2 hours ago, aderwent said:

 

The engineering for this is much more considering the parcel, and 6 of the 28 Millennial Tower floors will be parking garage. A much cheaper building is pretty easy to believe. Still don't think they're going to ever break ground for it.

It will not get built as it is planned now for 150 million, or only $200 per square foot. No way that happens. If it gets built, it will be for more than that. It may not be $400 plus a square foot, but it will be significantly more than $200 a square foot(but as you mentioned, I don't think it will get built so it is a moot point really-Market Tower, maybe.)

Looks like the usual suspects will be building this. Turner and Smoot. Schedule is still on track. Two more approvals to go.

 

As an aside one of the idiotic reasons they didn't choose the two 15 story towers was because they were afraid the proposed hotel would compete with this Hilton (the original publicly). If it were to be built on their land, why wouldn't they own the hotel like they own the Hilton? Or they could have had them make it a boutique hotel which wouldn't have competed directly. And now supposedly that small sliver next to the new garage is to be a hotel possibly? How is that any different? And how would a single hotel at 15 floors compete with a 1,000 room hotel anyway?

 

Another reason is because they wanted more of an expansion instead of retail/apartments. First, the apartments were to be above a garage. Second, the retail could have been reworked into lobby/meeting/event space just as the expansion did. Sorry for the rant, but Columbus should be so much further ahead than it is, and hearing about the failure of Market Tower made me upset about this two years later lol.

 

Edit. Holy cow four years later. Still bitter. SMH.

Edited January 30, 20196 yr by aderwent

1 hour ago, aderwent said:

Looks like the usual suspects will be building this. Turner and Smoot. Schedule is still on track. Two more approvals to go.

 

As an aside one of the idiotic reasons they didn't choose the two 15 story towers was because they were afraid the proposed hotel would compete with this Hilton (the original publicly). If it were to be built on their land, why wouldn't they own the hotel like they own the Hilton? Or they could have had them make it a boutique hotel which wouldn't have competed directly. And now supposedly that small sliver next to the new garage is to be a hotel possibly? How is that any different? And how would a single hotel at 15 floors compete with a 1,000 room hotel anyway?

 

Another reason is because they wanted more of an expansion instead of retail/apartments. First, the apartments were to be above a garage. Second, the retail could have been reworked into lobby/meeting/event space just as the expansion did. Sorry for the rant, but Columbus should be so much further ahead than it is, and hearing about the failure of Market Tower made me upset about this two years later lol.

 

There were two 15 story towers proposed at one point on the site? Did the Convention Center put out an RFQ or just rogue developers?

31 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

 

There were two 15 story towers proposed at one point on the site? Did the Convention Center put out an RFQ or just rogue developers?

Not the Hilton expansion site. The NW corner of the CC aka the SE corner of Goodale and High.

 

Edit. There was an RFP that I think three or four developers applied to. The convention authority chose none of them.

Edited January 30, 20196 yr by aderwent

There is still a chance for a *something* on the land north of Goodale between the cap and the garage. Maybe a boutique hotel with apartments/condos on top??? One can hope lol.

'Open fire' concept will anchor $200M Hilton tower

 

"Downtown's new hotel tower is a chance to spark a new, fiery trend in Columbus dining, according to its designers.

 

Hilton Columbus Downtown officials are putting together the concept for the "signature" restaurant that will occupy the prominent High Street location next to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The $210 million, 28-story hotel tower is expected to break ground this year.

 

Plans are in place for an "open fire" restaurant unique to Columbus, said Chris Coffin, general manager of the hotel. That means a restaurant built around a wood fired grill where a variety of foods can be cooked on an open flame and in front of customers.

 

It's a trend seen in highbrow eateries opened in New York and Chicago recently, prompting Michelin-starred restaurateurs to add this type of establishment to their portfolios, he said."

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/03/07/exclusive-open-fire-concept-will-anchor-200m.html?ana=twt

Restaurants already! I'm thinking this is going up sooner rather than later. Exciting!

Columbus' $200 million Hilton Downtown tower books its 1st event

 

The Arnold Sports Festival is the first event booked for the forthcoming Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel tower.

 

By 2023, the citywide takeover will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center across the street, but participants will stay in rooms at the expanded Hilton Columbus Downtown, a planned $200 million, 28-story tower that has been in the works for about a year.

