Here are renderings of the new proposal courtesy the DDRB packet
Posted 25 November 2020 - 03:17 PM
..well this kinda came out of nowhere.
Posted 25 November 2020 - 04:36 PM
It looks like they are trying to get the historic tax credits on the property, since there are very few changes to the existing facade. Even though it is ugly, cleaning it up will be a big help for its appearance.
Unlike the W.T. Waggoner Building, it appears that my height on the Tallest Building Page is very close to what was built.
Posted 26 November 2020 - 10:36 AM
Well I'll be.
Posted 26 November 2020 - 12:07 PM
I thought I might explain myself a little better here about this proposal vs. the previous owner's proposal. At some point in time, the boundary of the Hotel Texas National Register Designation and as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark was extended to include this building, which was originally, a 4 story 1928 parking garage designed by Wiley G. Clarkson. The garage was designed to have more floors added on top, so the hotel purchased the garage in order to expand the hotel above it. The reason for the purchase was the opening of the Convention Center one block away. The hotel did expand and hired Preston Geren to expand the building to 13 stories and add hotel rooms. The expansion opened in 1970 and was connected into the main hotel by a skybridge.
The previous owner proposed a significant change to the facade of this building and it was determined by the overseers of the National Register program that the facade changes violated the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and the application for the tax credits would be turned down. Those owners formulated a new plan where all the facade changes were put up as a screen in front of the original facade to keep the original intact. It was determined that these changes would also not allow the tax credits to be applied to this project.
The previous owner then sold the property back to the owners of the Hilton Hotel, who had put a deed restriction on the property not to operate a competing hotel. Obviously, they removed that deed restriction when the building was sold back to them. Since they are proposing minimal changes to the facade, I'm guessing that they have chosen to comply with the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and will accept the Federal and State Tax Credits available for this project. City Tax Credits are available, but the building would have to be designated as a City of Fort Worth Landmark, and I don't think that has been done at this time.
Posted 26 November 2020 - 05:03 PM
Count me as excited. Looks like a functional use to a currently dead structure. I wonder if they are planning any sort of retail component on the bottom. Maybe a coffee shop.
Posted 26 November 2020 - 05:21 PM
The hotel will have a restaurant on the ground floor. They are only planning to take up a minimal amount of ground floor space for the lobby, leaving the rest for parking.
Posted 26 November 2020 - 05:26 PM
By the way, I need to learn how to read plans. The Title Block on all of the sheets for the project reads:
Fort Worth Hotel Annex
Le Meridien
811 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
A HISTORIC TAX CREDIT PROJECT
As I had discussed in some of my earlier posts, this explains everything. They are required to basically leave the facade alone with only minor modifications.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 06:20 PM
This is an interesting read. Project Number 42,155 has conditional approval.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 06:52 PM
This gives a very detailed description of the work that will be done to the building. The only information that appears to be different from what I was led to believe is that the Hilton and the annex are owned by separate entities. I was under the impression that the annex was sold back to the Hilton owner.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 07:53 PM
Starwood Hotels and Resorts include: Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, W Hotels, Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Four Points, aloft & element Hotels on top of the entire Marriott family of brands.
I'm still a little confused.
The property 811 Commerce per TAD is owned by HOTEL TEXAS ANNEX LLC with key personnel Farukh Aslam and Mobeen Aslam. Farukh Aslam is the Sinclair Holdings CEO.
https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2020/may/my-roots-farukh-aslam/
The applicant for the Le Meridien for DDRB approval
is Owner: 815 Commerce Partners, LLC – Kunal Mody
Applicant: Blueprint Hospitality – Kishan Patel
Posted 29 November 2020 - 08:47 PM
I'm almost sure that TAD's information is not correct. Farukh and Mobeen are the former owners. They were the group that put forth the previous proposal before this one and they were the ones who abated the abestos and gutted the interior of the annex in preparation of converting it into apartments.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 10:01 PM
Per the DDRD COA Application, "815 Commerce LLC" is the Proposed Owner. The Property is still listed as 811 Commerce on the application. I'm guessing the deal is contingent on the PCRA Part 2 final approval as well as the DDRB COA approval. Will be interesting to see how that plays out I would imagine you need some conceptual designs in place to get the green light before committing too many resources behind a project.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 10:24 PM
I don't know if you downloaded the DDRB Packet, but the drawings for the building are fairly far along. That packet includes a Civil Survey (they already have a Civil Engineer on board), a Civil Site Plan, dimensioned Floor Plans of all levels (including the Basement and the Roof), dimensioned and noted building elevations (all facades), Window Types and Schedules, Window Details, Enlarged Floor Plans, and a Miscellaneous Detail Sheet. This package is adequate for DDRB and other City Commission approvals, and for getting financing.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 10:36 PM
Posted 29 November 2020 - 10:40 PM
I'm sorry that I misunderstood your point.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 11:54 PM
Posted 30 November 2020 - 09:01 AM
Nitixope, I believe that project received all of the required approvals from the Boards and Commissions and they obviously received a demolition permit to remove all of the interior down to the shell. I know that since the Texas Historical Commission denied the facade changes, they would have been required to go back to the DDRB to show them the minimal amount of facade improvements and the rehabilitation of the existing facade. However, since that was just maintaining the existing, that change might have been administratively approved.
