructing a network of limited-access turnpikes to and through rural areas as an economic development tool. The state resort parks are another example. The expansion of the community colleges around the state is yet another example
October 7, 200717 yr covington has a massive project going on too, which is also going tp be funded by the tif bill that is making MP possible.
October 7, 200717 yr Electrical towers will vanish: Change will aid Museum Plaza By Marcus Green, The Courier-Journal, October 6, 2007 The trademark pair of electrical towers to the west of the Muhammad Ali Center will soon be removed. The two steel towers will be demolished and moved underground under a $16 million plan approved by Louisville Gas & Electric and the developers of the Museum Plaza skyscraper, which will be located adjacent to the electrical tower and Ali site. LG&E and Museum Plaza will split the cost to move the towers' function to an underground unit just south of the terminal tower near River Road and Eighth Street. LG&E's share is a "small fraction" and the cost of the project will not be passed onto the customers. Construction on the underground unit should begin in January and be finished in December 2008. After that, the terminal tower and transmission tower between Interstate 64 and the Ohio River north of 10th Street will be removed. The removal will allow Museum Plaza developers to extend a public park and promenade to Eighth Street, and remove a structure that would have risen above the plaza. More at http://www.courier-journal.com
October 21, 200717 yr MP will be built!! -------------------------------------------------------- Museum Plaza tax plan advances State board OKs financing deal By Marcus Green The Courier-Journal FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A state board yesterday gave unanimous approval to a tax plan for Louisville's Museum Plaza skyscraper complex, a key part of financing the $490 million project at Seventh Street and River Road. The Kentucky Tax Increment Financing Commission agreed to let developers capture a portion of new taxes generated at the site to pay for public improvements such as a new park, street lighting, floodwalls and floodgates. "It was a very important step," Craig Greenberg, a Louisville lawyer and one of four Museum Plaza investors, said after the meeting. The board voted 6-0 in favor, with University of Louisville business dean Charles Moyer abstaining. The U of L business school is a possible tenant at Museum Plaza. Full article: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071020/NEWS01/710200425
October 21, 200717 yr ^ Yep. It was pretty obvious that the state board was going to give final approval for the TIF financing, especially since Fletcher has publically stated that he would throw all of his weight behind one of Kentucky's largest development projects ever. I don't know if thats an exaggeration, but might not be, given that Toyota Manufacturing of Kentucky at Georgetown cost less for the state... This, and the Glassworks, RiverPark Place (two large residential towers, mixed use development), Fourth Street Live!, CenterCity, and the UofL Health Sciences project will greatly boost the skyline of the city. Most with the help of TIF financing. Embrace it everyone!
October 21, 200717 yr is it a law that the exclamation point must be present at the end of fourth street?
October 21, 200717 yr there was an element of sarcasm to my post. I find the exclamation point pretentious.
October 22, 200717 yr Museum Plaza to start with flair By Marcus Green, The Courier-Journal, October 21, 2007 Thursday is the day, when developers of the Museum Plaza skyscraper will break ground on the 703-feet 62-story tower. The first 500 attending will receive free barbecue and commemorative hard hats. A helicopter hovering 703 feet above the street will beam live footage to screens on the ground, offering a glimpse of views from a height equivalent to the skyscraper's top floor. The University of Louisville’s pep band is scheduled to perform, and ground will be broken by a 20-foot-long, 400-pound shovel hanging from a 200-foot crane. Starting at 4 p.m., Museum Plaza will have an open house at its sales and design center at 707 W. Main St., which features renderings of views from the building’s 25th floor and portions of bathrooms and kitchens built to scale. The groundbreaking ceremony will follow at 5:40 p.m.
October 24, 200717 yr I guess it is time for me to chime in on this. Louisville is my hometown so I guess I can have an opinion. Knowing this has certainly all been discussed in 11 pages, here goes... I think it is great that Louisville is getting a "bigger than yours" skyscraper and is definitely winning the penis contest with it's regional competitor cities. However, I have always been uncomfortable with: 1. The effect this has on the skyline. It really creates a lack of aesthetic balance and is out of scale. 2. The individual appearance of the building is too unconventional. Too much of a tripod effect. I would like to see a signature structure of this scale not be so compartmental in its elements. Disclaimers: I reserve final judgment until it is done. Also, I am in no way an architectural professional or critic. THese are just laymen observations. Thoughts?
October 24, 200717 yr Reply to # -- 1. I do have concerns with the lopsidedness of the skyline once Museum Plaza is built, however, as an avant-garde structure, it would fit in well with the Ali Museum next door, the Glassworks developments only a block away, the many museums in that district (I call it Museum Row), and etc. While I don't see many tall infill projects being placed in the area between central downtown and Museum Plaza, sans the 10+ story Glassworks project and a few others planned for that side, I don't think it will be all that bad. Look at it like the CN Tower in Toronto. 2. Unconventional = avant-garde. Based on the reactions and polls that have been done, it's pretty much an even split between "I hate it!" and "I love it!". Which is great. I can't find the article right now, but there was a similar reaction to some of the new car models, such as the Scion xB, where the reactions were pretty much split down the middle. That generated a lot of news and discussions, and only boosted the xB's image and reputation as being a truly unique vehicle in terms of design. Museum Plaza is much the same way. It's awkward design was constructed out of randomly placed foam blocks; it has a diagonal elevator from the ground-level plaza to a public park on the ~20th floor (20 or 22?). And it will catch people's eye -- with many diverting into the downtown just to see this large pinnacle that's found no place else. And with it being 60 stories high, there is no building on this scale that even compares, which is a draw in itself. That draws in the tourists, and from what I've been hearing from owners of the museums along Museum Row (I'm down there often for events), they are all anticipating the development of Museum Plaza too boost business, increase tourism traffic, and boost Louisville's art/cultural awareness, since the skyscraper will boost art galleries, studios and UofL's art something. Remember that the AEGON tower was once considered to be a pink elephant when it opened. It's pink facade was once a turnoff for the state's largest tower and many complained during the design process, but it's now revered to be a fantastic structure. Only time will tell how Museum Plaza plays out -- but if it's anything like the initial hate/love reactions, it will be for the better.
