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New highrise?

CompCy said:
I thought the Ames Smart Growth people considered these buildings "historic", so they should never be torndown/renovated...
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Nah, the Smart Growth people LOVE things like this. More people crammed into one area instead of the dreaded urban sprawl. This thing will go through city council in no time. Actually, in this case, I agree with them. Campustown needs a lot of work, but having more people there isn't a bad thing to help the businesses.

Probably "so long" to Sgt Peppers and the original Es Tas. It's going to be a nice bidding war to see who gets to lease the commercial space, because it is one of the best spots on Welch. I'm wondering if someone won't turn that Varsity Theatre into a bar too. C'mon Zmolek, throw your hat back in the ring!
 
You guys don't get it at all. Who is going to front the money for a new hotel that generates revenue for 6 Saturdays every year. Then what? It would be great if Ames were bigger, but its not. If you've ever been in Ames in the summer, there isn't enough support for new hotels, shopping centers, etc. Although campustown could be better, retail or whatever would still be stuck with cheap-*** poor college students. Its not the best business climate, which is why it is what it is. Beer and late night food..

Oh, and I've stayed in the Union hotel before, nice and convenient.
 
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pulse said:
You guys don't get it at all. Who is going to front the money for a new hotel that generates revenue for 6 Saturdays every year. Then what? It would be great if Ames were bigger, but its not. If you've ever been in Ames in the summer, there isn't enough support for new hotels, shopping centers, etc. Although campustown could be better, retail or whatever would still be stuck with cheap-*** poor college students. Its not the best business climate, which is why it is what it is. Beer and late night food..

Oh, and I've stayed in the Union hotel before, nice and convenient.
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Gee how many people come in for orientation/campus visits during the summer? It may seem like a sleepy town but there's a lot more going on then you're giving the school credit for.
 
4429 mcc said:
Gee how many people come in for orientation/campus visits during the summer? It may seem like a sleepy town but there's a lot more going on then you're giving the school credit for.
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No there is not. I grew up in Ames, I'm well aware of what goes on every day of the year. I agree with the things that people want, I think they would be great. However, from a business perspective they aren't realistic. A B&B (or small hotel) might be nice in campus town, but still the vacancy rate would be so high you probably wouldn't make any money. The reason why the hotels are by the the interstate is because travelers passing by stay there and they can stay in business.
 
4429 mcc said:
Gee how many people come in for orientation/campus visits during the summer? It may seem like a sleepy town but there's a lot more going on then you're giving the school credit for.
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Summer, and 6-7 Saturdays isn't going to cut it. I actually wonder how many people do stay for both days of orientation. I had a baseball game that night so I went home but wondered how many skipped the second day.
 
pulse said:
No there is not. I grew up in Ames, I'm well aware of what goes on every day of the year. I agree with the things that people want, I think they would be great. However, from a business perspective they aren't realistic. A B&B (or small hotel) might be nice in campus town, but still the vacancy rate would be so high you probably wouldn't make any money. The reason why the hotels are by the the interstate is because travelers passing by stay there and they can stay in business.
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Oh sorry I didnt know you grew up in Ames, that changes everything! What happens on Tuesday June 23rd? BTW 150 room hotel is a small hotel, I dont think anyone on here was talking about the downtown DSM marriott.
 
bmuff said:
I agree. The problem is the firestation. The second someone dies because the city closed off Welch and the firemen couldn't get there soon enough, it would be lawsuit city. The city has talked about making it a one way street, but still have firestation issues.
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This city SUCKS in terms of development. The fire station and the Kum'n'Go shouldn't be on Welch in the first place. The fact that the city turned down a multi-level shopping center in Campustown, and then on 13th St, REALLY confuses me. Pat Forde calling us the worst city in the Big XII doesnt really suprise me anymore.

Also, even Drake has a Holiday Inn Express within a block of Campus... meanwhile, most of our hotels are in a floodplain! :biglaugh:
 
pulse said:
You guys don't get it at all. Who is going to front the money for a new hotel that generates revenue for 6 Saturdays every year. Then what? It would be great if Ames were bigger, but its not. If you've ever been in Ames in the summer, there isn't enough support for new hotels, shopping centers, etc. Although campustown could be better, retail or whatever would still be stuck with cheap-*** poor college students. Its not the best business climate, which is why it is what it is. Beer and late night food..

Oh, and I've stayed in the Union hotel before, nice and convenient.
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So by this logic, the Gateway or the new hotel on S. Dakota could not exist.

The University hosts conferences, events, meetings, parent's weekends, alumni gatherings, etc. year-round. It is more than just sporting weekends. The 20 or so weekend gamedays for bball and football would just be icing on the cake. Btw, hotels run at a very high vacancy rate to begin with. Adding 150 rooms in the direct campus area would absolutely be successful.

It hasn't happend because there is no land/cheap area to build in the direct area.

