March 14, 200916 yr I wrote a <A href="http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-convention-center-hotel-moving-forward">little something</a> up on CU the day this was announced, and one tidbit of info that I received (from a very reliable source) and published that I didn't see any other local news source reporting is this: <i>Rumor also has it that Nationwide could be considering additional private development adjacent to the hotel on currently unused land, bringing an additional 300,000+ square feet of office and retail space to the area situated between High St, Front St, and Nationwide Blvd.</i> Also... here are some site photos I took myself of the "back end" of the site. There's really a lot of unused land over here. <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/hotel6.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/hotel7.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/hotel8.jpg"> <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/hotel9.jpg">
March 15, 200916 yr ^Not sure that area needs more office and retail. Residential (apartments) should be the focus...what do you think?
March 16, 200916 yr Well, considering NRI has more apartments planned to the North of the Arena, I imagine these are offices to compliment then. I'm of the mindset that you can't be too picky with how other people are spending their money. ;) I'm just glad that Nationwide is investing in Columbus AND investing downtown. This whole area would be nothing without them.
April 28, 200916 yr Convention center hotel contracts have architecture firms on notice Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Friday, April 24, 2009 A sluggish market and the chance to design a major public works project should have architects lining up to secure design contracts for the Columbus’ proposed convention center hotel. The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority is looking for a national design architect and a Central Ohio design firm to administer the $160 million project planned for North High Street. The agency April 20 sent its needs to 58 firms interested in the project. It also has sought candidates over the Web ahead of a May 19 deadline for applications. Area architects said they expect heavy competition for design contracts, which offer combined fees between 4 percent and 10 percent of the construction cost. “As desperate as everyone is for work, everybody in the world is going to go after this, both nationally and locally,” said Mick Ball, vice president of marketing at Karlsberger Cos., a design firm in Columbus. Architects should be chosen as soon as June. The authority expects to begin looking for construction management firms in May with a selection by July. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/04/27/story8.html
June 13, 200916 yr Architects list pared for convention hotel Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Friday, June 5, 2009 The list has narrowed for the design teams pursuing contracts on the 500-room convention hotel planned for downtown Columbus. Karlsberger Cos., Moody Nolan Inc., NBBJ Design LLC and 360 Architecture Inc. made the cut of architecture firms in the running to prepare construction and bid documents and handle construction administration as the $160 million project’s architect of record. National firms vying for the design contract are the New York offices of Arquitectonica International Corp., the Dallas office of RTKL Associates Inc., Cooper Carey Inc. of Atlanta, HOK Chicago and TVS Design of Atlanta. The design contracts attracted 11 Central Ohio design firms, three other Ohio agencies and 31 out-of-state companies that submitted qualifications by the May 19 deadline set by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/06/08/newscolumn2.html
June 29, 200915 yr Convention center hotel design contracts go to Moody Nolan, HOK Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Friday, June 26, 2009 Moody Nolan Inc. will join HOK Chicago to design the 500-room convention hotel planned for downtown. A selection panel created by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority chose the Columbus firm as architect of record after interviews on June 17 with the other finalists, Karlsberger Cos. and 360 Architecture Ohio Inc. HOK Chicago emerged as the design architect for the $160 million project after interviews on June 10. The project pairs two firms that have done several developments in the past 15 years, including a 41-story office building under construction in Cincinnati. Moody Nolan CEO Curt Moody said the firm is “ecstatic” over its selection to administer the high-profile project and produce construction documents based on the HOK Chicago team’s design. While HOK has numerous convention hotel projects in its portfolio, Moody Nolan has limited experience in the hospitality industry with no convention center hotels. However, the Columbus firm is serving as design architect for a proposed 230-room hotel as part of the Cincinnati riverfront’s Banks project, where it also has designed a 300-unit apartment atop street-level retail. It also serves as associate architect on the Great American Tower at Queen City Square nearby. Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/06/29/story12.html
July 9, 200915 yr Design group in hand, officials narrow search for hotel building team Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority may have the construction management team for a planned $160 million convention center hotel in Columbus in place by mid-July. A panel evaluating eight contenders whittled the list in half June 24, with interviews of the finalist groups scheduled for July 13, including: • Bovis Lend Lease / Miles McClellan Construction Co. • Gilbane Building Co. / Corna-Kokosing Construction Co. / McDaniels Construction Corp. • Holder Construction Co. / Continental Building Systems • Turner Construction Co. / Smoot Construction Co. The selection could take place soon after the interviews so the convention facilities authority can ratify the decision at its July 14 meeting. “We really look at the people getting assigned to the project and the experience they’ve had with hotels,” said Jeff Sachs, managing partner at the Strategic Advisory Group Inc., which is an adviser to the authority. Sachs said the finalists offer local construction managers with knowledge of regional contractors who perform the bulk of the construction. Read more at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/07/06/newscolumn2.html
July 19, 200915 yr Turner/Smoot wins contract to build convention hotel Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Friday, July 17, 2009 The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority has selected the team of Turner Construction Co. and Smoot Construction Co. to build the $160 million convention center hotel planned for downtown. An authority panel evaluating eight bidders interviewed the Turner/Smoot team and three others July 13, with the authority board ratifying its selection the next day. The board also ratified the earlier selection of HOK Chicago as the design architect, and Moody Nolan Inc. of Columbus to administer the project and create the construction documents as architect of record. http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/07/20/newscolumn2.html
July 20, 200915 yr Here's a better rendering posted over at Columbus Underground. So as I understand it, this rendering is not the final design for the hotel? So in other words, there is a chance it could look completely different and hopefully taller?
