I guess their target market is consumers who do zero online research about hotels before booking?

Are those chairs corduroy?

The Business Courier did a slideshow of most expensive hotel rooms in Cincinnati... and in The Millenium, you can see how dated even their most expensive room looks. They have an old-school CRT-television. I mean... wow. For $1700 a night, you can be transported back to the mid-'90s.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2016/02/go-inside-downtown-cincinnatis-most-expensive.html#g10

 

This is the most disturbing thing I've seen all day. People spend $1700/night on this? How??

 

You'd be better off throwing your cash in a barrel and burning it.

Every other room pictured in that article is classy and current and each offer something different. The Millennium looks ridiculous in comparison. That room is absolutely atrocious. I really hope people don't actually rent that room over all the others pictured here...

I have been in that room.  It is huge, 2 stories, and has great views, but was grossly outdated in 2010.

Some band that's pissed off about hotel rooms in Cincinnati being overpriced needs to throw that tube TV through the window at 3AM.

Crane work at the Millenium Hotel today... anybody know what is going on?

 

^ My guess would be something related to HVAC. There has been a temporary cooling unit near that spot for awhile, and the semi trailer in that photo looks like it is carrying curbs that roof top HVAC units sit on.

Not being demo'd and replaced. Womp, womp.

I'd so much rather see the Millenium towers be renovated as opposed to demolished. It's hard to imagine them being replaced with anything of a similar scale. In terms of form, I like the "two towers on a platform" structure. Their only problem in terms of form is how they face Elm and 6th St, but again I think that could be solved easily enough with a creative renovation. I would much rather see the money go towards investing in upgrades rather than an expensive demolition plus rebuilding something that would almost certainly be much smaller in scale. This almost certainly means it will need a new owner, since the current owner seems intent on minimizing all maintenance/upgrade expenses.

I have a rendering from a proposal from 2012 when the city was working with the Owners and Marriott to renovate the entire complex, open up the base with street retail in key spots, and give the entire building a new look. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good looking proposal. It failed though and turned into the two-tower proposal for the giant parking lot at 4th and Plum that the Mallory administration was trying to get built which also failed and gave way to the grant needed for the original 4th and Race tower which...also failed (at least as originally intended) which gave way to the new, smaller 4th and Race and the 8th and Sycamore project.

 

I don't really know where I'm going with all that...

I have a rendering from a proposal from 2012 when the city was working with the Owners and Marriott to renovate the entire complex, open up the base with street retail in key spots, and give the entire building a new look. It wasn't perfect, but it was a good looking proposal. It failed though and turned into the two-tower proposal for the giant parking lot at 4th and Plum that the Mallory administration was trying to get built which also failed and gave way to the grant needed for the original 4th and Race tower which...also failed (at least as originally intended) which gave way to the new, smaller 4th and Race and the 8th and Sycamore project.

 

I don't really know where I'm going with all that...

Can you share that rendering from the 2012 proposal?

 

It doesn't surprise me that those proposals didn't go anywhere (or got scaled back). It'll take a lot of money to renovate/replace something as big as the Millenium. But I think if Cincinnati continues to see the growth in demand for hotel over a couple more years, then it'll be more attractive to a new owner/investor.

Yeah I'll try to remember when I get home tonight to upload it. It's saved on my laptop somewhere.

 

It looked like a huge undertaking. The Millennium complex is gigantic and fully gutting it to the structure and starting over is no small task.

Would love to see it demo'd and then replaced with a tower like the Atlanta Westin or Detroit Renaissance that is twice as tall as the current taller tower.

We're staying at a room here on Saturday night. Didn't they renovate the rooms a few years ago?

We're staying at a room here on Saturday night. Didn't they renovate the rooms a few years ago?

 

They have been doing minor upgrades (new mattresses, new TVs, updated HVAC) over the past few years, but they have not done a major renovation. Let us know how you like it.

We're staying at a room here on Saturday night. Didn't they renovate the rooms a few years ago?

 

They have been doing minor upgrades (new mattresses, new TVs, updated HVAC) over the past few years, but they have not done a major renovation. Let us know how you like it.

 

Will do! This weekend is going to be a fun time in the Queen City!!!

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2016/10/20/welcome-back-cincinnati-historic-reiss-murals/92404120/

 

The murals are now installed in nearly the most obscure corner of downtown imaginable.  Each one is behind 3-4 panes of glass so it's pretty tough to look at them, aside from the fact that they're in such a weird place. 

