SAN ANTONIO | Urban Core Development Thread

[trillhippy_210]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

Should San Antonio win one of three final four bids, the Alamodome will see a 50 million dollar renovation.

Improvements include:

• New wider concources on east and west sides of building
• Two new LED screens
• New terrace club
• New concession stands
• New locker rooms
• Outdoor plaza

These are pretty cool renderings. Where do you find out all this info??? I hope we get 1 of those spots too so they can go ahead with this.

[Restless 1]

I thought the general fund for dome maintenance had plenty of funds for this.

I do like the idea of an upgraded plaza. If it is designed well, it could mesh nicely with Sunset Station. That whole area is used for UTSA games, but the two could be better combined.

[STLtoSA]

Originally Posted by trillhippy_210

These are pretty cool renderings. Where do you find out all this info??? I hope we get 1 of those spots too so they can go ahead with this.

The city released them:
http://www.kens5.com/story/news/loca...sign/17282963/

News of upgrades being part of the bid was obvious and reported a long time ago, but I was waiting for these to be released.

I really like the expanded concourses and the terraces above (with great views of Downtown on the west side).

The video boards were an obvious need, and will hopefully happen regardless, but I was surprised not to see new suites for the south end (maybe that is where the new Terrace Club will be).

[trillhippy_210]

Originally Posted by STLtoSA

The city released them:
http://www.kens5.com/story/news/loca...sign/17282963/

News of upgrades being part of the bid was obvious and reported a long time ago, but I was waiting for these to be released.

I really like the expanded concourses and the terraces above (with great views of Downtown on the west side).

The video boards were an obvious need, and will hopefully happen regardless, but I was surprised not to see new suites for the south end (maybe that is where the new Terrace Club will be).

I already knew about the upgrades but I missed the article on KENS5.

[The Model]

Updated view of the convention center construction. Been out of town several weeks sorry for the update delay!

[sirkingwilliam]

Travelers Hotel set to undergo multimillion dollar makeover; will become a luxury hotel

When it opened in 1914, the seven-story Travelers Hotel was considered upscale, an extended-stay establishment for the business elite.

But it hasn't been that way for decades.

Sitting in the middle of a block of Broadway downtown, Travelers Hotel is currently a place where transients can stay for $30 a night. Guests walk up to an old marble front desk. House rules are spelled on white plastic letters on a black letter board — they include, “No visitors allowed in room.”

“If a guy comes in here who (urinated) his pants and has a whiskey bottle in his hand, I don't let him in,” hotel manager Gene Venable said.

Now under new ownership, Travelers Hotel is due for a multimillion-dollar renovation, one that could transform the infamous building from flophouse to — possibly — a luxury hotel.

Ownership group Ramila & Dhani LLC plans to invest as much as $10 million in the Travelers' refurbishing. And it's under contract with a high-end hotel brand, but the owners declined to divulge which one for contractual reasons.

Ramila & Dhani is experienced in lodging and purchased the Travelers last year because it wanted to take on a historic renovation project.

[Restless 1]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

Travelers Hotel set to undergo multimillion dollar makeover; will become a luxury hotel

Doesn't look like 10 mil will do much.

I wish people would learn that just because something is old, doesn't mean it's historic.

[arkitekte]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Doesn't look like 10 mil will do much.

I wish people would learn that just because something is old, doesn't mean it's historic.

Sure...

[Spoiler]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Doesn't look like 10 mil will do much.

I wish people would learn that just because something is old, doesn't mean it's historic.

I wish people would learn that just because something doesn't match a person's aesthetic preconceptions of a historic structure, doesn't mean it's not historic.

[sirkingwilliam]

Convention Center expansion hits 'major milestone'

As competition for convention business heats up, construction crews have completed a substantial portion of the $325 million expansion to the Convention Center under budget and ahead of schedule, according to city officials.

The addition of about 270,000 square feet of exhibition space on the eastern portion of the Convention Center — the project's initial phase — will finish three months ahead of a contractual deadline in April, said Mike Frisbie, director of the Transportation and Capital Improvements Project.

...

The City Council selected a joint venture between Phoenix-based Hunt Construction Group and San Antonio-based Zachry Corp. for the project two years ago.

[B]When construction crews finish the Convention Center expansion in 2016, the facility will have increased from a current 1.3 million square feet to 1.65 million square feet, including 500,000 square feet in contiguous exhibit space.

