Radisson (formerly Wyndham)

[Timtoomany]

ThatÂ’s a hot spot in OKC, no doubt.

I agree. I've always had a fondness for that stretch of N May Ave between about 36th and Hefner for no really good reason, even living across the other side of the city. Interesting to see how/if it evolves.

[shawnw]

Rt 7 goes up May partially, but nothing up NWX until BRT.

[SEMIweather]

Is there a current bus line that links the Downtown area to this area directly? As in, the bus has a limited number of stops between DT transfer and NWEx/May?

Bus access to this area is not great, but the forthcoming BRT line will greatly improve that. Would really like to see some improvements made to pedestrian access along Expressway as well, because it is just brutal right now, particularly around the I-44 interchange which is downright dangerous. I doubt anything will be done very soon, but it would be nice to see a plan to improve things between Classen and Lake Hefner Parkway by the time the Belle Isle portion of I-44 gets redone in 5-10 years.

[Celebrator]

Took a hard hat tour of this place on Wed. night. They are tearing down the interior to the studs in both common areas and guest rooms. I attended a large event here last May and the place was in terrible shape. The asset manager who has been hired by the new owners to renovate the hotel said he was shocked to see how neglected the property had become before the renovation.

They are planning on a resort-style pool area with lush landscaping and areas for pool-side events with food and beverage. They showed us one of the guest rooms which was finished specifically for the tour. The rooms have wood-look flooring and neutral, cool colors. The new flag, Radisson, wants their hotels to be refuges of calm for business travelers. They talked about two and three room executive suites on one of the floors. They are reducing overall number of rooms. They provided food samples from the menu of the in-house restaurant which is being developed by Jonathan Stranger. Impressed. They talked a big game about how great the new hotel will be and plan to be open by Feb. 1. Pretty ambitious, but will be great for Founders District and the NW side.

[Pete]

[Pete]

[Celebrator]

Now they say they are not accepting reservations until Dec. 24, 2020! In February it was mid-July.

[Pete]

This project has completely stalled:

[Celebrator]

As per the Oklahoman on Sunday, the lending group, iBorrow, that owns it is pausing for the time being but is committed at this point to finishing the project.

[warreng88]

Noticed today while driving by that there has been some vandalizing of the property. A few of the windows facing May (south east?) have had things thrown through them.

[Celebrator]

I have been noticing that a lot lately. I really hope they can at least secure the property better as it is a major anchor here in our neighborhood. I have heard nothing more since late summer about ownership's plans for the property. The deterioration is a concern for sure.

[Pete]

They removed all the storage containers and this project remains dormant:

[Celebrator]

There's actually been more activity there as of late with ServPro showing up sometime in the last 5-6 weeks and their presence has been consistent. And they finally cleaned up ice storm tree damage at the entrance on NW Expwy just a couple of weeks ago, so I saw that as a good sign.

[Pete]

^

Good to hear!

Hopefully the get going again soon.

[bombermwc]

With the age of the place, iIm still not sure why they are bothering with a remodel instead of a rebuild. There's nothing special about the building. It could easily be right out of the Drury Inn catalog. They removed the villas, which was the only unique thing about the place.

[shawnw]

I would argue the views would be unique-ish, but that's about it

[Celebrator]

I went on a hardhat tour in December of '19 and they had done a ton of tearing down to studs and concrete walls. It is a solidly built structure--don't make 'em like they used to kind of building--and I think the new owners like that about it. They were on their way to an absolute gut job. You should have seen the lobby! They were stripping it down and going to reconfigure it somewhat. They had/have ambitious plans to make it a very nice business-class full service hotel. I truly hope they can achieve their original vision for it sometime.

[HOT ROD]

Holiday Inn Oklahoma City Northwest Business District - here we go.

[bombermwc]

Holiday Inn Oklahoma City Northwest Business District - here we go.

Right, well that's my point. It isn't large enough to be anything other than a cookie cutter motel. So the effort going in to the structure just doesn't make economic sense. What's the benefit to making a swanky Holiday Inn? Yeah, make it on part with the other like hotels, but we're not talking 5 stars here. No they dont make hotels this size like this anymore. It's because it was incredibly expensive for what you get out of it. Yes the structure itself stays, but it's more expensive to alter concrete than doze and rebuild if you're the same person that bulit it. In this case, I just dont get it...but that's ok. Not my dollars.

[Rover]

Right, well that's my point. It isn't large enough to be anything other than a cookie cutter motel. So the effort going in to the structure just doesn't make economic sense. What's the benefit to making a swanky Holiday Inn? Yeah, make it on part with the other like hotels, but we're not talking 5 stars here. No they dont make hotels this size like this anymore. It's because it was incredibly expensive for what you get out of it. Yes the structure itself stays, but it's more expensive to alter concrete than doze and rebuild if you're the same person that bulit it. In this case, I just dont get it...but that's ok. Not my dollars.

There are lots of boutique hotels of this size and smaller. Quality isn’t determined by size.

[Pete]

From today:

[KayneMo]

This sign is now out front along NW Expressway.

[David]

http://highlandtowerliving.com/ doesn't seem to exist, at least not yet.

[shawnw]

LOL

registered on godaddy 9/30

takes seconds to put up a splash page

[Plutonic Panda]

Seeing that aerial picture Pete without the Founders Building makes me sick. Can we get a developer to rebuild that landmark? I'll do it when I make it big time.