 

So now some of the murals are tacked onto the side of the convention center, some are in CVG's Terminal 3 lobby, and some are in Concourse B.  With rumors that Concourse B will be demolished, those will be on the move at some point. 

 

 

 

 

^Plus some were never moved from Cincinnati Union Terminal.

If we were just going to tack them onto the outside of a building, why didn't we simply glass- enlose them along a "Promenade of Murals" leading up to the Union Terminal? Could of worked it into the renovation budget.

It seems as if the convention center is where we put our relics of beautiful things we've destroyed (The Albee). Maybe Mr Joseph can take all those facades from the 80s he tore down and line them on 4th street. And when the Dennison goes we can stuff its bricks somewhere on the building too.

So it sounds from the article like this is a temporary home? Is that true and they may possibly move later when a better spot is found, or is the article just awkwardly worded? Did anyone else see them when they were just sitting there with ripped off tarps exposed to the elements and possible vandals and just shake their heads too? Very oddly handled for such priceless and important artworks. Not by the rigging and moving people they were all pros (and sadly getting used to moving these) but by the city for some reason. Are the Weiss & Cranley families a fuedin' like the Hatfields & McCoys or something?

 

Yeah, I saw them under the awning but nevertheless exposed to the weather also back in August and September.  They're plaster, so if they had gotten wet, they would have been ruined.  It was simply beyond belief. 

The Cincinnati preservation community has consistently hewed to the position that this is only temporary and not their final resting place.  The Mayor has consistently ignored the preservation community on this issue and basically did this all on his own. 

 

Ideally, when the Millennium goes down and an expanded convention center is built in its stead, these could be incorporated into the new structure.

^ I heard him being defensive at the unveiling saying something like 'a lot of people have issues with the location' but that this was a historic and important area (?!?) and that it would be featured in future city walking tours that are being developed.

yeah....such a pedestrian-friendly area!!! Who wouldn't love a stroll on Central Ave between I75 and the convention center?

The fact that out of 9 council members, a mayor, a city manager, 3 county commissioners, and a laundry list of other highly placed individuals, not ONE to my knowledge has thrown a fit over the travesty of this location, is simply amazing. This artwork truly unique, and we as a city should be trying to hit visitors over the head with it, not hiding it away.

These murals were commissioned as public art, but perhaps they should be moved to the art museum whenever it expands so that we can be done with this nonsense. 

^ I heard him being defensive at the unveiling saying something like 'a lot of people have issues with the location' but that this was a historic and important area (?!?) and that it would be featured in future city walking tours that are being developed.

 

 

Not sure why he inserted the "outdoor" part but here is the quote i was refering to. Heard it on VXU. I do like that they are lit at least.

 

"The murals are behind protective glass and will be illuminated at night.

 

Mayor John Cranley says some people have asked why the murals were installed on the outside of the convention center.

 

"This is outdoor public art and will become part of a Downtown walking tour. And this is a part of Downtown that's worth seeing."

 

Cranley also says the murals are so heavy few walls can support them. Each mural is 20 by 20 feet, 8 inches thick, and weighs 8 tons."

 

http://wvxu.org/post/reiss-murals-rededicated-outside-convention-center#stream/0

 

The fact that out of 9 council members, a mayor, a city manager, 3 county commissioners, and a laundry list of other highly placed individuals, not ONE to my knowledge has thrown a fit over the travesty of this location, is simply amazing. This artwork truly unique, and we as a city should be trying to hit visitors over the head with it, not hiding it away.

 

I don't know that any of them have "thrown a fit" over the location but several made it clear that this should not be the permanent location. They approved the money to move them to this location because if they wouldn't have done so, they would've been lost permanently as CVG Terminals 1 & 2 are being demolished.

Ideally, when the Millennium goes down and an expanded convention center is built in its stead, these could be incorporated into the new structure.

 

Nooo, we can't tear down the iconic Stouffer’s Cincinnati Towers!

More pictures in the article!

 

Could this be the future of Cincinnati’s Millennium Hotel?

Feb 28, 2017, 11:25am EST Updated Feb 28, 2017, 11:40am EST

Tom Demeropolis

Senior Staff Reporter

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

 

A local developer has worked with a national architecture firm to present redevelopment possibilities for downtown Cincinnati’s Millennium Hotel.

