KCRag Forum

downtown needs more hotel rooms in the worst way. the prez and the phillips, are just band aids. downtown, to compete with indy, richmond, and other cities that have dumped millions into the convention center business, needs at minimum another 500 rooms, after the prez opens.

Maybe this is arrogant and elitist of me, but it pains me to hear KC mentioned as being on the same level as Richmond and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Indy.

GRID wrote: Because Downtown needs more hotel rooms in the loop, especially right on Barney Allis Plaza.

With some of the BIG 12 Basketball(womens) at Municipal and in 2007-whenever the Sprint center(mens)

It is a cool old building.  How can one not like gargoyles?

New proposal to reopen this hotel in the Business Journal this week.  It'd be great to see this reopen and get rid of another dead spot on Wyandotte.  Maybe they can clean up that black carpet on the sidewalk.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansa ... tory5.html

"...a stupid idea" You have to love Bob Graham. DST/Landmark have gone out on a limb many times to make difficult Downtown projects happen. I understand their frustration at having the city subsidise a competitor, even if they received the same support for their project. What is the appropriate city position in this case? Restore a derelict building, make the CVB job easier by giving them more and cheaper rooms to sell or protect the investment of long-time Downtown supporters? You really can't argue that the market should decide since the city/TIF has already been put in play. If the subsidy levels are the same, I guess the city wins if the building is renovated.

The city totally wins if the hotel is refurbished back to an operating hotel.  In my opinion, the only other suggestion or allowable move on that building would be converting it to rent/condo units.  Either way get it filled up with bodies.  I went to Barney Allis Park and it only reiterated my appreciation for that space.

lock&load wrote: New proposal to reopen this hotel in the Business Journal this week.  It'd be great to see this reopen and get rid of another dead spot on Wyandotte.  Maybe they can clean up that black carpet on the sidewalk.

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansa ... tory5.html

Here's the Star version of the story :

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 393241.htm

I like the idea of the reopened Zebra martini bar.   :cheers:

It should get TIF because it preserves a historic building, and provides more affordable hotel rooms to the market.  I personally think $140 and up is currently too high for the downtown KC market, especially since there is not much to do in downtown KC to make it worth it the additional cost.  For the same price or less, one can stay at the Plaza, or the casinos, and have access to many restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. In addition, as priced now, it's cheaper, or at least equivalent, to stay at hotels, or motels, in other parts of the city, rent a car, and drive to the convention center. Staying in a cheaper hotel elsewhere, and renting a car, also gives one more flexibility in seeking out entertainment and restaurants.

If I were attending a convention in KC, I'd look at the cost of other hotels in the city and see that it's cheaper to stay in another part of the city and rent a car, and that's what I'd do.  It stands to reason that other people are making the same decision.

Do you know the real nail in the coffin behind why it closed.  While yes it had horrible financial troubles and the building itself was falling into disrepair amidst a weak hotel market.  Right before this building closed a couple of years ago their was a group of people using the top floor as an underground strip club.  Basically charging their friends something totally cheap to party with woman.  I believe somebody at the Marriott told me this information.  Although this is shady and somewhat pathetic it is delightfully remanisent of the "old" swinger KC of the 1920-40 that we all love to hate, but eventually love.   

kc-vino wrote: Do you know the real nail in the coffin behind why it closed.  While yes it had horrible financial troubles and the building itself was falling into disrepair amidst a weak hotel market.  Right before this building closed a couple of years ago their was a group of people using the top floor as an underground strip club.  Basically charging their friends something totally cheap to party with woman.  I believe somebody at the Marriott told me this information.  Although this is shady and somewhat pathetic it is delightfully remanisent of the "old" swinger KC of the 1920-40 that we all love to hate, but eventually love.   

Their penthouse level ballroom was one of the nicest ballrooms in the city - high ceilings, big windows, retro decor.  (point of clarification - I was never there during the peiod KC Vino is describing  ).  If they bring back the hotel and refurbish that room it could be one of the coolest places in the city for a wedding reception, etc. 

KCPowercat wrote:

east side of Barney Allis.

I always thought that was part of the marriot ................................how many rooms are in that hotel?

schugg wrote: I always thought that was part of the marriot ................................how many rooms are in that hotel?

195. it was actually quite busy in the early 90's, the restaurant and bar was named ashley's, and it did all right. but it went to hell again.

This is a great project, get it done while we still have MO historic tax credits.

GRID wrote: This is a great project, get it done while we still have MO historic tax credits.

They certainly dont build hotels like that anymore. To see the contemporary version, check out the Interstate highway-fronting chains, or even the Sheraton and Hampton on the Plaza. I think both of those are lousy too.

    Anybody remember the restaurant on the ground floor about 20 years ago where all the waitstaff were singers?

Looks like something is happening at this property.  There were people working outside the other day and there are permits filed to fix the elevators and begin remodeling.  Anybody heard details?

I'd rather see it fly a different flag than Holiday Inn. People who stayed there when it was on its last leg will remember the Holiday Inn flag it flew and make a negative association. I agree that we need more affordable hotels, but give the reincarnate a similar middle-end flag. Give Holiday Inn new life somewhere else and let this hotel reestablish itself.

big sale on armoires!

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/new ... etail.html

New owners of a historical hotel are planning a giant furniture sale before the building is renovated.

More than one million furnishings from the former Aladdin Hotel, also known as the Citi Centre Plaza Hotel, will be offered to the public. The sale is being held at 1215 Wyandotte St.

The liquidation sale will include chairs, TVs, armoires, bedspreads, blankets, drapes, lamps and other light fixtures. Owners said all furniture was one year old when the hotel closed about three years ago.

DaveKCMO wrote: The liquidation sale will include chairs, TVs, armoires, bedspreads, blankets, drapes, lamps and other light fixtures. i]

Who the hell wants to buy a used hotel bedspread?  They wash those things like once every three years.  The first thing I do when sleeping at a hotel is rip that nasty polyester germ magnet off of there.