 

“Shortly after Hilton Columbus Downtown opened in 2012, we welcomed the Arnold Sports Festival as one of our first guests,” Christian Coffin, the Hilton's general manager, said in a news release. “It seems only fitting that the Arnold would be the first to commit to our new tower.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/03/15/columbus-200-million-hilton-downtown-tower-books.html

 

^ Groundbreaking in August according to the article. There's also a pretty nice video with the renderings: 

 

1 hour ago, cbussoccer said:

^ Groundbreaking in August according to the article. There's also a pretty nice video with the renderings: 

 

I liked the video of the building, but like so many of these and renders, the people...lol. They were all white-looking and not one obese person- this is Columbus after all..c'mon! lol.

I think this is a great looking tower, and 28 stories will definitely make an impact on the skyline! Glad to see this happening!

Columbus, Franklin County to back roughly half of debt to expand Hilton Downtown

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190403/columbus-franklin-county-to-back-roughly-half-of-debt-to-expand-hilton-downtown

 

According to the article, they still plan to break ground some time this summer. 

Downtown Hilton tower cost climbs to $220 million

 

 

Columbus' "crazy" construction environment has driven up the budget of the Hilton Columbus Downtown's new tower once again.

 

The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority got an update Thursday morning from the architects for the 470-room, 28-story hotel tower slated to be built next to the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Real estate consultant JLL and design team Cooper Carry, Meyers + Associates Architecture and Jeffrey Beers have largely finalized the major aspects of the project.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/11/downtown-hilton-high-rise-cost-climbs-to-220.html

Went up $10 million, then?

 

Seems like they're going through with it though. Super happy.

The interior is pretty nice! This article has new renderings but I don't know how to find image links:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/12/slideshow-walk-through-the-first-look-inside-the.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

 

 

3 minutes ago, Pablo said:

The interior is pretty nice! This article has new renderings but I don't know how to find image links:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/12/slideshow-walk-through-the-first-look-inside-the.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

 

 

 

The new angle from the back side of the building looks really nice. This is going to be an awesome addition to our skyline. 

It's amazing to me how fast this is going. It looks great.

Slideshow: Walk through our first look inside the Hilton Columbus expansion 

 

 

Designers have pulled back the curtain on the inside spaces of the 28-story, $220 million hotel tower downtown.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/12/slideshow-walk-through-the-first-look-inside-the.html

15 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

Slideshow: Walk through our first look inside the Hilton Columbus expansion 

 

 

Designers have pulled back the curtain on the inside spaces of the 28-story, $220 million hotel tower downtown.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/04/12/slideshow-walk-through-the-first-look-inside-the.html

 

??????????????

54 minutes ago, Pablo said:

I don't know how to find image links:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latest Plans for Hilton Expansion Heard by Commission

 

The team behind the proposed 28-story Hilton hotel next to the Greater Columbus Convention Center presented the latest plans for the project to the Downtown Commission this morning.

 

The $220 million building was first announced in March of last year and has since grown in size, although the overall design has not changed drastically since January, when the commission got its first look at the building.

 

Daniel Thomas, Urban Design Manager for the City of Columbus, said that commissioners remain enthusiastic in their support for the project, and that most of the feedback received so far about the design has been positive.

 

More below:

https://www.columbusunderground.com/latest-plans-for-hilton-expansion-heard-by-commission-bw1

 

 

 

omg I can't wait just start building! 

I'm impressed with how this has progressed design and heigh-wise. I am really in love with this one, dare I say, possibly more than the Hilton in downtown CLE which I absolutely was blown away with. 

 

A recap of just how far this thing has come. 

 

 

Really impressed with how the window set along high street mimics the facade of the convention center. And I'm simply blown away by the progress this has made from the first iterations.

The tower is very nice and will be a great addition to the skyline.  I still wish they would've done something like this on the north side of the convention center too instead of just that small 2-story addition.  Such a wasted opportunity there.

2 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

The tower is very nice and will be a great addition to the skyline.  I still wish they would've done something like this on the north side of the convention center too instead of just that small 2-story addition.  Such a wasted opportunity there.

 

I kept thinking about this as well, but there are two reasons I'm sorta okay with this:

 

1) It keeps the Hilton expansion.....across from the Hilton.

 

2) There is still a spot they could build a tower on on the northeast side of Goodale.

 

Here's hoping!

29 minutes ago, Zyrokai said:

 

I kept thinking about this as well, but there are two reasons I'm sorta okay with this:

 

1) It keeps the Hilton expansion.....across from the Hilton.

 

2) There is still a spot they could build a tower on on the northeast side of Goodale.

