Aloft Hotel

[soonerguru]

It slopes quite a ways down hill south to the tracks. It is actually an incredible view of downtown.

Great view of downtown? Let's pave it for parking!

[Rover]

Structures replace surface parking lots when there is an economic reason. It is strictly economics. Tall structures replace short structures when economics dictate. Until the value of land increases there will continue to be surface lots and low rise development.

BTW, there are very, very few hotels in excess of 250 rooms being built these days. For instance, I am working on two new Four Seasons hotels ....Toronto and Baltimore. Both have been downsized and at or under 250 rooms. The one in Baltimore has been delayed for the past 3 years. The only large hotels we are working are convention center hotels and a few resorts for Disney and Starwood. The convention hotels are all subsidized (like Dallas we are doing now).

[Urban Pioneer]

I have got to say that I am really excited about this hotel project. It is just what we need downtown. Just to help the discussion, here are pics of the site.

I used to live in Deep Deuce across the street and just walked all the way around it. Hopefully these will incite some good positive discussion that will provide solid feedback that maybe will be observed by the developers.



Looking SE



Looking at Southern Terminus of OK Ave as Developed by the Triangle People



Looking due East at prospective site



Aloft Site slope towards tracks, gradual here but steeper towards the Walnut Bridge



Looking SW from site towards CBD



Adjacent tracks (Tracks lead to Del City, Mid West City, and the Adventure District)



Existing City Parking Lot



2nd Perspective of Existing Surface Parking



Walnut Street Bridge (New Surface Parking Under Construction)



2nd look at new parking curbs



Tracks split here for siding

[Urban Pioneer]

I have done only a few pictures on here. What format works best to get them to simply "be up"??

There is another round of the existing buildings that could be posted.

[betts]

Great view of downtown? Let's pave it for parking!

So you'd rather people have to climb to the top of the garage to see the view?

If there were a parking garage there then it would
block those great views of downtown for guests in the hotel. By putting surface parking there you actually preserve the view from hotel rooms. Perhaps that's the explanation for the surface parking.

[Urban Pioneer]

If there were a parking garage there then of would block those great views of downtown for guests in the hotel. By putting surface parking there you actually preserve the view from hotel rooms. Perhaps that's the explanation for the surface parking.

Because there is a hillside, I think some of it could be buried. Obviously they will need basement space for mechanical, but a fair number of cars would fit in a singular recessed parking deck into the hill.

This seems like a real candidate for city redevelopment incentives to improve the project.

[Kerry]

Man I hope Tom Elmore doesn't see those train tracks. If he does the Aloft will never get built.

[Steve]

Those train tracks will not be effected by the hotel development; further, those tracks are not used anymore.

[Kerry]

Those train tracks will not be effected by the hotel development; further, those tracks are not used anymore.

LOL - by those standards Tom should be all over this. The only thing that would be more up his alley is if the tracks were already gone.

[Urban Pioneer]

Those train tracks will not be effected by the hotel development; further, those tracks are not used anymore.

That is correct. The tracks exist on what is mostly city/state property now. Union Pacific has had rights to operate on these tracks for years but possession of the rail infrastructure is mostly the city/state.

[Spartan]

LOL - by those standards Tom should be all over this. The only thing that would be more up his alley is if the tracks were already gone.

Hahaha. Win.

[king183]

Sorry--I've been out of the loop for a while and can't quite picture the area as well as I should. I'll drive by after work today to get a better ideat of the layour, but I remember talk a several weeks back that someone had bought much of the property where Maywood was ostensibly going to build more brownstones or other lofts. Is this on that property and are they the buyer? Or is that something entirely different?

[BluinOKC]

Now---That is cool ! What a step up.

[Kerry]

... but I remember talk a several weeks back that someone had bought much of the property where Maywood was ostensibly going to build more brownstones or other lofts. Is this on that property and are they the buyer? Or is that something entirely different?

This is the property and they were the buyers.

[Laramie]

I'm not aware of any reason why the Finley Bldg is important other than its name. It's facade certainly does not fit in a style of historic architecture. I'm pretty sure it's post war.

Dr. Gravely Finley was our family physician. He practiced up until he was 99 before his death. I knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't have stood in the path of progress.

God Rest Dr. Finley's soul--he was truely an outstanding individual who cared more about his patients than he did money--money was never an issue when we came to see him and he made house calls.

[jbrown84]

Do you think the people from the coasts whine about that when they're staying in a hotel in Manhatten or San Francisco? It's all a matter of expectations, I suspect.

Exactly.

[Spartan]

So going back to the pre-announcement buzz on this deal, can anyone venture a guess on what any of this has to do with the Scaramuccis? Or can we expect to see more if they are still planning to do something with this land..

(just my guess)

[ourulz2000]

Ok, i'm late getting in on this conversation. Is this thing approved? When will construction start, etc?

[Spartan]

Approved. Construction starts next March.

[rcjunkie]

LOL - by those standards Tom should be all over this. The only thing that would be more up his alley is if the tracks were already gone.

with any luck, Tom has gone the way of the Not This Maps and Steve hunt for Mayor crowd, in hiding.

[warreng88]

Aloft to add color to OKC
By Brianna Bailey

OKLAHOMA CITY – Conceptual plans for a new Aloft Hotel on NE Second Street between N. Oklahoma and N. Walnut avenues include the brand’s trademark Swoof, a large, rainbow-colored metallic roof that will be a highly visible downtown feature.

A metal manufacturer with offices in Tulsa builds the so-called Swoofs. The company’s handiwork crowns about a dozen Aloft hotels across the country.

“It’s a very bright, multicolored roof,” said Gabby Trad, director of operations for New Century Investments, the development group that wants to spend $18 million to build the hotel.

The Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority on Wednesday approved the conceptual design for the 130-room, seven-story downtown hotel that will feature the colorful roof.

With locations in Tulsa, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Georgia, metal manufacturer Madison Industries makes the Swoofs out of aluminum composite material and steel framing.

The Swoofs vary in size at each hotel, but can be up to 32 feet by 259 feet long, said Joe Weigand, general manager and vice president at Madison Industry’s Tulsa plant.

“We modularize the Swoof and ship it out on special trucks in anywhere from seven to nine modular sections,” Weigand said.
The roughly 2.5-acre site of the proposed hotel just north of Bricktown is made up of three parcels owned by three different landowners, including developer OKC Town Center, the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority and the city. Oklahoma City runs an alcohol detox center out of a building at 211 N. Walnut Ave. that is part of the proposed hotel site.

The developer hopes to break ground on the project in 2011.

Owned by the international hotel giant Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Aloft entered the U.S. market in 2009 and has quickly expanded over the span of 18 months to include 40 hotels across the United States and seven foreign countries scattered across Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East, according to the Starwood website. Starwood expects to add 10 more hotels to the Aloft chain by the end of 2010, according to the website.

http://journalrecord.com/2010/07/21/...c-real-estate/

[ljbab728]

Warren, your link doesn't help much unless you're a subscriber.

[Architect2010]

If they approved the conceptual designs, then can we see them? Under the OKC.gov meeting minutes, the documents aren't clickable in the Oklahoma Urban Renewal section. So you can't see the details. Can someone get a hold it so we can see the conceptual design please?

[David]

Here is what the Swoof on the Aloft in Broomfield, CO looks like lit up:

[OKCisOK4me]

Approved. Construction starts next March.

This answer here is the only reason I checked out this thread. Thanks Spartan!