Atlas Life Building, to be hotel.

[bacjz00]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

The TW article stated the hotel will be a Mariott.  Looks like the boutique niche is a new venture for Mariott...called "Edition."  They recently announced that the first Mariott Edition hotels will be in Paris, Madrid, South Beach in Miami, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Costa Rica, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. To that list, should we add...Tulsa?
http://www.blogs.marriott.com/default.asp?item=737965

I saw this too, but hesitated to post.  I'm not convinced that this "Edition" brand will be utilized here in Tulsa.  My guess is that the hotel will be a Courtyard Marriott (similar to the one next to the Ford Center in OKC).  Courtyard isn't exactly a "boutique" brand but it's a smaller version of most full-service Marriott hotels.

If it did become an "Edition" though...I'd be fine with it

[sgrizzle]

It will be a courtyard marriott. Atlas Grill and Tulsa Press Club will remain.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080303_5__SJSHo05376

[dsjeffries]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

It will be a courtyard marriott. Atlas Grill and Tulsa Press Club will remain.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080303_5__SJSHo05376

Here's the article text:

SJS Hospitality of Missouri announced Monday it will redevelop the historic Atlas Life Building into a 120-room Courtyard by Marriott boutique hotel.

The company, which has developed two Tulsa-area hotels and is in the process of building another in the Stone Wood Hills development of Broken Arrow, plans to spend $12 million to $15 million to convert the building over the next 18 to 24 months.

SJS purchased the building at 415 S. Boston Ave. from Maurice Kanbar, the San Francisco inventor and philanthropist who bought 16 downtown Tulsa buildings for $108 million. The purchase price of the Atlas was not disclosed.

During a press conference at the building Monday, Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor said the announcement was a key part of the redevelopment of downtown Tulsa.

Current tenants above the second floor will vacate the building, although Steve Ehrhardt, a partner with SJS, said the Atlas Grill and the Tulsa Press Club will remain. The status of the other first-floor tenants has not been determined.

[Renaissance]

Very, very cool.

[bacjz00]

This is great news! The heart of our downtown is getting an injection of "life"

[cmoreno]

http://www.tulsabusiness.com/article.asp?lID=7&sID=8&m1=9&cID=Z&aID=32069819.9871897.609193.406515.61929302.821&aID2=46852


i can't decide if that's good news or bad.

i guess it's better than the building being mostly un-rented at this point.


THIs: "Plans for parking adjacent to the building also are under negotiation." scares me.

sounds like they are going to not keep the identity of the atlas life name / sign / etc. which would be really sad.  it'd also suck if they got rid of the architecture that's in there.  IMO at least don't touch the lobby.


http://www.newatlasgrill.com/

it's like a living working museum.


*sigh* the elevators...are really old and great but were made in a time when people were smaller (and thinner?), so they're probably going to be gutted and made modern.  that's going to suck.

[dsjeffries]

quote:Originally posted by cmoreno



http://www.tulsabusiness.com/article.asp?lID=7&sID=8&m1=9&cID=Z&aID=32069819.9871897.609193.406515.61929302.821&aID2=46852


i can't decide if that's good news or bad.

i guess it's better than the building being mostly un-rented at this point.


THIs: "Plans for parking adjacent to the building also are under negotiation." scares me.

sounds like they are going to not keep the identity of the atlas life name / sign / etc. which would be really sad.  it'd also suck if they got rid of the architecture that's in there.  IMO at least don't touch the lobby.


http://www.newatlasgrill.com/

it's like a living working museum.


*sigh* the elevators...are really old and great but were made in a time when people were smaller (and thinner?), so they're probably going to be gutted and made modern.  that's going to suck.

Don't fret...

As per KOTV's story (http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=7959765):

quote:As for parking, they say they're negotiating with the owner of the PhilTower Parking Garage next door.

They say they could always rely on valet parking as well.  The entire renovation is expected to cost $15 million.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by cmoreno



http://www.tulsabusiness.com/article.asp?lID=7&sID=8&m1=9&cID=Z&aID=32069819.9871897.609193.406515.61929302.821&aID2=46852


i can't decide if that's good news or bad.

i guess it's better than the building being mostly un-rented at this point.

