KCRag Forum

earthling wrote:Proposal for $47M upgrade, luxury 120 room hotel. But apparently only if it gets the incentives they want...

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/08/06/43 ... posed.html

This is good news. Especially since they appear skilled at running historic hotels.

I agree with the Mayor on this one. Despite the convention and visitor's bureau's recommendation not to incentivise more small hotels, I think this is an exception. That building has needed something done for a long, long time. Deferred maintenance will continue to make it only more expensive in the future. This new owner is bringing a specialty product to the market that doesn't really compete with a big convention hotel. That part of downtown needs the development, and fixing up the Savoy will certainly make it more likely. No developer will want an old broken-down building across the street that rents out rooms to month-to-month tenants. I more for doing it to restore an old building than add hotel rooms. I think fixing up the Savoy will remove any objection to someone putting up new buildings around it.

The other thing is that in its' present state, the Savoy isn't really contributing a lot to downtown. It's underutilized for such a large building, and could be producing more activity and revenue. It's a handsome old building that really adds to downtown. More hotel guests can only help the Savoy Grill.

It would be amazing if the Savoy could beat out the Raphael Hotel as the top hotel in Kansas City in Conde Nast magazine.

That formula helped the 21c Louisville get the nod as the nation’s top hotel in 2009 and 2010 from the readers of Conde Nast.

The 90-room Louisville hotel, a historic rehab of five separate buildings, attracts 150,000 people annually, many to simply enjoy the works displayed in its 9,000 square feet of gallery space. The works are done by living local, national and international artists.

Mayor Sly James said Greg Fischer, the mayor of Louisville, was singing that hotel’s praises at a recent meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“He said it’s undoubtedly the best hotel he’s stayed in,” James said Tuesday.

The owner supports the plan by 21c to redevelop the historic Savoy property.

“They are rated tops in the nation for management,” Lee said. “We think they’re quality people, and they have a background in operating historic properties.”

I've been to the 21c in Louisville and it's amazing - not just with the modern art everywhere (including outside), but for what it has helped do to the surrounding neighborhood. The current owner of the Savoy has owned it since the 60s and hasn't done much to turn it around. Hope this proposal gets off the ground.

Wow, fantastic news. Would love to see the old girl restored and made a destination hotel.

I work a block from there

no one goes there on purpose. any improvement would be good.

hopefully it would spur redevelopment of the massive surface lot across the street, too. great news.

KC-wildcat wrote:hopefully it would spur redevelopment of the massive surface lot across the street, too. great news.

which one? (I get your point, just expanding on it)

east is a lot
west is a lot
northeast is a lot

21c is a great brand. When the one in Louisville opened they made a couple lists for best hotels in America, i believe it Conde Nast and Travel Leisure. 21c has done very well expanding the brand in mid level cities.

Durham, Lexington are future hotels and they already have location in Cincy, Bentonville and Louisville

Renovarting a 125 year old landmark building in a historic setting for its original use is worth ten glorified disney style outlet malls in the sticks.

People need a sense of where they came from. It is good for their mental health and a lot cheaper than anti-depressants.

knucklehead wrote:Renovarting a 125 year old landmark building in a historic setting for its original use is worth ten glorified disney style outlet malls in the sticks.

People need a sense of where they came from. It is good for their mental health and a lot cheaper than anti-depressants.

Right arm!

That would also help boost Kansas City as a "cultural destination." This would provide a place to stay during a trip where someone could go to FF in the Crossroads, Jazz Museum, Nelson, Kemper, Kauffmen Center, etc all in one extended weekend.

If we had street cars running to all those places, someone could even do this trip without renting a car...one day!!

I hope they treat the lobby and the restaurant as "historic" and just add modern art in. I like all the old light fixtures etc, it's really awesome that it hasn't been gutted. The rooms upstairs are a place where they could get more modern.

The Business Journal has photos of the Cincinnati renovation this group did. A similar renovation of the Savoy could turn around the abandoned parking lot feeling of the north loop and put life into the historic 9th st corridor. Too bad someone cannot rebuild the original John Welborn Root Board of Trade(hey, they rebuild lost buildings all the time in Germany). I can see the Savoy Grill reinvigorated retaining its tradition and some of the classic quirky dishes.

kcjak wrote:I've been to the 21c in Louisville and it's amazing - not just with the modern art everywhere (including outside), but for what it has helped do to the surrounding neighborhood.

we stayed at the one in louisville shortly after it opened. an amazing transformation. also introduced me to my favorite soap and comforting red plastic penguins to guard each room.

21c at the Savoy is such a win for KC. I've been hoping this boutique flag would open a location here for some time; KC is the perfect example of a mid-sized city with under-utilized historic architecture attempting to use the arts to revitalize the city in a major way. It seems 21c was thinking the same thing, as well they should given the arts-based momentum downtown. A thought a Xroads location, near the PAC was a no-brainer but the Savoy could be even more interesting. To me, announcements like this are what continue to show that KC is truly an up-and-comer in the midwest.

Further, the Savoy could be such an amazing civic asset. I love pulling up to the old leather bar to have a few cocktails but have admittedly not eaten there. If 21c can keep the historic charm of the place while modernizing it in a major way and creating another downtown arts hub, this will be an amazing addition to the city.

Let keep the ball rolling! Announcements like these get me all excited that we continue to be on the right track, and we're on getting on the radar in the right places....

Savoy's redeveloper wins top hotel honors

The boutique hotel operator who plans to redevelop the Savoy Hotel has won top honors for management of hotels.

21c Museum Hotels, based in Louisville, Ky., reported Thursday that its Cincinnati property had been named as the No. 1 hotel in the United States and No. 11 worldwide in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards.

In addition, the 21c Museum Hotel Louisville ranked No. 8 in the country and No. 46 in the world, and 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville (Ark.) ranked No. 11 in the country and No. 75 in the world.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... 2013-10-17

ordinance 130829, up for first reading on Oct 24 (yesterday)
bounded by 9th Street on the north, 10th Street on the south, Central Street on the west, and Wyandotte Street on the east

this is for the Savoy Hotel project

to cover 120 rooms, 5800 foot restaurant, art museum, parking and infrastructure

$30.5 million of an $89 million project

the city expects the assessed value to jump from $500K to $3.7 million.

Savoy Hotel redevelopment deal moving forward

Following Kansas City Council approval of a $33.9 million incentive package, the next step toward financing the planned redevelopment of the hotel built in 1888 hotel and restaurant addition built in 1903 is applying for federal and state historic tax credits, according to the attorney representing 21c Museum Hotels.

“Now that we know they have the necessary incentives to make the project feasible, they’ll proceed with designing the project and pursue the historic tax credits,” attorney David Frantze said Monday.

So $33.9 mill from the city, $15 million in fed/state tax credits, the project costs $47.5 mill....are they putting in any of their own money?

Are these the same developers associated with the abandoned in excavation 62 story museum plaza in Louisville?

moderne wrote:Are these the same developers associated with the abandoned in excavation 62 story museum plaza in Louisville?

Craig Greenberg was a developer on that Louisville building.

The previous 3 posts do not paint a pretty picture. Somebody cheer me up.