July 22, 200915 yr ^ that rendering is just a conceptual idea. The final hotel will be designed by HOK and Moody Nolan. It will most likely look completely different from what you are seeing here.
July 22, 200915 yr Here's a better rendering posted over at Columbus Underground. So as I understand it, this rendering is not the final design for the hotel? So in other words, there is a chance it could look completely different and hopefully taller? I like this rendering because it is set in Camaroland.
July 22, 200915 yr PS c-dub, your avatar is really creeping me out. It kind of creeped me out too so I changed it :-o
October 8, 200915 yr Hilton huh? Nice! Here's some more about this from Business First... Hilton to manage upcoming convention hotel Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 5:58pm The Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority at its Tuesday afternoon meeting chose Hilton to market and manage the $160 million facility. Hilton beat out the other finalist, Marriott International Inc., to operate the hotel that is expected to open in late 2012 or early 2013. The selection of a hotel management company marks the final major contract before the expected mid-2010 start of construction for the hotel, set for a site on North High Street between Vine Street and Nationwide Boulevard. Full story at http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/10/05/daily18.html
October 17, 200915 yr More on the Hilton from their official press release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=88577&p=irol-newsArticleOther&ID=1341420&highlight=
November 17, 200915 yr Anybody have any updated renderings of the hotel? I've tried getting hold of someone at Moody Nolan and HOK but no luck there.
November 17, 200915 yr The new renderings have just been released. From Planners unveil convention hotel.
November 17, 200915 yr Yeah, the skywalk is unnecessary (seeing how the city destroyed one already). The building is fine for a gap-filler chain hotel. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 18, 200915 yr Blast, it looks like it's taking out Char Bar. Not to fear, the Char Bar's safe. Here's a photo from the Auditor's website of the Char Bar building. Looking at that fourth hotel rendering (High Street view looking south), you can see the Char Bar building and the larger Carlile Building are still there.
November 18, 200915 yr From this morning's Dispatch: Bigger Hilton hotel to open early, by fall 2012 The $140 million hotel is expected to have 532 rooms, up from the original 500, and to be completed by early fall 2012, a couple of months earlier than previously expected, consultant Jeff Sachs and architect Todd Holamka of HOK told convention-center officials and Franklin County commissioners. One design feature shown yesterday -- an elevated pedestrian walkway across High Street connecting the hotel with the convention center -- generated some reaction. Curt Moody of Moody Nolan said Mayor Michael B. Coleman was not thrilled with the idea but was "open" to considering it. "He said, 'I just brought one down,' " said Moody, referring to a pedestrian bridge that was connected to the Columbus City Center mall, which is being leveled. Dan Williamson, spokesman for Coleman, said the mayor's "first-blush" reaction was that he doesn't like such walkways, which have fallen out of favor with urban planners. Walkways are common at convention hotels, though, as meeting planners put a premium on hotel rooms and meeting space being under one roof.
November 18, 200915 yr Blast, it looks like it's taking out Char Bar. Not to fear, the Char Bar's safe. Here's a photo from the Auditor's website of the Char Bar building. Looking at that fourth hotel rendering (High Street view looking south), you can see the Char Bar building and the larger Carlile Building are still there. Oh I see, the hotel is to the *south* of those buildings. Then it will just be infill.