THIs: "Plans for parking adjacent to the building also are under negotiation." scares me.

sounds like they are going to not keep the identity of the atlas life name / sign / etc. which would be really sad.  it'd also suck if they got rid of the architecture that's in there.  IMO at least don't touch the lobby.

http://www.newatlasgrill.com/

it's like a living working museum.


*sigh* the elevators...are really old and great but were made in a time when people were smaller (and thinner?), so they're probably going to be gutted and made modern.  that's going to suck.

Dude, I highly, highly doubt that this company is purchasing the Atlas Life building in order to strip it of all its gorgeous, significant architecture and turn it into something generic.  From the artticle you linked to:

quote:Marriott's national urban design team, which specializes in the development of existing buildings, will work closely with the SJS project team of Tulsa-based architects GH2 and contractor Thomas Construction to integrate the historical nature of the building throughout its renewal.

Honestly, this sort of thing is what keeps our beautiful old buildings from suffering the same fate as the Auto Hotel, the Tulsa Club, and the Camelot.  Continuous renewal and upgrade, taking into account historical and architectural significance, is what is going to breathe life into our legacy buildings.

[joiei]

quote:Originally posted by DScott28604

quote:Originally posted by cmoreno



http://www.tulsabusiness.com/article.asp?lID=7&sID=8&m1=9&cID=Z&aID=32069819.9871897.609193.406515.61929302.821&aID2=46852


i can't decide if that's good news or bad.

i guess it's better than the building being mostly un-rented at this point.


THIs: "Plans for parking adjacent to the building also are under negotiation." scares me.

sounds like they are going to not keep the identity of the atlas life name / sign / etc. which would be really sad.  it'd also suck if they got rid of the architecture that's in there.  IMO at least don't touch the lobby.


http://www.newatlasgrill.com/

it's like a living working museum.


*sigh* the elevators...are really old and great but were made in a time when people were smaller (and thinner?), so they're probably going to be gutted and made modern.  that's going to suck.

Don't fret...

As per KOTV's story (http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=7959765):

quote:As for parking, they say they're negotiating with the owner of the PhilTower Parking Garage next door.

They say they could always rely on valet parking as well.  The entire renovation is expected to cost $15 million.

Some hotels in rehabed buildings I have been in lately include the Hotel Phillips in KC, very very cool hotel, the kept the old elevators and they are small.  The Skirvan Hilton in OKC, small elevators.  Holiday Inn redid the Aladdin in downtown KC and kept the look of the building as well as the original hotel sign and reopened the signature dining room as did the Hilton President.  NOt everyone is in the tear it down mood nor do they re-cover the exterior like they did in the 60s and 70s to make it look more modern.  Keeping the original look makes a building more valuable.  Resheeting the exterior can be a mistake. Especially if they try to make it look like 80s Dallas with reflective glass.

[dsjeffries]

You know, I'm getting sick and tired of having to go from news source to news source in Tulsa to try to get the whole story.

We go to the World and get bits of information, go to KOTV to get some additional bits, and possibly the Tulsa Business Journal for another bit or two.

What is really frustrating about this is that the Journal Record (or some other source) often has a MUCH more complete look at a story.

Take THIS story, for instance.  TW announced some things, and we had questions that were later answered by KOTV.

I just checked the Journal Record's website and found a very nice story that gives us a much better look at the developer and his plans for the building... MUCH more detailed. Why can't we have routine, comprehensive coverage? Does the World fear that if they let the whole story out at once, they can't write about it the next day to fill up space? [!]

Check it out:

quote:SJS to turn Atlas Life Building into $15 million flagship hotel
by Kirby Lee Davis
The Journal Record March 4, 2008

TULSA – Hotel operator SJS Hospitality LLC will pay about $15 million to transform downtown Tulsa's 95,000-square-foot Atlas Life Building into its flagship hotel, a 120-room Courtyard by Marriott.

The changeover will also give the skyscraper district a new restaurant and bar on the building's second floor, SJS operating partner Jeff Hartman said Monday, even as he assured Tulsa Press Club listeners that both the nonprofit club and the neighboring Atlas Grill restaurant would remain open for business.