Posted 30 November 2020 - 12:17 PM
Here's some info on Blueprint Hospitality, LLC and other projects: AC Little Rock and the Historic Shell Building, St. Louis. Isn't 145 Navarro the old CPS Energy building in San Antonio?
Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton | Downtown St. Louis
Posted 30 November 2020 - 01:42 PM
Nitixope, it appears that 145 Navarro is the old CPS Energy Building.
Posted 03 December 2020 - 03:31 PM
Looks like they got a good deal of concessions from the owners on the deed restrictions and all. I can't help but wonder how much the current state of Hospitality moved that needle as I am sure their occupancy in the Texas Hotel is way down like others and carrying this one couldn't have been helping their bottom line. I don't know them but looking at some of their other projects they seem to know what they are doing on repositions. They used to go by Reimagine Hospitality Group. I am surprised by the additions at the roof as far as the Historical aspect, surprises me that would be approved. It looks like a great project overall, and glad to see it getting redone and bringing another dead building back to life.
Posted 03 December 2020 - 04:34 PM
There's quite a bit of corrective measures needed to seal in the building, stop water infiltration and remedy the building structure deterioration. Maybe by the time they get some of those issues resolved we will be past the pandemic issues in the hospitality industry, hopefully.
Posted 03 December 2020 - 08:22 PM
The Downtown Design Review Board approved the project this afternoon. Below is a link to the Fort Worth Magazine article on the approval:
https://fwtx.com/new...ex-le-meridien/
Arch-image, I'm not surprised by the approval of the rooftop addition. It follows the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation in that it is set back from the main facades of the building, the overall height is less than the existing penthouse, and the height is insignificant to the overall height of the building. This is explained in #4 of the Historic Preservation Certification Application that Nitixope posted above. Also, a more major addition was approved for The Sinclair Building when it was converted to a hotel with a rooftop lounge. On that building, an 18 foot tall elevator overrun penthouse was approved along with the rooftop addition.
Posted 04 December 2020 - 08:01 AM
Per yesterday's DDRB, architect expects construction to start Q2 2021 with potential opening date of early 2023, but that date hasn't been set yet.
Posted 11 December 2020 - 03:36 PM
S-T finally joined the party. They published this article today on the project:
https://www.star-tel...e247786355.html
Posted 03 June 2021 - 03:43 PM
Filed with TDLR
https://www.tdlr.tex.../TABS2021016987
Start Date: 7/1/2021
Completion Date: 2/28/2023
Estimated Cost: $35,000,000
Type of Work: Renovation/AlterationType of Funds: This project is privately funded, on private land for private use.
Scope of Work: Renovation of existing parking garage and former hotel into a new 188 room Le Meridien Hotel. Existing 6th floor pool to remain and be reconfigured to better suit hotel. Rooftop lounge and outdoor deck added. Existing parking garage to valet parking
Posted 03 June 2021 - 06:14 PM
Austin, that's somewhat promising news....at least there's some movement!
Posted 13 July 2021 - 07:50 AM
A Commercial Building Remodel Permit for Le Meridien hit Accela yesterday 7/12/21:
Posted 13 July 2021 - 08:18 AM
I think it is pretty clear that this is a commercial remodel project. I'm glad it is getting underway. When I did my architectural tour on Saturday, I brought up a little bit about the history of the building and that the conversion to a Le Meridien Hotel would start soon.
Posted 13 July 2021 - 09:29 AM
lol...you picked up on a key sentence structure subtly and I appreciate your feedback. I switched my wording to sound less like discovering an abnormality in the permitting process and more to just stating a fact.
Posted 13 July 2021 - 10:28 AM
Nitixope, I figured as much. One of the things that I love about our City's permitting process is what is considered a commercial remodel. If you remember, a few years ago, the old Rosebud Cafe at 8th Ave. and Rosedale was completely demolished except for the concrete slab and two walls. The new restaurant was rebuilt from that and the project was filed as a "Commercial Remodel Permit". There really wasn't anything left to remodel.
Posted 13 July 2021 - 02:08 PM
Nitixope, I figured as much. One of the things that I love about our City's permitting process is what is considered a commercial remodel. If you remember, a few years ago, the old Rosebud Cafe at 8th Ave. and Rosedale was completely demolished except for the concrete slab and two walls. The new restaurant was rebuilt from that and the project was filed as a "Commercial Remodel Permit". There really wasn't anything left to remodel.
I've often wondered why that one wall was kept. from a permit perspective, are approvals for commercial remodels etc easier to obtain vs new construction?
Posted 13 July 2021 - 02:37 PM
Txbornviking, yes they are. Remodel permits also come with fewer restrictions, if the project is small enough.
Posted 15 July 2021 - 06:47 AM
It would be a nice day for a swim to celebrate.
