McMaster Innovation Park | ? | various | Construction

[SteelTown]

Hotel on horizon for innovation park

Wade Hemsworth
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 9, 2008)

Hamilton hotelier Oscar Kichi is planning to build a hotel -- possibly even two -- at McMaster Innovation Park.

Kichi plans to spend about $20 million after reaching an agreement in principle with the university to buy 1.6 hectares on Longwood Road South, overlooking Highway 403 -- immediately north of the red brick building that last served as appliance manufacturer Camco's Hamilton headquarters. The deal is still subject to due diligence by both sides. The sale is expected to close in the next few months, with construction starting late this year or early in 2009.

As he did with his Courtyard Marriott project on Upper James, Kichi is working on the Innovation Park project with Concord Hospitality Enterprises, a U.S. hotel development company that owns and manages 49 properties.

Kichi said the hotel would likely come under the Marriott or Hilton banner.

The project could be built as a traditional hotel, a long-stay suites hotel, a combination of the two, or two separate projects on the same site, depending on the results of a feasibility study.

The arrangement would see Kichi and Concord develop and run the hotel and operate meeting and conference facilities either on the hotel site or in the old Camco office building on a partnership basis with the university.

While the hotel facilities would be open to the public, guests primarily would be researchers and business people visiting the Innovation Park.

At minimum, Kichi said there would be 140 rooms, which would likely open in late 2009 or early 2010, roughly coinciding with the opening of the federal government's CANMET materials technology laboratory.

Zach Douglas, president of the McMaster Innovation park, said Kichi's commitment lends momentum to the broader project, whereas as many as 14 public, private and combined buildings could be built.

[DC83]

^^ That's awesome! Hopefully other private investors will hear about all the good stuff going on around here and set up shop!
This thing will be great for the city... aslong as we can keep it BigBox-Free!

[SteelTown]

Hotelier has big plans for research park

Wade Hemsworth
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jan 9, 2008)
Oscar Kichi is investing heavily in Hamilton's future, and he's banking on McMaster University leading the way.

The hotel developer has reached an agreement in principle with McMaster to buy a 1.4-hectare parcel beside Highway 403, where he intends to build at least 140 hotel rooms at the university's Innovation Park.

It's a project he estimates would be worth $20 million.

Together with his partner Concord Hospitality Enterprises -- a hotel- development company based in Raleigh, N.C. -- he stands to become the first stand-alone, private-sector investor in the research park.

McMaster bought the former Camco property at Longwood Road and Aberdeen Avenue in 2005, to build the research park where it hopes to foster public, private and university partnerships in research, education and technology. It is expected to bring hundreds of high-quality, high-paying jobs to the city in the process.

Kichi also expects it will generate many hotel stays for visiting scientists, educators and executives.

"I think it's one of the best things that will have happened to this city," Kichi said of the research park. "We feel that being in there, being close to what's happening and being close to the university makes sense for us."

Kichi says Hamilton needs to build its overall hotel capacity to thrive.

"This city, with the size we are, we don't have enough hotel rooms," he said. "We have a great airport here. Geographically, we are located in one of the best areas in Canada and there's no reason we won't do well here."

Here's a look at Kichi's other Hamilton projects:

* Marriott Courtyard on Upper James. The 137-room hotel opened just over a year ago, and now enjoys an 80 per cent occupancy rate, Kichi said.

* Airport Inn, the retail complex directly across Upper James from the Marriott. Kichi owns the property and plans to build a new hotel there.

* Former Ramada hotel on King Street East. Major renovations are under way to create a new Crowne Plaza Hotel -- a full-service, four- or five-star hotel that Kichi says will open in April or May, together with an adjoining conference centre to be named for former federal labour minister and Ontario Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander. Kichi said the whole project is worth about $12 million.

* Connaught Hotel, King Street East. Kichi remains involved in planning to redevelop the grand old hotel.

[realcity]

bush league

this is 144 rooms. It's fine for Burlington but not here.

[SteelTown]

1.4-hectare parcel isn't much considering it'll include parking. That's like 152,460 sq ft in total. From what I understand it's suppose to go vertical because it's literally right next to the 403 and that will grab drivers attention.

[raisethehammer]

hopefully it's not a suburban box. although most plans for MIP that i've seen don't seem to go any higher than 6 floors, although one area (perhaps where this hotel is proposed) was 8-10 floors.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

1.4-hectare parcel isn't much considering it'll include parking. That's like 152,460 sq ft in total. From what I understand it's suppose to go vertical because it's literally right next to the 403 and that will grab drivers attention.