"That's the key question everyone has asked us," Hartman said with a smile. "It wasn't really about the number of rooms."
Broken Arrow-based SJS paid $1.7 million to Kanbar Properties for the 86-year-old office tower in a deal brokered by Cecilia Wilkins of Tulsa's W3 Development LLC. Contractor Thomas Construction of Osage Beach, Mo., will to start work this summer to transform the 13-story structure, using plans by GH2 Architects of Tulsa. SJS partner Steve Ehrhardt expects the work to take 18 to 24 months.

While the Atlas Life provides an existing foundation to create the fourth hotel in the SJS chain, Hartman said his four-year-old company would face several challenges in adding hospitality infrastructure – plumbing, environmental system and other needs – while protecting the building's historic character, from the four-story neon sign to its molded lobby roof.
"We're not looking at any savings whatsoever," he said of the project, acknowledging new construction could deliver a similar-sized hotel at a potentially lower price.

For example, the company targets November completion for a $6.5 million, 92-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott alongside its Holiday Inn Express and Suites at the Bass Pro Shops development in Broken Arrow.

But Hartman said Atlas Life offers several factors that make it a "must-stay destination" for downtown leisure travelers, from its iconic architecture to its close proximity to the BOK Center arena, Mid-Continent Tower and Philtower.

"The return on the investment is about the same, if not better, because a property like this has that historical nature and concept that people will pay extra for," Hartman said, projecting room rates from $149 to $189.

Upgrading the building also involves added costs. Hartman said SJS would reduce the number of elevators from three to two, so that one shaft could accommodate a gurney.
"That alone is going to cost close to half a million dollars," he said.
Hartman projected asbestos removal will run about $160,000. GH2 architects also are developing plans for a stairway to extend from the first floor to the 12th.

But the biggest challenge could come from Thomas Construction having to do its demolition work and other retrofit needs limited to existing space, pouring its waste down chutes to dumpsters without blocking access to a building wedged between to high-rise towers. Hartman said SJS does not plan any new construction to expand the original, inverted T-shaped tower.
The new restaurant and bar will overlook Boston Avenue. Hartman said the concept paralleled Panera Bread eateries, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner options. As an added revenue source, SJS is working with Philtower owner Jim Hawkins to provide room service for the neighboring tower – and not just for the SJS outlet, but from others in the building. He said similar service for Mid-Continent tenants remained an option.

SJS is negotiating parking access to the Philtower parking garage.
"If that goes through, we will build a skywalk bridge from our second floor," he said.
As for its marquee, Hartman said SJS is looking at several options to broadcast itself but not interfere with the existing neon landmark, including a metal awning like the Mid-Continent employs.
"We are real sensitive to not putting a 40-foot sign on this building," he said.

[cmoreno]

quote: Does the World fear that if they let the whole story out at once, they can't write about it the next day to fill up space?

in a word?
yes.

and i have to give mad props to KOTV in the last few years for getting much more investigative in their coverage.  i've seen since i arrived in tulsa 8 years ago the quality of their news go from fluff to VERY comprehensive.

more and more i rely on the tulsa business journal and KOTV to get the full story.

[TheArtist]

I am still wondering if they will use the rooftop areas off the second floor as outdoor eating space and or patio space? I think it would be really neat if they did []

[swake]

quote:Originally posted by cmoreno

quote: Does the World fear that if they let the whole story out at once, they can't write about it the next day to fill up space?

in a word?
yes.

and i have to give mad props to KOTV in the last few years for getting much more investigative in their coverage.  i've seen since i arrived in tulsa 8 years ago the quality of their news go from fluff to VERY comprehensive.

more and more i rely on the tulsa business journal and KOTV to get the full story.

The Journal Record, the business paper out of Oklahoma City is also pretty good.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist

I am still wondering if they will use the rooftop areas off the second floor as outdoor eating space and or patio space? I think it would be really neat if they did []

+1

This is the first "infill" development downtown.  The other items are on the outskirts of the active area - arena, bluedome, pearl, brady.  This is in the middle.  Good news.

Also relieved to hear that they intend to use existing parking.  If they started messing with the urban look of Boston I'd throw a fit.

Oh, and per the architecture they said in the press conference that the classical and detailed architectural elements were one of the main reason they chose the building.  So I'd expect to see them maintained.

And thank god the Atlas grill will remain.  I crave apple smoked bacon.

/ramble.

[cannon_fodder]

Front of the TW says they plan on keeping the sign.