I was up in the Refinery 714 penthouse lobby yesterday poking around and happened to look down at the Hilton Annex / La Meridien -- I swear it has half a foot of standing water on the roof from the storm! You could splash around up there; probably cleaner than the green muck in the pool.
Posted 15 July 2021 - 07:55 AM
Crestline, what time were you there? I was up there with a friend looking down on the city before we had dinner at il Modo on the ground floor. She had not been to the penthouse lobby, so I let her look out the windows first and she pointed out the water standing on the roof.
Posted 15 July 2021 - 12:21 PM
Commercial Addition Building Permit hit Accela for the Le Meridien Hotel Penthouse Addition.
Posted 15 July 2021 - 05:45 PM
Posted 15 July 2021 - 05:52 PM
Excellent point Austin. I hadnt thought of that but it should be a major consideration before they get too far along with covering up the structure. Ive seen photos of the current condition and they about have it as stripped down as you can get from the previous demo effort. Certainly showing its age. The one advantage here being that were not next to the Ocean / saltwater corrosion. Also I would think the type of construction steel frame and poured in place concrete decks also would be a factor but I wouldnt even pretend to be an expert on that one.After the Miami incident, hearing of standing water in/on structures is definitely a bit concerning.
The oft-flooded basement of the T&P warehouse brings up the same issue.
Posted 15 July 2021 - 07:10 PM
I read that a possible contributing factor among others was the pool deck's improper drainage. Reportedly not enough to cause the collapse but maybe enough to weaken the integrity of the concrete. Another factor is that the building set atop of a barrier island which I assume would not have bedrock.
HHA sits atop of a substantial bedrock formation. I agree that out of an abundance of caution, HHA's pool/standing water will require shoring up.
Posted 19 July 2021 - 08:06 AM
Crestline, what time were you there? I was up there with a friend looking down on the city before we had dinner at il Modo on the ground floor. She had not been to the penthouse lobby, so I let her look out the windows first and she pointed out the water standing on the roof.
Pretty early, probably 4PM? Fort worth forum members are probably almost always bumping in to each other around town.
Posted 19 July 2021 - 09:04 AM
It appears that we missed you. We arrived up there about 5:45 and we stayed about 20 minutes. Our dinner reservation was for 6:15 PM.
Posted 19 July 2021 - 11:23 AM
It appears that we missed you. We arrived up there about 5:45 and we stayed about 20 minutes. Our dinner reservation was for 6:15 PM.
John, How was il Modo? Their menu sounds delectable although their plating looks a little sloppy from some of the reviews.
https://goo.gl/maps/HCftZx6znai6c6Gv6
Posted 19 July 2021 - 07:19 PM
Nitixope, for my review of il Modo, jump over to the 714 Main/Farmers & Mechanics National Bank thread. You can read my review here: http://www.fortworth...c=2309&p=133376
Posted 21 July 2021 - 08:00 AM
Txbornviking, yes they are. Remodel permits also come with fewer restrictions, if the project is small enough.
When I was in college there was a fire at our fraternity house. The house was about 120 years old and it was pretty much a total loss. We kept the front porch and the abutting foundation and walls and by doing so we were able to call it a "reconstruction" or "remodel" or something, versus a new build. If it were new construction we could not have built a fraternity house with the existing zoning, but were able to do it as a rebuild. Integrating the modern foundation with the old foundation was.... interesting, and if you go into the basement of the building (which is a recreation/bar area) you can still see the old foundation wall.
The new basement has a 9 food ceiling. The rafters of the old basement were less than 6 feet over the dirt floor.
Posted 14 August 2021 - 07:36 PM
Some Annex shots from the Downtown Walking Tour:
American Airlines ghost sign:
Big Boy Steam Locomotive
Posted 14 August 2021 - 09:09 PM
It appears that there were other signs over the years on that band, in addition to American Airlines. I just can't remember what they were.
Since you posted a photograph of the rooftop pool, I thought I would post one from the UTA Library Digital Galleries. In the past, I have posted a link to the photo, but they have encouraged Facebook users to post the photographs. This is a view from that rooftop terrace with a little girl in the pool. Note the demolished Landmark Tower and Aviation Buildings. The Kimpton Harper Hotel had "Continental Life" on the roof along the two main facades.
Posted 14 August 2021 - 09:44 PM
Did you notice from the UTA collection you posted that the Pool Rules sign mounted on the planter is still there today, based on the photo that I posted on July 13, 2021. That photo was actually a little older from earlier this year / late 2020 from existing conditions collection for construction purposes. I imagine that sign will be eventually removed / replaced with a new one soon. What I can't figure out is they must have re-lined the pool and replaced 8FT markers along the edge to only include one in the center...however what is the purposed of this 24" marker sort of ghosted next to it?
Posted 15 August 2021 - 11:25 AM
American Airlines ghost sign:
Posted 15 August 2021 - 12:55 PM
Yes, I do. They had a ticket office at that location. I think it stayed there for many years.
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