November 19, 200915 yr Very large and boxy. In that that second rendering it actually looks a little bit like Ibiza when looking south with the glass stacked on top of brick like that. I’m also not a big fan of the skywalk. We want our visitors to experience the city, and that means walking around outside. Also, sidewalk foot traffic = safety. The more eyeballs you have out on the street, the less likely you are to have crime. I don’t think the skywalk is a complete buzzkill for the project though, as I’m sure the added foot traffic of the 500 new hotel rooms should be putting more people on the sidewalks than there were there before. A net gain overall. Otherwise, I’m a fan of the added density to the Downtown landscape. One less parking lot, and one more building. One more step in the right direction… and a fairly large and significant step at that. This project is going to have a very significant impact, not only on Downtown, but the entire region. Big kudos to everyone involved in making this happen.
November 19, 200915 yr The design is rather uninspired, but is a convention hotel, and am sure it will be adequate to fill the immediate need. Columbus has far too few good rooms to host large conventions. I know you all hate the skywalk, but the guests will want it and the convention planners will want it. That is reason enough to have it. Convenience is the key. People need to get from the hotel to the conference asap...the street scene is for leisure time. I worked in the hospitality industry my entire life.. what the guest wants is what is important. If someone is wearing a special outfit for a convention, they really don't want to fight traffic (even just to cross the street) to get to their booth. And they certainly don't want to get rained on or snowed on. You have to think in practical terms. Columbus does not enjoy nice weather year round, and can ill afford to alienate conventioneers.
November 19, 200915 yr I like uninspired sometimes. I don't like 1 or 2 story uninspired, but I like large boxy buildings - more of an old time feel to them. I don't care that it's not glitzy and/or styling - I find it appealing in the sense of being urban. I wish we had more big brick boxes around town.
November 19, 200915 yr The busiest part of the convention season is when the weather is often crummy (late fall, late winter/early spring). The skywalk comes in handy when exhibitors want to preserve their appearance while carrying small items for their display from their room to the GCCC. They will have to go to street level to go anywhere but the Convention Center.
November 21, 200915 yr ...the street scene is for leisure time. They will have to go to street level to go anywhere but the Convention Center. Not necessarily. The Convention Center includes a wide range of dining options in the form of their existing food court, restaurants, and bar. The new Hilton Hotel will also include multiple restaurants and bars. If you park your car in the garage, there's really no reason to go outside at all. Unless maybe you want to get your car out and check out the fabulous offerings of Polaris or Easton.
November 21, 200915 yr The new renderings have just been released. From Planners unveil convention hotel. That's pretty bland and boring design. Gotta love all that blank brick wall at the base. Definitely would be a bleak experience walking past this. Convention centers and their accessory buildings really need to do a better job to liven up their immediate surroundings even during non-event times. This hotel isn't helping. When I hear clients talking about how they want to liven up a commercial street, or make an area exciting or welcoming to the public, I'd be thinking much differently than this.
November 21, 200915 yr ...the street scene is for leisure time. They will have to go to street level to go anywhere but the Convention Center. Not necessarily. The Convention Center includes a wide range of dining options in the form of their existing food court, restaurants, and bar. The new Hilton Hotel will also include multiple restaurants and bars. If you park your car in the garage, there's really no reason to go outside at all. Unless maybe you want to get your car out and check out the fabulous offerings of Polaris or Easton. Exhibitors and attendees often avoid hotel/convention center bars and restaurants in order to take a break from the show, seeing the same people and the general sterility of facilities oriented to the convention and trade show business, especially people who go to a lot of them. Trust me, when the show is over for the day people want to go someplace else, even if it is the bar across the street.
December 11, 200915 yr Here's a photo of the future site of the hotel from the lower grade. Goodbye parking lot! <img src="http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/hotel-1.jpg">
December 13, 200915 yr I still think they should put the connector UNDER high street. You can see there is already a bridge in Walker's photo.
March 20, 201015 yr That hotel design is terrible! Everyone has a right to their opinion. But I'd expect more than a five word criticism on a $140 million proposal. Especially from someone who operates an urban issues website.
