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Cincinnati: Downtown: Autograph Collection Hotel (Anna Louise Inn)

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For those if us on the board that are not professionals, what are the problems with this design and how would you guys do it differently. (Not a bait post, I really want to learn.)

  • 3 months later...
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  • BigDipper 80
    BigDipper 80

    Trying to open in the middle of a global pandemic seems like the appropriate way to cap off this ridiculous disaster of a project:   Marriott transforms historic Anna Louise Inn and Earls Bu

  • ColDayMan
    ColDayMan

    Very 80's hospital-ish.

  • Cincinnati Park Board has now paused the renovation of Lytle Park "indefinitely" because Western & Southern has decided to sue to park board and withhold the funding that they previous promised.

Posted Images

Dec 30, 2016:

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  • 7 months later...

Slightly grainy digital zoom photo from GA Tower:

"It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton

When is this project supposed to be completed?  Seems like it's been u/c for forever

The interior has been almost completely gutted and they are applying rebar and 4" of shot-crete to the exterior wall to strengthen it. That is a lengthy and messy process, plus they are the same developer who is currently doing the AC Marriot at the Banks which has been their first priority. As the subs are wrapping up at the AC they are being moved over to this project so it is still a long way from completion.

  • 3 weeks later...

The Anna Louise Inn building no longer has a roof. Anyone know what their plans are?

The Anna Louise Inn building no longer has a roof. Anyone know what their plans are?

 

No changes.  It takes time to hack away at an old building before you can put it back together.  I'm sure it was filled with Asbestos, which take a lot of time and money to abate. 

Last time I saw, they are adding a partial 5th floor and rooftop deck/restaurant. The portion that was sloped roof facing West over Lytle park will now be a rooftop deck area.

They are adding a full floor above to meet a certain room count number for better financial return on the project.

That's right, they are adding a 5th floor all the way around with brick parapet (no more sloped roof at all) and a partial 6th floor and rooftop restaurant above. Had my floors mixed up.

The current top floor (5) has a slanted roof with dormers. That will be removed and completely replaced with a new full height floor. On top of that, the 6th floor will be a restaurant/event space with a rooftop terrace.

 

Starting on page 130 of the June 22, 2015 HCB, there are lots more details: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7lktkcll7ya81i/HCB%206-22-15.pdf?dl=0

 

Page 144 of the June 22, 2015 HCB packet shows the rooftop plan:

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Page 159 shows how the new 5th floor and 6th floor (not visible) will be seen from the western elevation.

 

0e2SmcHE3kH8w7-bJ6MOuUIGn8hAqDA-QXspDNDfQZdBgzj-dNmIBHF-yH1-IYQpiwDV9P6La5dYAzKbe_aa-CNdePORzmPn7XTdOu69CdWAHDuoauX66-X4vdBf9b_FvnDRLD4FDG8qQU9v2HNMx4ciJUKj8QD1fj-eo5yWsklecybdnxrZXH0X3_MGFkkL-r2pEzwevooHl_-q5L22JgL4pQa4vTBmGvEtUw9Laau37aTOROM5AVbv44VmJtZEqy6cnRUSoCVGyN3y77RhNrB3vG-5FtLrb1pxbtTMPOHiveD68qzlUyBE8A39U8Z7-sD5MckA7uxpydrfyfW2dCW7jICGoWgA5i_wLcxv07VmUmVSluI8SwHJQthKXvA2kSVHLSbEvmEuhaUIgC-ZnsexpRxEtYXsQjC8CicgCJ75XccLzBetAvW92vWZ-GNrrwV-Pr_h6eRiu_I2v7KiFN8JNyNmnPFNuQlMOh_IjiSSgiImlUdMSuSaNTkfS4f-1qPHrTVtpE3rHXPce5aw6E7A32ZNH-WmAz9pEorh1t2PW0vzZWLQbL5wP8hGyFBoJ0kGyoVDpkN1Whj8AoJyTZmqRcHTfegN5o3PqpUCI0NhV3kqrstAoW2JdPdOpuyNNb54Dycsjgl8g88pvnL4sfkcDVLMsGijBoTb0lmdysZsiQ0=w1255-h965-no

 

  • 11 months later...