 

Here's hoping!

 

Yeah, true about the parking lot on the north side of Goodale, but with the proposed towers for the expansion site a few years back, it left me a little bitter.  There is also the massive parking lot behind the convention center.  In 2010, it was a site proposed for a "field house", but that never went anywhere.  There's a lot of potential to develop it into a few towers. 

2 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Yeah, true about the parking lot on the north side of Goodale, but with the proposed towers for the expansion site a few years back, it left me a little bitter.  There is also the massive parking lot behind the convention center.  In 2010, it was a site proposed for a "field house", but that never went anywhere.  There's a lot of potential to develop it into a few towers. 

The towers on the north side of the convention center would have required loss of space, which I think made it a non-starter for the convention authority; they were never going to give up valuable convention center space for a hotel owned by someone else, particularly just when they were looking to expand the center. However, that lot across the street could hold a very nice tower, either hotel or housing, with a connection to the Goodale garage. As for the field house, it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that one re-proposed 2-3 years after the Hilton expansion is completed, probably with another hotel attached. The convention authority has really been quite savvy with their expansion plans. 

6 hours ago, drtom1234 said:

The towers on the north side of the convention center would have required loss of space, which I think made it a non-starter for the convention authority; they were never going to give up valuable convention center space for a hotel owned by someone else, particularly just when they were looking to expand the center. However, that lot across the street could hold a very nice tower, either hotel or housing, with a connection to the Goodale garage. As for the field house, it wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that one re-proposed 2-3 years after the Hilton expansion is completed, probably with another hotel attached. The convention authority has really been quite savvy with their expansion plans. 

 

That is just false.  The convention leadership are the ones that commissioned development proposals, and could've dictated what they wanted for the development, including convention space.  They could've easily ended up with a hotel and convention facilities and with the same ownership setup they are using for the Hilton.  And frankly, a 2-story addition is not remotely a great use of that space, anyway.  If they were all that worried about maximizing use for the convention, they failed miserably.  The Hilton expansion makes sense for where it is, but they really blew a good opportunity on the other end.  As for being savvy, I disagree.  The fact that they're even building the Hilton tower is because they didn't plan ahead when they built the first Hilton in 2012.  They had talked about needing at least one 1,000 room hotel for years, and then proceeded to build one with just half the rooms.  

On 4/27/2019 at 12:42 AM, jonoh81 said:

 

That is just false.  The convention leadership are the ones that commissioned development proposals, and could've dictated what they wanted for the development, including convention space.  They could've easily ended up with a hotel and convention facilities and with the same ownership setup they are using for the Hilton.  And frankly, a 2-story addition is not remotely a great use of that space, anyway.  If they were all that worried about maximizing use for the convention, they failed miserably.  The Hilton expansion makes sense for where it is, but they really blew a good opportunity on the other end.  As for being savvy, I disagree.  The fact that they're even building the Hilton tower is because they didn't plan ahead when they built the first Hilton in 2012.  They had talked about needing at least one 1,000 room hotel for years, and then proceeded to build one with just half the rooms.  

It's certainly possible I'm wrong, but my recollection from contemperaneous CU and Dispatch articles is that the original proposal was unsolicited, and the authority couldn't accept or deny a proposal without putting out a request for other proposals. I don't know for sure, but I don't think they ever had any intent, or desire, for a tower in that location. 

I see what you're saying regarding the size of the current addition, but again, I think they've been savvy in their additions, never overbuilding, and leaving opportunities for growth in the future; thus the update and expansion as currently available, and the upcoming Hilton expansion. That's also why I'm expecting a big proposal around 2022-2024 involving the east side parking lot, which I expect to be a field house to compete for bigger events, up to and including the mens's Final Four, and simlar size events. 

I'd like to re-iterate this is supposition on my part, but based on what they've done over the last 10 years or so, I think's it is a reasonable extrapolation.

Edited April 28, 20196 yr by drtom1234

4 hours ago, drtom1234 said:

It's certainly possible I'm wrong, but my recollection from contemperaneous CU and Dispatch articles is that the original proposal was unsolicited, and the authority couldn't accept or deny a proposal without putting out a request for other proposals. I don't know for sure, but I don't think they ever had any intent, or desire, for a tower in that location. 

I see what you're saying regarding the size of the current addition, but again, I think they've been savvy in their additions, never overbuilding, and leaving opportunities for growth in the future; thus the update and expansion as currently available, and the upcoming Hilton expansion. That's also why I'm expecting a big proposal around 2022-2024 involving the east side parking lot, which I expect to be a field house to compete for bigger events, up to and including the mens's Final Four, and simlar size events. 

