[MarkDaMan]

Posh buys downtown Days Inn
Thursday, June 14, 2007
The Oregonian

Posh Ventures, a private Seattle company, has paid an undisclosed amount to buy the Days Inn City Center from Starwood Hotels and Resorts and took ownership effective today, Posh Ventures announced Wednesday.

The hotel, at 1414 S.W. Sixth Ave., will temporarily be renamed the Portland Inn City Center, said Jenifer Whang, an assistant general manager for Posh Ventures. The hotel will be given a permanent new name, not yet chosen, when a multimillion dollar renovation is completed by next June.

A redesign, featuring an outdoor courtyard with open gas fireplaces, has been drafted by the design company Corso Staicoff and the architecture firm Holst.

"We're very excited about this," Whang said. "This property has a great location. It needs a little TLC, which we're willing and able to give."

-- Jonathan Brinckman



http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1181703325163610.xml&coll=7

[dkealoha]

I used to catch the bus across the street from this Days Inn and always thought it would be cool if someone renovated it a-la Doug Fir/Jupiter Hotel. With Holst doing the design, it should turn out to be something cool!

[Dougall5505]

I wonder how much asthetic renovations will be made, it looks pretty bad now
http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/travel/img_2036/19225879_500x500_3d19df729cc695de0c295ee0b83f4217.jpg?tr_____DZ4ipILR7

[MarkDaMan]

^I'd expect a design better than the Jupiter...I wouldn't have complained if the Jupiter was demolished before the renovation, but I love the rehabbed project. This company appears to be putting up a larger financial committment into the rehab than the Jupiter owners could...it should be a fantastic boutique.

I can't really find anything on Posh Ventures though...

[pdxman]

I say bulldoze that POS and build a tower...no low/mid-rise in DT!

[brandonpdx]

I say bulldoze that POS and build a tower...no low/mid-rise in DT!

if you want that you live in the wrong city.

[pdxman]

Haha sometimes i think i do

[dkealoha]

^I'd expect a design better than the Jupiter...I wouldn't have complained if the Jupiter was demolished before the renovation, but I love the rehabbed project. This company appears to be putting up a larger financial committment into the rehab than the Jupiter owners could...it should be a fantastic boutique.

I can't really find anything on Posh Ventures though...

I don't think the Jupiter Hotel is anything amazing, I just figured it's from the same era of ugly buildings and at least the owners of the Jupiter found a way to update it somewhat tastefully. You have to admit that standing in the courtyard outside of Doug Fir at night is pretty cool, and that Days Inn building seems like it could pull off the same mid-century-mod aesthetic. Obviously more money should mean more potential for something great.

[zilfondel]

Since the company has the word "posh" in its name, I would assume that they are going to do something significant. But god, what a horrid looking building it is...

[kvalk]

Actually if you strip off the days inn signage, and the faux-hip roof details they installed at the roof line in the late 70's, as well as the canvas awnings that cover up original cocrete awnings, it's a very simple 60's Bauhaus inspired building, and potentially very nice.

[rsbear]

I would rather they implode the sucker now and put in a nicely landscaped surface parking lot so that someday the site could become a tower - mid-rise or higher. I have disliked that building, especially in that location, for 30 years. :yuck:

[65MAX]

Actually if you strip off the days inn signage, and the faux-hip roof details they installed at the roof line in the late 70's, as well as the canvas awnings that cover up original cocrete awnings, it's a very simple 60's Bauhaus inspired building, and potentially very nice.

I agree, it could be a great representation of mid-century modern if done well (not half-assed). It actually has good lines and proportions. Think Jupiter (Skylab) on steroids. Could be super-cool.

[PDX City-State]

I say bulldoze that POS and build a tower...no low/mid-rise in DT!

Yeah bulldoze it! That way we can construct a city whose built environment lacks character and texture--like Vancouver, BC's.

[puerco]

I don't remember what that motel was called in the '60's It might have been called The Doric. My friends & I used to sneak in and swim in the pool. Until a guest had us kicked out when about 10 of us showed up. We also snuck into the Hilton pool a few times, found an empty room and watched tv and took showers. We were in our terrible teens. No one could get away with that now. The people who built that motel also built a similar one down by the Morrison or Hawthorne Bridge. I don't know if that's still standing.

[PacificNW]

Still standing but now the Four Point Sheraton....that is the location Sheraton should build a new hotel tower and included that weird parking lot across the street.

[pdxman]

Yeah bulldoze it! That way we can construct a city whose built environment lacks character and texture--like Vancouver, BC's.