The bigger space should bump the Convention Center's ranking from 22nd to ninth in the U.S. among similar convention designs, according to the Convention, Sports & Leisure International, a firm that assisted the city's facilities development study.

Rendered Aerial

Speaking of the convention center. It looks like the center will have an art installation wrapped around it called "Cactus" Christian Moeller.

[Restless 1]

Originally Posted by Spoiler

I wish people would learn that just because something doesn't match a person's aesthetic preconceptions of a historic structure, doesn't mean it's not historic.

Did Teddy and Roughriders stay there? Was it the first hotel with central air conditioning?

I've looked and the only source I can find calling it "historic" is the article linked by SKW.

Hell, the Univision building was more historic, and I was all for it coming down.

Sheesh! Lighten up.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Did Teddy and Roughriders stay there? Was it the first hotel with central air conditioning?

I've looked and the only source I can find calling it "historic" is the article linked by SKW.

Hell, the Univision building was more historic, and I was all for it coming down.

Sheesh! Lighten up.

You fail to realize finding something "historical" is subjective. What someone finds historic, someone else finds useless. Vice versa.

Some people thought the subdivision building was historical, but not enough to save it.

Did you know early tv shows like the Tonight Show would reuse tapes to save money. They'd record over previous shows to record new shows. Thousands of hours of historical footage was lost forever because at the time there was zero value put into those tapes. Now, they put historical film and tv shows in a vault deep underground to preserve them.

Again, subjectivity is a grey thing. Never black and white.

[Restless 1]

Originally Posted by sirkingwilliam

You fail to realize finding something "historical" is subjective. What someone finds historic, someone else finds useless. Vice versa.

Some people thought the subdivision building was historical, but not enough to save it.

Did you know early tv shows like the Tonight Show would reuse tapes to save money. They'd record over previous shows to record new shows. Thousands of hours of historical footage was lost forever because at the time there was zero value put into those tapes. Now, they put historical film and tv shows in a vault deep underground to preserve them.

Again, subjectivity is a grey thing. Never black and white.

Yeah, and because some find something historical doesn't mean it has historical significance. The Travelers has history, but not much historical significance.

That being said, if someone has bought it, and plans to put money into it, then by all means. Just don't try to tell me it's about "doing something that's historical" when it's really about getting in on the cheap, then charging premium room rates in a crappy building in the name of "Historical Significance".

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Yeah, and because some find something historical doesn't mean it has historical significance. The Travelers has history, but not much historical significance.

That being said, if someone has bought it, and plans to put money into it, then by all means. Just don't try to tell me it's about "doing something that's historical" when it's really about getting in on the cheap, then charging premium room rates in a crappy building in the name of "Historical Significance".

It is a historical building. No one is claiming historical significance.


Those are the facts.

If the new owners want to fix it up and also claim they the building is historical and of value, they have all the right in the world.

[Restless 1]

Yes, the owners have that right. I guess I would just like to see something bigger and better built there.

Appreciate your update on the HBGCC by the way. Ahead of schedule and under budget are good things.

[sirkingwilliam]

Originally Posted by Restless 1

Yes, the owners have that right. I guess I would just like to see something bigger and better built there.

Appreciate your update on the HBGCC by the way. Ahead of schedule and under budget are good things.

There's surface parking lots and non-historical buildings (that could be torn down) nearby that can have something built on them. The Travelers Building is a building I'd like to see renovated and used for better purposes.

Btw, I appreciate the gratitude. I love to update you the forum for everyone.

[JACKinBeantown]

Just adding some information to the "historical" discussion... not taking sides:

When a building (any building, not necessarily the Travelers Hotel) is designated a historical landmark, it then falls under jurisdiction of review committees any time the owner wishes to make upgrades. For example, the windows may need to be made of wood and slide up and down in a track, the lobby lighting may need to have certain aesthetics, etc. So a building may actually be historical in some way but not officially be deemed a historical landmark. That way the owner has more leeway is making renovations and upgrades.

[Sean1187]

So what are y'all's thoughts on the cactus print going around the upper portion of the HBGCC?

IMO I'm not a huge fan of it.

[Restless 1]

Originally Posted by Sean1187

So what are y'all's thoughts on the cactus print going around the upper portion of the HBGCC?

IMO I'm not a huge fan of it.

It doesn't bother me.

I find it dichotomous that the last addition had a water theme, and this latest one has a cactus theme.

[JACKinBeantown]

Seems OK but it would get stale after a while. Maybe it could be a revolving installation for multiple artists.