I'd like to re-iterate this is supposition on my part, but based on what they've done over the last 10 years or so, I think's it is a reasonable extrapolation.

 

Well Waggenbrenner first asked the city and the GCCCA, and then the GCCCA put out RFPs. And considering Waggenbrenner had pretty detailed plans with a hotel signed on tells me they worked on it for quite some time with the GCCCA.

 

Columbus will never get the men's Final Four. It's played in indoor football stadiums only now. They should definitely get sweet sixteens though.

 

They better go BIG with it though. Multiple hundreds of thousands of square feet on multiple levels solely dedicated to sports; a 2,500+ space parking garage; and a couple medium size hotels. All connected to the existing complex under 3rd St.

Edited April 28, 20196 yr by aderwent
St not ave

No they put out the call for proposals themselves.  After receiving several, they decided to instead do a $125 million renovation and the small addition.  It was never explicitly stated, but it was obvious they were worried that a new hotel would compete with the few-years-old one in Hilton phase 1, which the city helped finance.  Columbus subsequently ended up losing events like the RNC due to a lack of hotels.  They weren’t forward-thinking at all.  This new Hilton is playing catch-up.  Furthermore, even with it built, Columbus will still be underserved by hotel rooms compared to pretty much all its national peers.  This will remain an issue.  

38 minutes ago, jonoh81 said:

No they put out the call for proposals themselves.  After receiving several, they decided to instead do a $125 million renovation and the small addition.  It was never explicitly stated, but it was obvious they were worried that a new hotel would compete with the few-years-old one in Hilton phase 1, which the city helped finance.  Columbus subsequently ended up losing events like the RNC due to a lack of hotels.  They weren’t forward-thinking at all.  This new Hilton is playing catch-up.  Furthermore, even with it built, Columbus will still be underserved by hotel rooms compared to pretty much all its national peers.  This will remain an issue.  

Yep. Even with the Hilton Canopy, Moxy, Graduate, Hilton, AC Marriott, and whatever hotel they have planned at Market Tower they need at least 2,000 additional rooms within a 15 minute walk. So them being scared of one competing hotel is completely asinine. The GCCCA royally screwed up here.

 

Was the Hyatt designed to be taller? Or is the roof of that building part of its strange aesthetics?

 

Hopefully the final lot behind the cap can squeeze a 20+ story hotel. And then the lot across Third could accommodate a couple medium to large hotels as well.

24 minutes ago, aderwent said:

Yep. Even with the Hilton Canopy, Moxy, Graduate, Hilton, AC Marriott, and whatever hotel they have planned at Market Tower they need at least 2,000 additional rooms within a 15 minute walk. So them being scared of one competing hotel is completely asinine. The GCCCA royally screwed up here.

 

Was the Hyatt designed to be taller? Or is the roof of that building part of its strange aesthetics?

 

Hopefully the final lot behind the cap can squeeze a 20+ story hotel. And then the lot across Third could accommodate a couple medium to large hotels as well.

 

The Hyatt was originally proposed to be 17 stories instead of its final 20, so it ended up getting a small size increase.  It had a drastically different shape in early proposals, though, something more like a pyramid if I remember right.  The lower section on the east side was always part of the design. 

 

Interesting story about how this all went down- In 1975, the actual convention center was going to be tied into the hotel south of the railroad tracks.  A multi-modal transit station was planned for the north side.  The idea was to incorporate the old Union Station into the transit complex.  When the city shadily tore Union Station down, it ended up losing federal funds that were tied to preserving Union Station given its status on the National Register of Historic Places.  That money had been earmarked to help build the transit center.  With that money gone, the city decided to build the convention center on the north side of the tracks, keep the new hotel separate, and we would never see the transit center built.  The Union Station/transit center site would remain a parking lot for years after, as the city had no funds to really build the convention center either, showing no real reason why US was even demolished in the first place.  I consider this story the most Columbus Columbus of all time. 

Edited April 28, 20196 yr by jonoh81

1 hour ago, jonoh81 said:

No they put out the call for proposals themselves.  After receiving several, they decided to instead do a $125 million renovation and the small addition.  It was never explicitly stated, but it was obvious they were worried that a new hotel would compete with the few-years-old one in Hilton phase 1, which the city helped finance.  Columbus subsequently ended up losing events like the RNC due to a lack of hotels.  They weren’t forward-thinking at all.  This new Hilton is playing catch-up.  Furthermore, even with it built, Columbus will still be underserved by hotel rooms compared to pretty much all its national peers.  This will remain an issue.  