Got some updated pics of the Lytle Park Hotel with a rendering.

 

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29084467217_266f5141e7_c.jpg by Chad McCann, on Flickr

I wish the connection between the old Anna Louise Inn and the house was more transparent like an all glass atrium or something that respected the two buildings more. I know this was value engineered out from the original plans/renderings, it's just too bad that the historic board or architectural review board doesn't have more power to make good ideas stick around instead of the cheapest option always winning out.

 

EDIT: Also thanks to Cincy_Travels for all these construction photos (and accompanying renderings) on all these threads

EDIT: Also thanks to Cincy_Travels for all these construction photos (and accompanying renderings) on all these threads

 

It's my pleasure. Driving around town and checking up on the on going projects is my Sunday relaxing time.

EDIT: Also thanks to Cincy_Travels for all these construction photos (and accompanying renderings) on all these threads

 

It's my pleasure. Driving around town and checking up on the on going projects is my Sunday relaxing time.

 

I know I appreciate it. I haven't been back to Cincy in 2 years since moving (which is unfortunate, need more PTO) and I love seeing everything happening since I can't go check on things in person anymore.

  • 4 months later...

Some updates from this morning:

 

 

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slowest. project. ever.

1 hour ago, edale said:

slowest. project. ever.

There were many unforeseen issues with the project once the first phase of demolition was discovered. At least ownership, stood behind the building and had everything done correctly so that its a lasting project. I was a major critic of this project from the start, but its starting to turn the corner and looks better than expected. 

 

  • 3 months later...

Panel OKs some work on former Anna Louise Inn that lacked permits, orders other changes 

 

The Historic Conservation Board approved changes to the plan to convert the former Anna Louise Inn into a boutique Autograph Hotel – alterations that already had been completed without necessary city permits. The panel also ordered other changes be rolled back at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/04/23/panel-oks-some-work-on-former-anna-louise-inn-that.html

 

59f8cf2a3b3286000182dd84_21015-07-13_Mod

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

Good lord this project is endless.

“To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”

You might say endless, but the owners are spending the money and going to make a top notch property for the city. I think the GC was being careless and trying to make deadlines and chose to take a risk on not going for addendum with the permitting, and he got burned. 

This is taking significantly longer than Union Terminal or Music Hall.  Seriously.  

Maybe if Hilton took this long with the Cincinnatian the renovation would have actually been... decent. 

2 hours ago, 513to424 said:

Maybe if Hilton took this long with the Cincinnatian the renovation would have actually been... decent. 


Just curious, what exactly do you think is wrong with the Cincinnatian? I am not really familiar with the project, I just walk past it often and it seems nice to me. 

2 hours ago, Largue said:


Just curious, what exactly do you think is wrong with the Cincinnatian? I am not really familiar with the project, I just walk past it often and it seems nice to me. 

 

The Cincinnatian was half-assed the whole way through. But the new owners, SREE are pretty damn cheap. Surprised Hilton gave them a Curio flag. Alot of items were value engineered out of the design. The exterior looks bad without awnings or covering over the entry. The glass ones were very 80s but they served a purpose. They just patched the walls and painted to the second floor windows. 

How much of the Cincinnatian's exterior is original? I always felt that the mansard roof on it looked a bit... off, as if it was trying to be historically accurate but ended up getting value-engineered by some 80s historicist firm. 

“To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”

On 4/23/2019 at 6:27 PM, savadams13 said:

You might say endless, but the owners are spending the money and going to make a top notch property for the city. I think the GC was being careless and trying to make deadlines and chose to take a risk on not going for addendum with the permitting, and he got burned. 

 

The GC and owner are essentially the same company.

  • 2 months later...

Does anyone have info on when the Lytle Park portion of this project is supposed to be completed and reopened?

1 minute ago, brian korte said:

Does anyone have info on when the Lytle Park portion of this project is supposed to be completed and reopened?

 

This is all part of the legal battle to save the trees in the park. The Park portion has the funding in place to start reconstruction, once the hotel project starts wrapping up so there isnt multiple construction zones at once. 

  • 1 month later...
18 minutes ago, taestell said:

This project does not look very good IMO.

