KCRag Forum

So with the larger size, is that rendering still accurate? Would they be adding a couple more floors?

GRID wrote: ↑Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:13 pm So with the larger size, is that rendering still accurate? Would they be adding a couple more floors?

Collision says it's an old rendering and he's looking for a newer one

I've heard that Hoefer Wysocki only did a study for this project (which produced the renderings we've been looking at) and that another well known local architecture firm is part of the project team. So I expect the actual project to look somewhat different.
I'm not sure if the HW renderings were for a 70k sf or 100k sf project, but I was told by someone on the project team that the project 'has always been 100k sf' since at least they were brought on.

grovester wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 9:56 pm Sure hope they can unfill that!

They most likely can. As similar thing was done here in St. Louis in the 1920s when the atrium was filled in at 705 Olive. Now, the building has reopened as a hotel and the Atrium has returned.

Before (dingy and dark)



Now (Light and airy)

Haven't talked to anybody currently there yet but here are layouts of the floors...everything on the right half of drawings are the old building...and I can't imagine Marriott is going to give up this event space....

This is the floor semi-level with the entryway on Wyandotte, i think there are like 8 steps up...this is their largest ballroom.


You can see the revolving doors in this drawing on 12th street




I can't remember specifically where the elevator banks were for the mulebach tower.

Seems strange that the muehlebach's facilities would be so critical to the marriott. Was the marriott so underbuilt that it needs all that extra space?

When the new main tower was built wasn't the mulebach reno and new tower built at same time?

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Sat Dec 29, 2018 6:32 pm When the new main tower was built wasn't the mulebach reno and new tower built at same time?

IIRC, the marriott slab was built in the 80s, while the muehlebach was redone in the 90s along with the demolishion and replacement of the west tower addition. I think it was around that time that the historic building was abandoned

yeah must not have built enough event space with the 80s tower then.

I'm surprised Marriott gave up the old Muehlebach hotel rooms. I would think with all their brands that they would have renovated the old rooms and operated one of the related brands there. Perhaps an ultra-luxury brand. If the rooms were too small, combine two into one.

Some of the rooms in the Downtown Marriott look like a grandmother decorated them shopping at Sears or JC Penneys 20 years ago.

The Loews is really going to challenge Marriott to up their game in their 12th Street hotels.

Yikes.

They've been renovating in the main tower for a while now.

This photo above is featured on their website right now.

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-p ... -downtown/

Those are old pics....they redid those suites earlier this year.

Then they should probably update their website. That's enough to put an event planner off.

It seems like the muehlebach conversion is a project that hasn't really been thought through very extensively. None of the issues we've brought up here have answers in any press release, and both of the other projects on this block have already shown some movement, with the kc club being cleared of residents and the office building's site getting construction fencing around part of it. The single member of the staff I ran into while bumbling around in the old muehlebach wasn't even aware of the conversion plans, and the old mezzanine space and lobby looked like they were prepared for an event. Absolutely zero sign of anything to suggest the building had even changed hands.

Couple this with the way the developers, seemingly on a whim, changed the number of apartment units, shows to me that they really don't have a solid plan for the thing

The Muehlebach conversion might be the last component because Marriott might have booked the ballrooms up until sometime in the future, and the agreement between the developer and Marriott might have blocked off a certain period of construction activity where ballroom use might be disrupted.

I took a walk.

https://youtu.be/zf9-lwebdoM

Thanks for all the posts, LastGentleman.

Work has started!