 

That whole sequence of calling for an RFP, getting peoples hopes up, and then ignoring the RFP was likely the reason that the executive director of the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority at that time is no longer the executive director of the FCCFA.  At end of 2014, they replaced him with a longtime Franklin County administrator who oversaw construction of the new Common Pleas Courthouse and construction of Huntington Park for the Clippers:  

 

Article about the new director:  https://www.dispatch.com/article/20141224/NEWS/312249747

22 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

 

The Hyatt was originally proposed to be 17 stories instead of its final 20, so it ended up getting a small size increase.  It had a drastically different shape in early proposals, though, something more like a pyramid if I remember right.  The lower section on the east side was always part of the design. 

 

Interesting story about how this all went down- In 1975, the actual convention center was going to be tied into the hotel south of the railroad tracks.  A multi-modal transit station was planned for the north side.  The idea was to incorporate the old Union Station into the transit complex.  When the city shadily tore Union Station down, it ended up losing federal funds that were tied to preserving Union Station given its status on the National Register of Historic Places.  That money had been earmarked to help build the transit center.  With that money gone, the city decided to build the convention center on the north side of the tracks, keep the new hotel separate, and we would never see the transit center built.  The Union Station/transit center site would remain a parking lot for years after, as the city had no funds to really build the convention center either, showing no real reason why US was even demolished in the first place.  I consider this story the most Columbus Columbus of all time. 

 

I took this photo the summer of 1985 from the exterior elevator on the Nationwide tower. A lot has changed. I think the original location of the Ohio Center was bad to begin with. It was shoehorned between Nationwide Blvd and the tracks with no clean path of expansion. A better original location would have helped but here we are. 

 

oh my god that picture is amazing. Thank you for sharing! This area is SO different now.

Financing for $220M Hilton expansion now in place as county facilities authority approves deal

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2019/05/01/financing-for-220m-hilton-expansion-now-in-place.html?iana=hpmvp_colum_news_headline

 

The final step of approval for the first skyscraper to be built in downtown Columbus in 12 years officially took place Tuesday at the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority's monthly board meeting.

After approval of the agreement from both the city and the county, the last step before financing could be put in place for the $220 million Hilton hotel expansion was the authority's approval of the terms of the deal.

Some conceptual videos of the hotel have been added to this CU article. Pure sexiness. 

 

https://www.columbusunderground.com/hilton-hotel-columbus-convention-center-bw1

Looks like the engineering plans were submitted to the city today. 

 

15 minutes ago, DevolsDance said:

Looks like the engineering plans were submitted to the city today. 

 

 

https://ca.columbus.gov/CA/Cap/CapDetail.aspx?Module=Engineering&TabName=Engineering&capID1=19SCP&capID2=00000&capID3=00045&agencyCode=COLUMBUS&IsToShowInspection=

On 4/29/2019 at 10:28 AM, Pablo said:

 

I took this photo the summer of 1985 from the exterior elevator on the Nationwide tower. A lot has changed. I think the original location of the Ohio Center was bad to begin with. It was shoehorned between Nationwide Blvd and the tracks with no clean path of expansion. A better original location would have helped but here we are. 

 

 

 

Pablo, someone on Reddit took a picture from this spot yesterday. Here I put them side-by-side:

 

^Lots of change over the years!

I only remember the lot being gravel, not paved. So either I'm remembering when it was first torn down (my memories only go back until about 1981) or the lot went gravel again after being paved. Or I'm am remembering the initial construction phase of the Convention Center.

That comparison picture is really cool! But.......I don't see the Greek church in the left picture. I thought it was old! Is it just not visible? It seems like it should be....

It's not old! It went up in the early '90s I think. It does look old.

Wow, the more you know! I had no idea. Thanks!

1 hour ago, GCrites80s said:

It's not old! It went up in the early '90s I think. It does look old.

 

Yep, it was built in 1990 replacing the original church which dated back to 1922.

Below is the best image I could find of the original. 

 

Edited June 21, 20195 yr by DevolsDance
Photo

They also tore down a bunch of actual historic buildings when they rebuilt the church.  The church is cool, but I would prefer the original streetscape.

The Hilton Hotel is up for its "Certificate of Appropriateness" at this morning's Downtown Commission meeting.