Hmmm... I dunno. I'm pretty sure they could build a horizontal, suburban-like hotel in this space. Unless they plan on building 2 bldgs like they suggested in that article. Lets hope it's one tall structure!!

[SteelTown]

Also these are different kinds of clientele, rich nerds. They won't stay at some cheap looking hotel. Whenever a scientist/doctor comes to Hamilton for a conference they always stay at Sheraton.

And yes RTH the proposed spot for the hotel under the plan calls for 8-10 floors.

[realcity]

1.4 hectares = 3.5 acres = 152 460 square feet

average hotel room = 400 sq ft x 140 = 48 000 sq ft
times 1.5 for common area = 72 000
4 floors @ 25,000 sq ft each
100 000 sq ft building tops with meeting rooms, lobby, etc.

average parking space = 325 sq ft x 150 spaces (one per room at least) = 48,750 sq feet for surface parking. 325 sq ft includes the parking stall plus the circulation areas, end of aisle areas/landscaping.

parking and a 4-floor 140 room hotel will occupy aprx 148,750 sq ft

add a lawn, curved laneway entrance and you've used the whole 150,000 sq ft.

It'll be a stubby stucco shitbox. Look at his properties on U.James.

[realcity]

like I said ... it's bush league...

best case these are long stay rooms and it tops out at 6 floors, maybe 7. I'm betting 5 floors.

[DC83]

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...ga-meadowvale/

This is also 144 rooms in 'Sauga. There's no doubt the hotel will look like one of these... not a spectacular peice of architecture unfortunately.

And I think nerds & researches care more about the luxury inside than the look outside.

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by realcity

It'll be a stubby stucco shitbox. Look at his properties on U.James.

Actually the Marriott on Upper James is a brick building. The Airport Inn is just temporary as he is building a new hotel at the rear of the property and tear down the Airport Inn.

I like some of the stucco look. It gives variety of looks to a street. Not all brick look good. The brick on my house is awful and I hate it.

[realcity]

Courtyard Marriott on U.James
136 Rooms

I'm not entirely against stucco, real stucco, not that fake foam stuff spray over high density insulation foam, but concrete stucco and I'm not totally against High Density Cladding Panels either, but this is a suburban format/highway strip hotel..... if Hamilton had an Architectural Review Board (ARB) they would never approve it for this neighbourhood or a PRESTIGIOUS RESEARCH PARK.

[realcity]

if you wanted to break into this house, it would be easier to take a claw hammer to walls then try and knock down the door.



Make sure your home is cement stucco instead of synthetic stucco.

http://www.cement.org/homes/

[DC83]

^^ OMG that house blinds me :S:S:S

[realcity]

These aren't really stucco homes. They are called EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finish Systems), plywood, with a layer of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam™), GLUED on and covered with wire mesh (chicken wire) to hold the finished layer, then painted, the nice grey/taupe/beige haze that covers the suburbs.

During the oil crisis of the early and mid 1970s, EIFS becomes popular with energy-conscientious builders and buyers, who sometimes see energy bills halved. EIFS began by being used almost exclusively in the commercial building market, and was only gradually adopted for use in homes. By 1980, EIFS cladding accounted for one-half of 1 percent of the residential housing market, and by 1995 nearly 200 million square feet (18,580,608 m2) of EIFS were being installed annually on exterior walls in North America.

The problem is moisture gets between the plywood and the styrofoam and the wood rots..... unless the wall is absolutely perfect.


Read all about it here
http://dspinspections.com/eifs_facts.htm

[SteelTown]

The high school that I went to, Sherwood, used those stucco material on the exterior on the back of the building. I remember one time I threw a baseball and the person didn't catch the ball so it flew and hit the stucco wall and it went right threw the stucco and ate the baseball haha. Of course we simply walked away.

[Goldfinger]

The EIFS has excellent energy efficiency which is why it's become a popular choice for builders. It also has considerable weight advantage over precast concrete panel or brick because it requires smaller footings.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

The EIFS has excellent energy efficiency which is why it's become a popular choice for builders. It also has considerable weight advantage over precast concrete panel or brick because it requires smaller footings.

But then it looks like sh*t the 1st time it rains/snows or the 1st time Steeltown throws a baseball through it!!

[realcity]

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

The EIFS has excellent energy efficiency which is why it's become a popular choice for builders. It also has considerable weight advantage over precast concrete panel or brick because it requires smaller footings.

and the savings aren't passed onto the home buyer. Talk to a new home seller, they'll try to talk you into stucco, saying it looks better, your home will blend in more, its modern, better insulation, crap all over brick etc. because they want the extra profit realized by all the suckers who bought a styrofoam house.

Ever heard of the story of the three little pigs?