[miaht82]

I guess I'll start at the top... but I just knew the next 20+ would be a hotel. Its a pretty safe bet considering the DT "area" has 14k+ rooms.

It is pretty bulky. I don't know if it is the actual width of each side or just the angles of those "human eye" view renderings; the aerial shots make it look a little less bulky although I was always expecting something to sit on top of the parking garage and that would've made it even chunkier. However, how it feels at street level gives its true impact. If you want to know what it will look like from Alamo Plaza, compare it to looking at the Nix from Crockett St. or Houston St.

The first thing I thought of when I saw this was Drury Plaza. It's a similar "L" shape and if will sit around 300 feet, it will be right in between the Drury Plaza and Nix. I think I would like it a bit more if it had a twin sitting over the garage and if one of them was offices or residential, but thats just wishful thinking at this point.

The scale might be a tad bit off; if you scaled it back to 90% of its actual size, it might help it a bit, but it might actually be at that tipping point where it still feels okay. I know that the big boys are over a bit, but those things are monsters and that is NOT what this or any other building should strive to be. The fact that it is in a high rise desert of sorts is what makes this one a hard one; the Palacio is over a bit and has been kind of by itself for awhile. This might not have that big of an impact once its there and if you look at this angle, it doesn't seem too much out of place.

I'll guess that it may have 375 rooms. Considering that between the Marriott RiverCenter, Marriott Riverwalk, Grand Hyatt and Palacio, you have 3,000 rooms, adding a few hundred more would only seem to knock a few from the bottom out of commission. The proximity to the Convention Center helps alot, and the fact that it is getting expanded is another plus. Last summer had the highest occupancy rates in DT (75%) since '07, even though we've added at least 2,000 rooms since then to DT (Grand Hyatt, Embassy, Courtyard, Towneplace, Home2Suites, Indigo, Springhill, Fairfield, etc.).
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...#photo-3707142

I would rather have residential any day over this, but the fact that it is countered by "The River House" makes me feel a bit better on the residential front. Also, not sure if anybody else noticed the other new construction request at 302 Josephine; every little bit helps.

Originally Posted by WorldTexas

Anyone know if the agenda item mentioned anything about parking? I would imagine the mall doesn't have enough capacity to add a hotel this size.

I'm sure it would be valet. The back side garage usually has the top 2 levels sit empty. But this would also lead me to believe that they are going all in with the "mall for tourist only" plan and either raise prices in the garage, keeping locals from parking there and freeing up space, and hoping that the mall clientele would leave their cars in their respective hotel parking areas (any DT garage) and walk on over, which I think most "visitors" staying in DT do anyways.

Originally Posted by Alice93

I'll take it, but why isn't it on the agenda anymore?

It was pulled. Remember when "Fish Market Hotel" was pulled? That was eventually approved although that was a placeholder.

The commission was scheduled to consider the project next Wednesday. However, BC Realty requested the item be pulled to allow for more time to meet design changes recommended by the HDRC's design review committee.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...#ixzz2OzmB84z1