Downtown Residence Inn construction starts after 18-month redesign delay
This is from today's Business First.
I didn't realize this building by the corner of Gay and High was slated to be a Residence Inn. That's great news for the vitality of downtown since it's more central than most downtown Columbus hotels and close to some downtown Columbus condominium projects.
Additionally, they're saving an historic building and the hotel itself will be urban-cool because of the architecture.
Suite hotel finally gets off ground
Business First of Columbus - June 23, 2006
by Brian R. Ball
Business First
A North Carolina hotel developer and operator has begun the long-delayed conversion of the old Buckeye Federal Savings and Loan building in Columbus into a Residence Inn by Marriott.
Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co. and development partner
Lubert Adler Real Estate Funds of Philadelphia expect to open the 126-suite hotel at 36-42 E. Gay St. by mid- to late-summer 2007.
Debra Adcock, Concord's vice president of operations in Ohio, said Columbus-based
Ruscilli Construction Co. started the $23 million project June 19 after climbing development costs forced a redesign of the project over the last 18 months.
"The sheer complexity of redeveloping an 80-year-old building and increases in construction costs made us rethink and reinvent the design," Adcock said. "It took a significant amount of time to do that."
The partnership earlier completed demolition and removed asbestos from the building.
"The tough part is over," Adcock said. "Now we're into the fun."
The Residence Inn, she said, should complement the business Concord Hospitality does at the 149-room Courtyard by Marriott business-class hotel it has owned and operated at 35 W. Spring St. since 1994.
The Courtyard "is designed for business and leisure travelers staying for less than five nights ... whereas the Residence Inn is designed for customers staying five or more nights," Adcock said.
The Residence Inn has studio rooms, and one- and two-bedroom units.
The rooms include kitchens and living rooms.
"It's apartment-style living," Adcock said. Meeting the market
Construction of the Residence Inn starts two years after the former Adam's Mark on North Third Street was turned into a Renaissance Columbus, another Marriott-flag luxury hotel.
Real estate consultant Eric Belfrage said the addition of an all-suite hotel downtown will round out offerings for travelers.
"I think it's a fabulous addition to the market," said Belfrage, a lodging specialist with CB Richard Ellis Inc. "There's nothing like that downtown." The Residence Inn will mark a 4 percent addition to the 3,151 hotel rooms downtown, meaning it should have little effect on center-city hotel occupancies, he said.
Belfrage said renovation of a historic building will add a cosmopolitan dimension to the downtown lodging market.Adcock said a few details of the project remain in flux.
For instance, the size of the hotel's convenience store is not set, she said, and the developer has yet to secure a restaurant operator for an area off the lobby.
"The most difficult part of that is having the (restaurant operator) see the space," Adcock said. "They want to visualize the space before they commit to it, so we really need to get into construction."
The chief executive of the region's convention and visitors bureau said he welcomed the hotel's progress.
"We were a little concerned it might not move forward," said
Experience Columbus CEO Paul Astleford.
He said the hotel, once complete, will add to the mix of hotels available downtown even if it's not close to the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
"I think it will get good play from convention groups because it's a good name and it's a good product," he said.
Stainless and Granite, blah blah blah
Is is just me or does everyone and their mother have stainless steel appliances and granite countertops these days. It's become so in tune with "the hot new look" that I think it's neither hot nor new.
Yes, I still love the look and Yes I do consider it somewhat timeless but perhaps there'll be a day when today's stainless steel becomes yesterday's avocado green.
What ever happened to quartz becoming the new granite? Isn't it non-porous, essentially maintenence-free and has great depth and clarity? Just once I'd like to see a Columbus home advertised with quartz, even cement or soapstone countertops and stainless.
Yes, I have granite in my kitchen and it needs some maintenance and could be stained by wine, acids or oils. As much as I love my granite, I'm just looking for the next thing in Columbus Ohio real estate ads. I do like seeing non-black granites used in kitchens since black is far and away the color granite of choice. It seems to class up a kitchen a little if it's a lighter color.
Condotels?
While Columbus is not Daytona Beach or Miami so we probably won't be seeing condotels, it is an interesting concept and not that far removed from what we're seeing in places like the short north and olde towne east where duplexes and apartment buildings are going condo. . . . .
Excerpts from the Inman News Article . . . . . . .
Condotels catch on fast -- maybe too fast
Thousands of units under way in major real estate markets
Tuesday, June 20, 2006By Glenn Roberts Jr.Inman News
Robin Glass, Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties
Charlotte Chipps, an Ohio schoolteacher, bought a condominium-hotel unit last year in Daytona Beach, Fla. A developer had bought up a couple of hotels in the area and converted the buildings into condotels -- which allow buyers to purchase individual units and gives them the option to enroll in a rental program that opens their units to hotel guests for a share of the rental income.
"It was sort of a whim," she said. "I do own a house in the Daytona area that I rent. I had just that little bit of experience. I'm not a person with any money. I just thought that this would perhaps be an investment for me. If values continued to go up, I would keep it for two or three years and make $20,000 or $30,000."
Meanwhile, at the southern end of the state, a swarm of new luxury high-rise condotel projects are in the works. The surge of condotel developments has hit other coastal markets too, and there are several high-end projects under development in downtown Las Vegas.
Condotels run the gamut from aging, low-rise hotel conversions to ultra-luxury, new high-rise towers backed by big-name developers and hotel chains. The condotel movement even has its own association, formed this year: the
National Association of Condo Hotel Owners, or NACHO.
Condotels are not just a flash in the pan, says Dante Alexander, president and CEO for the condotel association, though they aren't typically a cash cow for owners, either -- and buyers should be aware of all of the costs and complexities associated with these properties.
