OFFICIAL - Loews Convention Hotel (formerly Hyatt)

[NDTeve]

AGree. All you can eat tacos are dynamite.

[mean]

I'd be happy to have any Dixon's closer than the lone remaining outlet by the stadiums.

[moderne]

So at 30 stories it should be slightly taller than the Bartle Pylons. Why in the world did they release renderings of a 1000 room hotel when they were announcing an 800 room hotel? Given the sensitivity of public subsidies on this project the Mayor does not need anyone accusing him of bait and switch. I would prefer they do away with the east-west lower wing and put all the rooms in the higher tower. Anyway this is going to look awesome from that often photographed Summit over pass skyline view, visually knitting the Kauffman CPA to the loop skyline.

[normalthings]

So at 30 stories it should be slightly taller than the Bartle Pylons. Why in the world did they release renderings of a 1000 room hotel when they were announcing an 800 room hotel? Given the sensitivity of public subsidies on this project the Mayor does not need anyone accusing him of bait and switch. I would prefer they do away with the east-west lower wing and put all the rooms in the higher tower. Anyway this is going to look awesome from that often photographed Summit over pass skyline view, visually knitting the Kauffman CPA to the loop skyline.

I agree. Putting the rooms on top would help to make the Hotel all the more impressive.

[archiKC]

Im starting to realize I dont care how tall it is, just as long as it creates a strong walkable street presence and is visually pleasing to look at. And most importantly, does what it is intended to do, bring in lots of outside money.

[flyingember]

I agree that height doesn't matter, it's design.

Look at the Kauffman Center. It's not all that tall but it works great as a design goes. Could it have a better street presence? Yes. But it really doesn't matter because the building itself is such a great addition to downtown.

But this hotel should be better since it's trying to have a street presence.

[moderne]

Now there is a petition to put the hotel up for city wide vote.

[JBmidtown]

Now there is a petition to put the hotel up for city wide vote.

No no no no no no

[KCLover]

http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/hei ... ion-center

Article says 30 stories @ roughly 360 feet. Which is about as tall as the Bryant Building or 2345 grand (Lathrop & Gage) building.

[DaveKCMO]

Now there is a petition to put the hotel up for city wide vote.

initiative petition or a referendum?

[atticus23]

If it's an Indepence restaurant, I vote for Courthouse Exchange! (Though a non-hotel restaurant would be refreshing)

[atticus23]

Also, random question, why did they make the rendering for a 1,000 room hotel, when it will be 800?

[pash]

.

[KCTOGA]

Will, should the hotel be built with the necessary parking, etc. to add a couple hundred rooms at some point, if both parties deem necessary?

[DaveKCMO]

Because the city wanted a thousand rooms but Hyatt wanted occupied rooms.

actually, i was told it was to bring the city subsidy down. maybe that's the same thing.

[kcjak]

Would've been nice to build the full tower and then add on the lower northern piece if demand ever warranted.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Because the city wanted a thousand rooms but Hyatt wanted occupied rooms.

actually, i was told it was to bring the city subsidy down. maybe that's the same thing.

In other words it was determined the market couldn't support a larger hotel. Or at least no one wanted to take that risk on.

[pash]

.

[FangKC]

It may not be so much that the market wouldn't support a hotel of that size as much as it was about putting together the financing to build it. The more expensive something is, the harder it is to assemble enough financing mechanisms to back it. A bigger hotel might have produced a smaller rate of return on the investment, but that rate wasn't high enough to make it worth the added risk to the investors.

The hotel market downtown also might have changed enough since the 1000-room hotel size was first suggested. Chartwell is building a new hotel across the street. Hilton Suites is building another at 20th and Main. Another hotel is going into the Interstate Building at 13th and Locust; and one in the Gumbel Building. The Savoy Hotel is getting a renovation. We don't yet know if the former Federal Reserve Bank will become a hotel. There is also the "mystery hotel" project in the Crossroads that DaveKCMO has alluded to. Those additional rooms in the downtown market might have altered things enough that the Hyatt Hotel size was reduced.

[aknowledgeableperson]

The financing package though is determined by if the market is judged to support the project. The financing won't take the risk if it is considered too risky. Or they take steps to minimize their risk either by reducing the project, requesting more upfront cash, and probably a few other options.
And yes, the newer competition is a factor on the market support for an individual project.