Urban Planning and Transportation Issues in Biggest Little State in the Union
Urban Planning and Transportation Issues in Biggest Little State in the Union
First off, apologies to anyone who has been checking in regularly hoping for updates. It's been a weird couple weeks, and the internet hasn't been the best of friends lately, so I've been neglecting the URBlog. Despite my lack of posting, lots of relevant stuff has been happening, so I'll try to post some quick links, if for nothing more than posterity.
Now, to the mail bag! There's a link over to the right there where anyone can send an email tip, request, suggestion, whatever. Cotuit used it this week to send this link to a hotel proposal for Parcel 12 of Capital Center (that triangle wedge on Memorial Boulevard currently covered in four or five pieces of public art). Since the ProJo has recently moved over to a different pay-archive system, I can't look up the exact reason this proposal didn't get built, though I'm sure we can all take some good guesses, this was from Buddy's Providence after all. The building looks pretty nice, if too small. That site is an amazing location, hopefully we'll eventually see a worthy building there (I think the city is still soliciting proposals...)
Keep the mail coming!
TrackBackI've seen mentions in varies articles about other projects around the city that this hotel is still on someones backburner.
July 2, 2004 04:49 PMI think Joe Paolino owns the rights to that site, but he's been pretty quiet lately. If I remember I'll head over to the library next week and look up some info on this.
July 2, 2004 10:22 PMI would think this one is on a way back burner... Think about it... The G-Tech hotel has been cancelled due to lack of funding and a poor hotel environment, the Biltmore is threatening to go condo if the LaSalle hotel gets built, and two other hotels are currently being done (Hotel Providence and the Masonic building). I don't think we'll see a hotel on that parcel anytime soon...
Also, that building is too small as already mentioned...
Garris
July 3, 2004 12:08 AMThe Biltmore's woes are seperate from the current acceleration in hotel development in the city. The Biltmore's problem is that it is a twentieth century (early 20th century at that) hotel in a 21st century hotel market. Business travellers (which are what the city is trying to attract through convention business) are looking for larger modern rooms (such as what the Westin offers). The Biltmore has very small rooms, a lot of business travellers switch over to the Westin and the Marriot after first encountering the rooms that the Biltmore offers.
It would be wildly expensive for the Biltmore to renovate the building to increase room sizes, so expensive that it is probably more economically feasible for them to sell of to condo developers. Not to mention the fact that increasing room sizes would decrease the number of rooms the hotel has to offer. I think it is probably inevitable that the Biltmore will become condos, regardless of who funds any future hotels in the city.
I suppose it would be sad to see the demise of the Biltmore. But the building itself will surely survive, and I personally wouldn't mind having a condo in it. It could end up being a good thing for Downcity in the log run.
July 3, 2004 02:43 PM