 

The vision plan would solve two of the biggest issues facing the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau, creating a strong headquarter hotel and adding meeting space for the Duke Energy Convention Center. The initial vision includes demolishing the existing south tower of the hotel, building a new base – complete with additional meeting space for conventions – and then a new hotel tower with 304 guestrooms. The north tower of the Millennium Hotel would get a complete interior and exterior renovation for the 400 rooms in that tower.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/02/28/could-this-be-the-future-of-cincinnati-s.html

Interesting.

 

I'm most curious about what happens with the super terrible car drop off area north of the north tower and the terrible massive bridge that cuts over 6th and then finds its way to a super awkward structure that has no business occupying a street corner in the CBD.

 

This could begin to make this area feel less dead when a convention isn't in town. Elm Street has the potential for thousands of residents in the CBD through the redevelopment of old garages, but right now the Millennium is a gigantic road block between the activity of Fountain Square and the Elm Street corridor from Central Parkway to 4th Street.

 

The base could use some work in these renderings, but overall it's an interesting idea. One that I think would be pretty striking in our skyline.

Dan Lincoln, CEO of the Cincinnati USA convention & visitors bureau stated that the demand is greater than the capacity, yet those plans go from a 870 room hotel to a 704 room hotel.  Shouldn't it be increased instead of decreased?  For a headquarters hotel it should increase to at least a 1200 room hotel at a minimum.

Wasn't that building at the corner originally a mini-mall? I'm not sad if that goes. It was pretty decrepit inside.

 

As for the Millennium: wow.

Considering hotel demand is at a high, and an expanded center would only help increase demand; I am not sure why a revamped hotel should have less rooms. That takes 170 rooms out of inventory which is equivalent to another downtown hotel like the residence inn.

Personally, I would love for them to tear down both towers and build something akin to Atlanta's Peachetree Westin or the Ren Center Hotel in Detroit. Something 6-700 ft tall that can be an icon on the Skyline. It may not fit on the edge of town like that but I still think it could be a neat thing.

Well in another thread, people were speculating that the Convention Center wanted to sink Plum Street down and expand over the street to the Millennium site. With these new renderings, it appears they're just planning to add more meeting rooms in the renovated Millennium and link them with a regular skywalk. So that's good news.

When the owner of the hotel isn't even involved, the idea seems like a reach. Is Vandercar Holdings (king of strip malls) considering acquiring the hotel.

They def need to maximize room count. It's crazy how many times I've tried to book a room downtown and there was little to no availability - causing the $$$ to skyrocket. Even airbnb gets crazy sometimes!

 

I recently stayed at a JW Marriott in Austin and it was super nice. Glad to see this!

Don't see this rendering as anything but a ploy by Vandercar to keep their name in the news and try and get more involved in downtown development.

 

End of the day, Milllenium is not selling because it is a cash cow for their chain. They bought it at the low end of the market and it is a very profitable hotel for them and will always be a cash cow.

Hopefully all this demand pushes someone to finally redevelop the Terrace Hotel!

Ooops... I missed the part where this is a completely speculative rendering and neither the owner of the hotel nor the Convention Center were aware of these plans before.

Yeah, it's like the whole speculation on a Kroger going in at Central Parkway and Walnut Street.  It's all just pure fantasy based on wishful thinking.

Yeah, i'll believe it when I see it. Just like the high rise hotel announced on the McMillan and Vine site, this doesn't really pass the smell test for me.

I think there is a bit of an ongoing effort out there to embarrass the owners of the hotel, who busy themselves counting their money over in Singapore.  About two years ago The Enquirer booked two hotel rooms on a mission to find bed bugs and came up empty.  Now this. 

Yeah, i'll believe it when I see it. Just like the high rise hotel announced on the McMillan and Vine site, this doesn't really pass the smell test for me.

 

I could see that Vine Street project coming to life as a new location for the CVS. Honestly that's something realistic that would happen in this town.

The Convention Center would probably have to buy out the Millennium before any major plan like this would happen. Unless the city stepped in with a boatload of cash in a deal that rivals the original 4th & Race plan.

This plan may be necessary or good news even but it doesn't excite me. I already know the powers that be in Cincinnati can get together a boatload of TIF money and tax incentives and make a project like this happen. I won't be excited until one of these surface pay lots gets replaced by a residential mid rise (with minimum public investment) because then I'll know the dynamics and attitudes around here are truly starting to change.

Columbus and Cleveland have both figured out how to build new convention hotels (both Hiltons) in the last couple years, both with significant public financing and public ownership structures. The public sector is likely going to need to come to the table in a big way to tackle the headquarters hotel.