Yeah, we dont want to be like vancouver. What a horrible city :rolleyes:

[PDX City-State]

Well, all the skyscraper drones seem to love Vancouver, but is the built environment really that inspiring? Vancouver has lots of shiny towers and most them are horribly detailed. Don't get me wrong, I like towers, but it's better to have a mix and not commit the Vancouver folly, that is, bulldoze history in the name of trendy progress. Vancouver is dense and energetic, but I find the built environment depressing. It's also perhaps the only city that believes its own hype more than Portland.

[brandonpdx]

Well, all the skyscraper drones seem to love Vancouver, but is the built environment really that inspiring? Vancouver has lots of shiny towers and most them are horribly detailed. Don't get me wrong, I like towers, but it's better to have a mix and not commit the Vancouver folly, that is, bulldoze history in the name of trendy progress. Vancouver is dense and energetic, but I find the built environment depressing. It's also perhaps the only city that believes its own hype more than Portland.

I couldn't agree with you more. the streetscape is the most important aspect of a city. not a bunch of glassy towers that you can stare at from a distance. I just got back from Dublin and the place was so alive. The streetscape was so interesting and just phenomenal. There aren't any towers to be found there!

Don't get me wrong I love towers; I do live in one afterall, but the focus of building a great city should be on the ground in creating a vibrant, exciting streetscape and not in trying to build the biggest baddest towers so everyone can stare at them from a distance.

[cab]

Well in defense of Vancouver, it really doesn't have much of a history to destroy. I'd ask what US city is doing better then Vancouver when it comes to highrise development? A lot of crap getting built all over the country, at least vancouver's basic point tower does no harm and is a form that creates a friendly streetscape. Its lacking diversity, but is avoiding mistakes.

[PDX City-State]

Don't get me wrong I love towers; I do live in one afterall, but the focus of building a great city should be on the ground in creating a vibrant, exciting streetscape and not in trying to build the biggest baddest towers so everyone can stare at them from a distance.

Exactly. Vancouver is gorgeous to enjoy from afar.

at least vancouver's basic point tower does no harm and is a form that creates a friendly streetscape.

The higher construction costs associated with point towers have in part made Vancouver the most expensive city in Canada. The average one-bedroom tops 500k. And I don't find Vancouver's streetscape all-too-friendly. Next time you're in Vancouver, take a walk down Hamilton Street in Yaletown--a well preserved industrial area--or stroll down Commercial Drive: a Hawthorne of Vancouver. Next, walk around areas such as Coal Harbor and Corcorde. There's no comparison. The latter areas are austere and dead compared to the former.

[cab]

Well I agree that Coal and Concord don't measure up to Commercial or robson, but they are highrise neighborhoods built around parks not retail corridors. Anytime of day you WILL see people utilizing the waterfront opportunites in these newer areas. Its a place to LIVE not an area just to shop. How many people are walking there dogs or jogging or practicing yoga on commercial? These new areas are definitely a "softer" type city, maybe because we in the US tend to idealize the hustle and bustle of NY that the calm of these new areas doesn't feel like a city. Can't cities be more then just a place for Commerce?

[PDX City-State]

Can't cities be more then just a place for Commerce?

They can and should--but commerce is elemental to our existence. Many of Vancouver's towers are owned by people using them as vacation homes. I believe a city should serve the people who live there, not so much those who visit--though tourism dollars are also important. I also think the streetscape is more important than how a skyline looks.

[zilfondel]

^ Ironically, Vancouver is now looking towards our Pearl District as an alternative way to develop - ie, lower-rise by reusing historic older buildings.

And over in Europe I hear laughter... "oh those yanks..."

[CUclimber]

I wish somebody would come in and demolish the Travelodge that's at the big intersection near Barbur/I-405/Broadway/Duniway. That place is a disaster, and it's really weighing the area down. I'm glad to see this Day's Inn get this treatment, and I'm glad that some attention is being focused in this direction.

[urbanlife]

I am currently visiting Chicago for a few days and they seem to have nothing wrong with the high rises here.

[PDX City-State]

I am currently visiting Chicago for a few days and they seem to have nothing wrong with the high rises here.

Chicago also has great infill and the best public art in the US.

[urbanlife]

Chicago also has great infill and the best public art in the US.

yes and yes...but there is something Portland can be proud of, Chicago's beer is total corporate crap, no where near as good as Portland. Oh and the head line in today's paper, "Daley's city not as 'green.'" So that is something else Portland has to be proud of.

[PDX City-State]

Very true--not to mention that we're (PDX, Seattle, Vancouver) are a little ahead of the game in the coffee department. One thing of Chicago though: I think it's the best food city in the US.