October 24, 200717 yr "It's awkward design was constructed out of randomly placed foam blocks..." "Block" placement was determined by site lines deemed important (river view, existing context, etc.) as well as other parameters if I'm not mistaken. Not sure if anyone has posted this on the thread, but this is a very interesting lecture by Joshua Ramus (no "Prince" anymore because he got divorced) about Seattle Public Library, Museum Plaza, and a Dallas Performing Arts Center.
October 24, 200717 yr Well, this is unofficial, but when I went to the sales center and asked them, they were literally just placing foam blocks amongst each other and at different angles for hours, seeing what would look totally radical or different. Hence why there is a diagonal elevator that spans twenty-odd stories, and a very odd building style.
October 24, 200717 yr I wouldn't really call it an odd building "style" because it doesn't abide by a style. Formally it may be unconventional in relation to the typical skyscraper, but from the little I've seen and heard, it's detailing may be pretty simple.
October 25, 200717 yr Construction to begin on skyscraper that will dominate skyline By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press Writer, October 24, 2007 LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Developers of Louisville's next skyscraper are getting a groundbreaking as flamboyant as the 62-story Museum Plaza that someday will dominate the city's skyline. Forget the typically staid ceremony in which dignitaries dig up bits of soil. Highlighting Thursday's ceremony will be a 20-foot-long, 400-pound shovel hanging from a 200-foot crane that will drop into a pile of dirt to mark the start of construction on the $490 million skyscraper near the city's waterfront. "Museum Plaza's avant-garde design will make it an instant landmark," said Mayor Jerry Abramson, who is scheduled to attend the groundbreaking along with Gov. Ernie Fletcher. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2010.
October 25, 200717 yr Museum Plaza developers unveil plans for a park Groundbreaking will be held tonight By Marcus Green, The Courier-Journal A 27-foot-high ramp will rise from Main Street over Seventh Street, studded with two sculptures filled with water -- one calm and one turbulent to echo the moods of the Ohio River. It will lead to a promenade laced with trees and park benches beneath a trio of skyscraper towers. Five arc-shaped metal fountains will shoot out a veil of mist or a sheet of water. The proposed park at Museum Plaza, the high-rise complex whose groundbreaking is tonight, is meant to reflect themes of water and nature, its designers say, including how land is sculpted by high river water. The design still must be approved by the West Main Street Architectural Review Committee, which will consider it at a meeting Tuesday. The committee accepted tentative plans for the park in May but wants to see more details before making a final decision. More at http://www.courier-journal.com
October 26, 200717 yr Museum Plaza starts with a single scoop Riverfront icon breaks ground They came by the hundreds, standing shoulder to shoulder at a museum named for one of Louisville's greats, to mark the birth of a future city icon. An overflow crowd spilled out of the garage at the Muhammad Ali Center last night, watching construction begin on Museum Plaza, the radical, 62-story skyscraper that will reshape the Louisville skyline. "Let me tell you definitively: you're ready for this," architect Joshua Prince-Ramus told an audience of more than 300 people. "If you've come this far, if you've made the innovations that you've made, if you've galvanized the community in the way that you have -- you've already taken the steps that you need to to do a project like this." Museum Plaza, to be built at River Road and Seventh Street, will include a Westin hotel, dozens of luxury condominiums and lofts, retail and office space, a contemporary art gallery and a 140,000-square-foot park and plaza. More at http://www.courier-journal.com
October 27, 200717 yr I've been watching Louisville since 1971 and i don't think I've seen such a widespread investment downtown, in that its happeing all over downtown. Some areas that people have been waiting for for decades are going under redevelopment. And good to see they got a new landscape architect. The Royston in the firm name is probably Robert Royston, who along with Garrett Eckbo and Lawrence Halprin followed Tom Church as pioneer modernist lanscape architects in the Bay Region. So this is his old firm. We'll be seeing a quality product in that park space, at least.
March 21, 200817 yr Where's necromantical to report on this? Museum Plaza financing on hold The Courier-Journal By Marcus Green and Dan Klepal March 11, 2008 Museum Plaza developers have postponed efforts to borrow money for the $490 million building over concerns about paying higher-than-expected interest costs. The delay doesn’t jeopardize the project, developers Steve Poe and Craig Greenberg said in an interview. But they could not say when they expect to finance the deal, or give an estimated completion date for the project. It is scheduled to open in 2011, which developers say is still achievable. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said yesterday he’s confident the project will get done. The mayor noted the developers have already invested $20 million of their own money into the project, have signed agreements with Westin to locate a hotel there and the University of Louisville to move its business graduate school there. LG&E is moving power lines to accommodate the 62-story skyscraper. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080311/BUSINESS/80311023
March 21, 200817 yr We've been discussing this primarily on SSP and completely forgot about the thread on UO. Basically, financing is an issue right now, which came after some adjoining building foundations were vibrating while they were constructing the base layer of the structure.
April 7, 200817 yr There are a few guys really going at each other on the SSP thread on this topic. THe last 4-5 pages of the thread have nothing more than guys going head to head!
April 8, 200817 yr Earlier, it was people from Nashville coming up and comparing their Signature Tower (or whatever it's called) with Museum Plaza :P They must be wetting their pants over the work stoppage.
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