May not be the prettiest rendering, but I hope this project gets the go-ahead asap. From the Ithaca Journal:
A rendering of the proposed new wing of the Holiday Inn showing the tower of rooms at the corner of Clinton Street, left, and Cayuga Street, right, looking northwest. The Cayuga Street parking garage is across the road at the right. / HART HOTELS / GRAPHIC PROVIDED
Hotel owner: Holiday Inn renovation to bring business during Ithaca's off-season
9:53 PM, Jan. 25, 2012
Written by
Liz Lawyer
Ithaca -- An expansion and renovation of the Holiday Inn could mean more midweek business and provide a draw for conventions and other large meetings to downtown during Ithaca's off-season.
David Hart, of Hart Hotels, which owns the downtown Holiday Inn, presented his plan Tuesday to the city planning and development board to demolish the three older wings of the hotel and replace them with a new tower to the south of the existing one and a convention center to the north of it.
Tuesday was the first time the project was presented to the planning board. The board voted unanimously to indicate its intent to declare itself lead agency on the project.
Hart said his company has owned the hotel for 20 years. It opened in 1972, and the tower was added in 1984, so some parts of the building are 40 years old. These older elements -- the one-story guest room wings to the south, west and north of the existing tower -- would be demolished to make way for the new tower and convention center.
The changes would add 15 rooms to the total room count, but would
triple the hotel's capacity for conferences and other group events.
Hart said the changes are important for the hotel's viability.
"I feel like if we don't address some of these older elements of the building, we will die a very slow death, and that's a shame because this is a really a great spot to do this," he said, referring to the plan to add a conference center.
Hart said there is no area downtown with the capacity for midsize meetings, and developing one would bring in business outside of Ithaca's tourism months as well as in the middle of the week, when the
hotel is currently unable to fill its rooms.
The board had questions regarding increased traffic and where tour buses would park under the new plan. Hart said traffic would be little affected because the addition wouldn't add much to the total room count.
Several of the hotel's neighbors spoke in favor of the project but urged the board to be strict in its review of noise, loading zones, traffic and parking impacts.
Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the addition and renovation would be a boon for the downtown economy and the tourism economy.
While the changes would not add much to the hotel's capacity, Bonn said, "We will have something we don't have now: midweek and shoulder-season business."
Several of the hotel's neighbors spoke in favor of the project but urged the board to be strict in its review of noise, loading zones, traffic and parking impacts.
Fred Bonn, director of the Ithaca and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the addition and renovation would be a boon for the downtown economy and the tourism economy.
While the changes would not add much to the hotel's capacity, Bonn said, "We will have something we don't have now: midweek and shoulder-season business."
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...sey=nav%7Chead