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This is prime example when developer thinks they can design in house. Same developer that did the hot mess AC hotel at the Banks. Pinching pennies can cost more in the long run. What I can not figure out is why all the cornices are being removed? I am not privy anymore to the day to day drama.  Wonder if this has to do with the height conflict with HCB. 

This is amazingly busy and disorganized.  Plus, there are two front doors, which will confuse the hell out of uber drivers and pizza guys.  

Very 80's hospital-ish.

"You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers

The last time this thread was bumped was basically April, and I’m not sure they’ve even made any progress since then. Why exactly did W&S want this property so bad again? Other than so that they wouldn’t have to look at battered women on “their” park again, of course.

“To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”

I don't even understand the point of keeping the old structure if you're just going to drain it of all its character. I thought they wanted the Anna Louise Inn because it was a nice old building that would make for a quaint hotel, but there's nothing quaint about any of that mess.

8 minutes ago, BigDipper 80 said:

Why exactly did W&S want this property so bad again? Other than so that they wouldn’t have to look at battered women on “their” park again, of course.

 

Yeah, that's exactly it. W&S views Lytle Park as their corporate campus and didn't want a pesky social service there. It's the same concept as P&G's private lawn, except that P&G actually owns their lawn, while Lytle Park is a public park, W&S just pretends they own it and bullies the Park Board into doing what they want.

4 hours ago, savadams13 said:

 

This is prime example when developer thinks they can design in house. Same developer that did the hot mess AC hotel at the Banks. Pinching pennies can cost more in the long run. What I can not figure out is why all the cornices are being removed? I am not privy anymore to the day to day drama.  Wonder if this has to do with the height conflict with HCB. 

who could object to this? Its five stories tall (it seems all new construction: apartments, hotels, and businesses are 5 stories tall). it keeps the façade of the old building, more or less. And the entrance is accessible only by a drive thru fast food line that over looks the park. Why are cars more important than the green space?  The overall effect is much like Price Hill Chili or maybe the Catholic Partners Building at Reading and Elsinore.

This project has been a total bust from the beginning. It's absolutely absurd that it's still not even done yet after all these years. The HCB should have never allowed that black glass. They repeatedly violated the conditions of approval from the HCB and the end result shows it blatantly. 

On 1/2/2017 at 11:29 PM, jmecklenborg said:

Dec 30, 2016:

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We're literally at Year 4 since construction began.  I can't think of anything that has taken that long to build around here since the Kenwood Collection fiasco.  Union Terminal and Music Hall were each significantly faster. 

 

 

 

That new fifth floor addition looks ridiculous.

“To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”

It's insane how slow this project has been. The contractor/developer keeps changing things and the city/HCB has made them undo multiple things that they tried to get away with. It's excruciating. 

This does literally look like an expansion project from the 1980's. Absolutely heartbreaking. 

I bet it will look nice from the ground...

the black glass is seemingly such a small thing, but it really does make it look awful 

12 minutes ago, seaswan said:

the black glass is seemingly such a small thing, but it really does make it look awful 

 

Looks like they salvaged it from the Deaconess Hospital demolition.

11 minutes ago, nicker66 said:

 

Looks like they salvaged it from the Deaconess Hospital demolition.

 

Maybe they just flipped around the "1985" cornerstone so it could be reused.  

On 7/29/2019 at 2:26 PM, taestell said:

This project does not look very good IMO.

IMG_5982 (1).jpg

 

Atrium skylight, center:

 thats a penis GIF

It takes some real creativity to make some very nice historic structures look like they were transplanted straight from West Chester's "downtown"

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche

There are SO MANY good examples of old buildings converted into hotels that have happened statewide recently (Hotel LeVeque, Kimpton Schofield, Drury Plaza Cleveland, the Enquirer Building hotel, hell that Residence Inn across the street from ALI) that it blows my mind at how badly this developer is botching this. There are good examples of how to do this all over the place that they could have seen in person to get ideas!

“To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 2:26 PM, taestell said:

This project does not look very good IMO.

IMG_5982 (1).jpg

 

I'm sure they'll be pumping some mood music under that marquis that'll spill out into the park.  

 

 

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