Hotel Indigo will transform 16 and 20 E Broad St. next to the Rhodes Tower and across from the Statehouse into a 117-room upscale hotel:

 

Tax credit to transform historic buildings into Downtown hotel

Thursday,  December 10, 2009 12:36 PM

By Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

 

The first boutique hotel Downtown will be built by rehabilitating and combining two historic buildings and using a $4.6 million state historic tax credit.

 

The Hotel Indigo will utilize buildings at 16 and 20 E. Broad Street, immediately next to the Rhodes State Office Tower.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/10/historic-tax-credit-downtown-hotel.html?sid=101

WOW!  Those are two spectacular old downtown buildings.  Below is a photo of 20 E. Broad Street during last summer.  The taller red brick tower to the left is 16 E. Broad Street.  The 16 E. Broad Street tower abuts the recently completed Broad and High Project.

 

Now if we could just get rid of the Rhodes Tower this would be an incredibly handsome block! ;)

 

I am excited about this project moreso due to the increased cohesiveness it will bring to the area. 16 E Broad is right on Pearl Alley, which feeds into Gay St. 20 E Broad is adjoined to the recently completed residences at 8 E Broad, which is part of the larger Broad & High area, as rider mentioned. The Indigo brand should fit nicely into the buildings and the entire area as well.

Hotel indigo isn't "upscale" it a boutique "lite" hotel.    The InterContiental brand is Holiday Inn/Priority Clubs "upscale" brand.

Hotel indigo isn't "upscale" it a boutique "lite" hotel. The InterContiental brand is Holiday Inn/Priority Clubs "upscale" brand.

 

Anal much? Whew - now we will all be able to sleep better tonight.

Hotel indigo isn't "upscale" it a boutique "lite" hotel. The InterContiental brand is Holiday Inn/Priority Clubs "upscale" brand.

 

Maybe so, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it is a welcome addition to downtown, especially the Capitol Square area. And technically, I would say this will be downtown Columbus' second boutique hotel, after The Lofts on E Nationwide Blvd.

Hotel indigo isn't "upscale" it a boutique "lite" hotel.    The InterContiental brand is Holiday Inn/Priority Clubs "upscale" brand.

 

Maybe so, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it is a welcome addition to downtown, especially the Capitol Square area. And technically, I would say this will be downtown Columbus' second boutique hotel, after The Lofts on E Nationwide Blvd.

 

I'm not saying that at all.  I'm pointing out that the paper's article might mislead people into thinking its a luxury brand when it isn't.

 

...carry on...

More from Columbus Business First:

 

Downtown historic buildings to be turned into hotel

Business First of Columbus - by Brian R. Ball

 

Two historic downtown buildings are in line to be redeveloped into a 117-room hotel thanks to a state-approved historic tax credit.

 

State officials announced the tax credit for the upscale Hotel Indigo at 16 and 20 E. Broad St. Thursday morning.

 

The properties are controlled by affiliates of Columbus retail and real estate magnate Jay Schottenstein and his family. The $26.6 million renovation, including $14.7 million in ‘hard’ construction costs, is expected to get under way by mid-2010 with anticipation of a December 2011 opening. Schottenstein Property Group’s Mike Schiff said the 25 percent Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit is worth about $4.57 million.

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/12/07/daily27.html

A new Hilton downtown, and now, Hotel Indigo downtown. Good news.

Yes, great news!  Also, this little tidbit in the article is interesting:

 

The state said the Hayden Building at 20 E. Broad, built in 1869, marks the oldest remaining building on Capitol Square. The 16 E. Broad St. building was the tallest building in Columbus when it opened in 1901 and once served as the offices of the National Football League.

 

And yet most in Columbus did not know they were the headquarters of the NFL.  History, folks!!!

Terrific news.  This will be a nice place for state lobbyists and other business travelers to stay.

You guys sure stay on top of things.  I just found an article about this and was going to post about it :)  Great news!

Great news!

 

Hopefully the Pearl Winter Market can find a new home for next year! They're currently set up in the ground floor of the building on Tuesdays and Fridays.

 

http://www.downtowncolumbus.com/pearlmarket/

Here is another photo of the two buildings for the proposed Hotel Indigo project.  Like CMH said, the 16 & 20 E. Broad Street buildings are next to Pearl Alley which feeds into Gay Street.  The four-story 20 E. Broad building is partially obscured by a tree on the statehouse grounds.  The 13-story 16 E. Broad building is next to the 16-story 8 E. Broad residential tower, which is part of the Broad and High redevelopment project. 

 

There was an update to this Hotel Indigo project at the end of a Columbus Dispatch article about a Short North hotel proposal:

 

From: High St. hotel plan moving ahead

 

"Meanwhile, a Downtown hotel project is quietly moving forward.  The developers of the planned Hotel Indigo across from the Ohio Statehouse on Broad Street are negotiating with a third-party hotel operator to run the hotel and to possibly buy the developers’ stake in it.  The 117-room hotel would be housed in two historic buildings near Broad and High streets."

 

"Michael Schiff, who is spearheading the project on the part of Schottenstein Property Group, said he expects to announce a deal “in 60 to 90 days.”  Schiff said several million dollars worth’ of state and federal historic-preservation tax credits, along with a buyer’s market for construction services, makes him confident that the project won’t have a problem getting financed and advancing"

 

Picking up some steam again...

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Group revives plans for Downtown hotel

Hotel Indigo will be housed in two historic Broad Street buildings

Friday, December 3, 2010  02:53 AM

By Marla Matzer Rose

 

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Plans for a Downtown hotel are moving forward again. A St. Louis hotel operator is in contract to buy two historic buildings across from the Ohio Statehouse that would be turned into a 117-room Hotel Indigo.

 

Plans are for the hotel to open as early as summer 2012.

 

Read more - http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/12/03/group-revives-plans-for-downtown-hotel.html?sid=101

 

This is probably very good news for hotel project.  Schottenstein Property Group had a chance to be a part of the adjacent Broad and High project.  Casto very much wanted to add Schottenstein's 13-story, 16 E. Broad building to their 16-story, 8 E. Broad building as part of their project.  It would have made alot of sense to renovate both buildings while all the construction equipment, barricades, etc were in the area for the Broad and High project.  But Schottenstein was unresponsive to Casto's overtures, so it remained vacant and unrenovated. 

 

Now that Broad & High is a success, Schottenstein is getting off the dime with this hotel proposal - which is good.  And then the proposal goes nowhere for about one year - which is not good.  Schottenstein getting out and handing this over to a company that specializes in hotel development can only improve the chances of this proposal going from concept to reality.

 

Here's more about this from Business First: Schottenstein’s Hotel Indigo project downtown changing hands to Midas Hospitality