"People like to refer to it as a trend," said Alexander, who formerly worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. "Now, admittedly, it's a segment. But it is really going to be much more than a segment." Condotels, he said, will represent "a significant quotient of hotel real estate in the country," and they are already making waves in some international markets.
There is a risk of over-building in some popular condotel markets, and lenders have heightened requirements for projects, though Alexander said he expects a cooling-off period and a shift by condotel developers to broaden the range of prices and locations for the projects to appeal to a larger pool of buyers.
"Everybody is pulling back a little and appropriately so. There is a little bit of oversupply going on. It shouldn't be a frenzied environment, and it has been a frenzied environment," he said.
While attending a real estate conference, Alexander said another attendee asked, "What if (the condotel market) implodes?" Alexander's response: "What if it doesn't?" Based on the demographic trends of baby boomers and their children, Alexander said he expects that in the next couple of years "we're going to wish we had more" condotels.
He advises prospective buyers to
purchase a condotel unit because they plan to use it, not because they plan to quickly flip it and make a quick buck. A common misconception is that the rental profits of a condotel unit will generate profits for the owner. But with insurance and maintenance and mortgage costs, owners shouldn't expect to earn any money in the short term, Alexander said. "It's an expense. It's going to be like owning any other piece of property."
Victorian Village in the short North to get some good looking homes
The former parking lot never looked so good.
I'm always amazed by how much can go in a tight spot. Urban Density is a good thing for Columbus and it's especially a good thing for near center city neighborhoods like the Short North, Italian Village, and the near east areas like Olde Towne East and Bronzeville.
excerpts from yesterday's Daily Reporter article. . . . .
A new Plaza Properties development will bring
86 condominium residences to Victorian Village in the next year and a half.The firm's latest undertaking, The Valerian in Victorian Village, will occupy a 1.7 acre site on Starr and Third avenues, on land that formerly was home to a parking lot used by the staff of the nearby Victorian Village Health Center.
Plaza acquired the property from Third Apollo Co. on Dec. 5, 2005.The Valerian will consist of four distinct housing segments.
-The Homes at The Valerian will feature five, three-story, two family duplexes. The 10 residences - 1,500-square feet each - all have two to three bedrooms and two-car garages with private entrances.
-The Crescent at The Valerian will be comprised of 30 two-bedroom residences fronting Starr and Third avenues. Six street-entry flats will measure 1,200-square feet each, 14 "crescent" flats and 10 top-level flats will be 1,075- to 1,600-square feet each.
Eighteen units will have one bedroom, while the remainder will have two bedrooms.One parking space will be reserved for each of the street-entry and crescent flats, while the top-level flats each will have two spaces per unit.
-The Flats at The Valerian will consist of 30 common hall units, ranging in size from 825- to 1,120-square feet each. The building will have elevator service and each residence will have one parking space.
The Carriage Houses at The Valerian, to be located behind the Homes, will consist of eight townhomes measuring 1,200-square feet each and eight flats at 900-square feet each. All the townhomes will have one-car garages with private entrances.
All the buildings are brick and stone, and several feature gables and large front porches - features that are popular in Victorian architecture, said Shane Bell, project manager at Architectural Alliance, The Valerian's architect of record.
A contractor for the project has not yet been chosen.The Valerian is
expected to break ground in the fall, with construction completed in late 2007. All residences at The Valerian are expected to range in price from $180,000 to $375,000.(picture curtesy of the Daily Reporter via artists rendering belonging to Plaza Properties.)
City Hop
City HopThe Columbus Landmarks Foundation hosts the 7th annual City Hop on Saturday June 17th. Festivities kick off on the 16th with a Brewery District tour and kickoff party.
This year's City Hop will feature 19 stops, some essetially at one location, from condos for sale, to condos being built to apartments to a giant decorating store, Grayson's Living Ideas. In addition, City Hop will feature "Lofty Ideas — a day-long series of short talks about how to create dynamic living spaces in old building lofts. Held in various City Hop tour stop locales and led by local artchitects, designers and other professionals. Topics include space design, urban gardening, storage and entertaining.
Cowtown Condos own monthly Condo Hop has visited most of these sites in the past and will visit others in the coming months. Don't be confused, the monthly condo hop is put on by me, Realtor Joe Peffer of Coldwell Banker King Thompson. If you haven't yet attended one and are interested in downtown columbus condos and dowtown columbus living, you should check us out the 2nd Saturday of Every month. As always, we leave cafe Brioso (corner of Gay and High) at 10 AM.
Who is the Columbus Landmarks Foundation?
-"What is Columbus Landmarks Foundation? Columbus Landmarks, the organization that produces City Hop, was founded in 1977 by a dedicated group of historic preservationists and local residents who were committed to preserving Columbus' architectural heritage. Since that time, Landmarks has played an integral role in educating the community, encouraging responsible public and private sector enhancement of historic areas and structures, and promoting the highest standards in the design and construction of new buildings and spaces. For more information, click here to get to our home page or call the Landmarks office at 614-221-0227. "
All this rain makes for a great time to see a columbus condo!
It must be time for the Memorial Tournament and the Columbus Arts Festival.
The weatherman predicts a gorgeous weekend though, so hang in there.
In the meantime, I should point out that
looking at homes during a downpour (as I have the last couple days) is a great time to discover some basic truths. It's especially nice to take a look at basements and discover the truth to the seller's property disclosure statement that reads something like this: "During very heavy rains, there is a small trickle of water that runs to the drain from the southwest corner of the basement."
Of course you have to take them at face value if you see the home on a nice sunny day and only discover after you move in that the trickle is more like a torrent of water that moves your dryer three feet. Take a look in the attic too.
If you are especially interested in the home and access is available, take a look in the attic crawl space and look for any signs of water intrusion.