A developer already took initiative out on South Dakota and put up the Hilton Garden Inn or whatever that thing is. I guarantee if they had the opportunity w/in the campus area they would have taken it.
 
delt4cy said:
So by this logic, the Gateway or the new hotel on S. Dakota could not exist.

The University hosts conferences, events, meetings, parent's weekends, alumni gatherings, etc. year-round. It is more than just sporting weekends. The 20 or so weekend gamedays for bball and football would just be icing on the cake. Btw, hotels run at a very high vacancy rate to begin with. Adding 150 rooms in the direct campus area would absolutely be successful.

It hasn't happend because there is no land/cheap area to build in the direct area.

A developer already took initiative out on South Dakota and put up the Hilton Garden Inn or whatever that thing is. I guarantee if they had the opportunity w/in the campus area they would have taken it.
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But did you grow up in Ames?
 
Haverhill said:
This city SUCKS in terms of development. The fire station and the Kum'n'Go shouldn't be on Welch in the first place. The fact that the city turned down a multi-level shopping center in Campustown, and then on 13th St, REALLY confuses me. Pat Forde calling us the worst city in the Big XII doesnt really suprise me anymore.

Also, even Drake has a Holiday Inn Express within a block of Campus... meanwhile, most of our hotels are in a floodplain! :biglaugh:
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I agree, they should sell the fire station to a developer for commercial use. It would do a lot more good for the area, and it's certainly a prime spot at the corner of Knapp and Welch.

Kum & Go is nice to have so close, but I definitely agree it just doesn't fit in the area. I don't see them moving or selling any time soon though.
 
delt4cy said:
I agree, they should sell the fire station to a developer for commercial use. It would do a lot more good for the area, and it's certainly a prime spot at the corner of Knapp and Welch.

Kum & Go is nice to have so close, but I definitely agree it just doesn't fit in the area. I don't see them moving or selling any time soon though.
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The fire station can be put anywhere in Campustown and still be effective. Having the fire station at the center of everything is just plain STUPID though. Same thing can be said about Kum'n'Go
 
delt4cy said:
So by this logic, the Gateway or the new hotel on S. Dakota could not exist.

The University hosts conferences, events, meetings, parent's weekends, alumni gatherings, etc. year-round. It is more than just sporting weekends. The 20 or so weekend gamedays for bball and football would just be icing on the cake. Btw, hotels run at a very high vacancy rate to begin with. Adding 150 rooms in the direct campus area would absolutely be successful.

It hasn't happend because there is no land/cheap area to build in the direct area.

A developer already took initiative out on South Dakota and put up the Hilton Garden Inn or whatever that thing is. I guarantee if they had the opportunity w/in the campus area they would have taken it.
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I guarantee that if someone could make money with a hotel, it would be built.

Why are there only cheap eateries, a couple of T-shirt places, and bars on Welch? Their customer base is cheap *** students (not a dig on students--just reality).

Why would a hotel be successful there? Orientation for a couple of weeks? Nope. 6-7 game days? Nope. What do people visit in the campustown area? Nothing.

Now, a hotel near Hilton, the Stadium, Stephens, and Scheman--I think would make it. That's where conferences are held throughout the year, and a hotel there would do wonders. I know that ideas have been kicked around for quite some time, but not sure how serious they ever are.

I think pulse does get it. I also agree with some of what you're saying for land. Does anyone have any clue as to what footprint a 150 room hotel needs? Wouldn't fit in campustown without having a parking garage and numerous stories. No one is going to make money at that.

For this City to be for any development, though, would be a shocker.
 
I worked in the Ames hotel industry in various positions for 10+ years...the last five in sales.

The plan that has been around forever was to add a hotel onto the top of the Scheman Building. I believe the building was built to accomodate that addition at some point. However, I doubt it will ever happen. It is a great idea though.

A hotel would never survive in Campustown. In order to buy/lease the land and deal with the parking issue, by the time things were said and done it would be an extremely expensive project. In order to make money the rates would have to be very, very high...even if they ran decent occupancy.

Also, Ames is way oversaturated with hotel rooms. Especially with the new Hilton Garden Inn adding 120+ rooms. There's just not enough being brought into Ames as far as large conventions, etc. to support an additional property.

Just my two cents....
 
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lizzie said:
The plan that has been around forever was to add a hotel onto the top of the Scheman Building. I believe the building was built to accomodate that addition at some point. However, I doubt it will ever happen. It is a great idea though.
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That's freaking genius! They could charge a MINT for those rooms when football games rolled around and it would be a convenient place for other things (conferences, games, plays, etc.)
 
cybsball20 said:
88 bedrooms and 20 parking spots... Something doesn't add up...
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Which is one of the reasons there won't be a hotel in campus town. There is nowhere to park. If you were going to build a hotel of any size, 5 stories at least would have to be a parking garage.
 
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