March 25, 201015 yr Come on, that building looks like a commie block. It's like a classic interstate highway hotel design. Terrible. Lest you think I'm getting down on Columbus, Indy has a bunch of them even worse than that. What bugs me is not that a private company decided to erect low quality architecture on a prime downtown site, but that so much tax dollars are going into it. Public investment is the big lever to insist on quality architecture, so it always disappoints me when it isn't delivered. On the whole, I'm a big Cbus fan and think the Arena District was done very well, but this hotel isn't worth of the city.
March 25, 201015 yr I'd agree that the initial hotel design would be improved with some of the ideas previously suggested, such as: - Replace the overhead skybridge with a tunnel under High Street - Add more storefront windows and less blank walls along High Street But a terrible communist block interstate highway hotel design? Sorry, you're on your own with that one, arenn.
March 25, 201015 yr What bugs me is not that a private company decided to erect low quality architecture on a prime downtown site... If you're referring to Hilton as the private company, I don't believe that they were actually involved in the development/design. From what I've read it sounds like the hotel will be built by the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority (ie: Convention Center) and Hilton has been tapped as the managing partner. Which could explain the lack of creative design. ;)
July 15, 201014 yr Room to spare Ground was broken yesterday for the new Hilton Columbus Downtown, which already is bringing in more convention business. Officials say that justifies the public financial stake. Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 2:52 AM By Marla Matzer Rose, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH After a decade of discussion and several years of study and political wrangling, dirt was moved yesterday for a publicly financed, 532-room hotel across from the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Representatives from Franklin County, the city of Columbus and the convention industry spoke at a rain-soaked ceremony on the surface parking lot that will be home to the $140 million Hilton Columbus Downtown by fall 2012. Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/07/14/room-to-spare.html?sid=101
January 12, 201114 yr Found a panoramic photo of the Hilton/Convention Center Hotel construction site at flickr. The photo is dated December 31, 2010. It looks like it was taken from Front Street looking east toward High Street and the Convention Center. The construction site spans from the brick buildings on the left to the railroad tracks on the right.
January 12, 201114 yr From the renderings I'm afraid that this hotel will rival only the Convention Center itself in the battle of who can have the worst street presence. Room to spare Ground was broken yesterday for the new Hilton Columbus Downtown, which already is bringing in more convention business. Officials say that justifies the public financial stake. Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - 2:52 AM By Marla Matzer Rose, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH After a decade of discussion and several years of study and political wrangling, dirt was moved yesterday for a publicly financed, 532-room hotel across from the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Representatives from Franklin County, the city of Columbus and the convention industry spoke at a rain-soaked ceremony on the surface parking lot that will be home to the $140 million Hilton Columbus Downtown by fall 2012. Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/07/14/room-to-spare.html?sid=101
January 12, 201114 yr I was downtown today and they now have 2 cranes up. I didn't have my camera with me but it was nice to see construction cranes downtown again.
January 13, 201114 yr From the renderings I'm afraid that this hotel will rival only the Convention Center itself in the battle of who can have the worst street presence. I doubt it would "win" this battle since it's up against an enclosed fortress. This one will have more windows. Oh wow, I just noticed that the Southern Baptist Convention is looking at a visit in June 2015 to bring 16,000 visitors, just in time for the gay pride parade. That spectacle will be worth the trip back.
January 14, 201114 yr From the renderings I'm afraid that this hotel will rival only the Convention Center itself in the battle of who can have the worst street presence. I doubt it would "win" this battle since it's up against an enclosed fortress. This one will have more windows. Add my vote for the Convention Center winning this battle too. Remember that the Convention Center was designed by "starchitect" Peter Eisenmann. He's a master at the windowless fortress with bad street presence.
March 27, 201114 yr New Hilton’s foundation in place Sunday, March 27, 2011 03:15 AM By Marla Matzer Rose THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH In about a month, work on the new Hilton Columbus Downtown, across from the Greater Columbus Convention Center, is expected to hit a milestone: The construction site should become level with High Street. The hotel is being built on a long-vacant lot next to railroad tracks below the grade of High Street. http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/03/27/new-hiltons-foundation-in-place.html?sid=101
April 17, 201114 yr From the Columbus Construction Update - Spring 2011 at Columbus Underground: "The new Downtown Hilton Hotel broke ground last summer. There’s been quite a bit of progress made on the foundation work lately, and the 500-room hotel will be going sky-high soon. The planned opening is Fall 2012."
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