WESTIN PEACHTREE PLAZA HOTEL "Atlanta's brused ego with no healing yet" What is really going on??? (Marietta: insurance, buying) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

obanks · 07-10-2009, 02:36 PM

Well its been way past May and the latest was that repair date was moved to mid July... Now im hearing repair dates have been moved to sometime in mid to late September.... Please some body stop the madness... This is ATLANTA'S signture Skyscraper and not enough heat or media coverage has been put on the issue... In my opinon Atlanta's ego has been brused for well over a year with no help to heal the wounds.... No point intended

George Chong · 07-10-2009, 02:45 PM

Each and every piece of glass is being replaced. Also, I heard that the insurance claim was finally settled.

myfoxatlanta.com | Hotel Damaged in Tornado to Get Makeover (http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/Hotel_Damaged_in_Tornado_to_Get_Makeover_042409 - broken link)

PedestriAnne · 07-10-2009, 03:58 PM

They're now saying December of this year. (http://www.11alive.com/weather/story.aspx?storyid=124466&catid=4 - broken link)

Quote:

Well its been way past May and the latest was that repair date was moved to mid July... Now im hearing repair dates have been moved to sometime in mid to late September.... Please some body stop the madness... This is ATLANTA'S signture Skyscraper and not enough heat or media coverage has been put on the issue... In my opinon Atlanta's ego has been brused for well over a year with no help to heal the wounds....

So, who should this “heat” be put on and by whom? This is a privately-owned business we’re talking about. There's no Downtown Asthetics Enforcement Agency to force them to hurry up. I’m sure no one wants this finished more than than Westin does. They still have 81 rooms rendered unusable, so they're bleeding money every day this goes on.

Besides, a massive repair and code compliance project involving millions of dollars of labor and custom-fabricated materials has to be hard to hold to a tight schedule. Not to mention the epic battle they must have had to wage with their insurance company.

There's not been much media coverage lately because news organizations don't like to waste time on stories that essentially say "We don't have anything new to tell you because they haven't told/won't tell us anything new." Private industry doesn't have the open records obligations government does. Investigative reporting involving private industry is notoriously expensive and time-consuming. It's not a very wise investment of their already thinly spread resources if there's no suspicion of wrongdoing.

BobKovacs · 07-10-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by obanks

Well its been way past May and the latest was that repair date was moved to mid July... Now im hearing repair dates have been moved to sometime in mid to late September.... Please some body stop the madness... This is ATLANTA'S signture Skyscraper and not enough heat or media coverage has been put on the issue... In my opinon Atlanta's ego has been brused for well over a year with no help to heal the wounds.... No point intended

Since it bothers you so much, why don't you stroke the Westin a check for around $25 million (that's about what the project is going to cost), and they'll get started. In the meantime, they'll continue to finalize the agreement with their insurance carrier, and when the get the money from the carrier, they'll reimburse you.

Shagbark Hickory · 07-12-2009, 05:54 PM

These things take time.
That place aint built outta legos.

obanks · 07-13-2009, 03:39 PM

Believe me i understand the politics behind it all and thanks for the perspective and positive critisim...Just been over a year and every other tower has repaired their glass, even 101 Marietta, the tower i work in which had just as many windows out...Just being Atlanta's token skyscraper you would think construction whould have at least have started... Its the biggest eye sore and believe me every one can see it and im not the only one that feels that way even people who have visited have said that looks horrable...Thanks guys for your prospective...

waronxmas · 07-13-2009, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by obanks

Believe me i understand the politics behind it all and thanks for the perspective and positive critisim...Just been over a year and every other tower has repaired their glass, even 101 Marietta, the tower i work in which had just as many windows out...Just being Atlanta's token skyscraper you would think construction whould have at least have started... Its the biggest eye sore and believe me every one can see it and im not the only one that feels that way even people who have visited have said that looks horrable...Thanks guys for your prospective...

Yeah, but it's an eyesore with a purpose. When I see the boarded up windows of the Westin, and then look around the rest of Downtown back to normal, it's a reminder of what this city went through that day and how we hardly let anything hold us back.

samiwas1 · 07-13-2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by obanks

Believe me i understand the politics behind it all and thanks for the perspective and positive critisim...Just been over a year and every other tower has repaired their glass, even 101 Marietta, the tower i work in which had just as many windows out...Just being Atlanta's token skyscraper you would think construction whould have at least have started... Its the biggest eye sore and believe me every one can see it and im not the only one that feels that way even people who have visited have said that looks horrable...Thanks guys for your prospective...

The difference is that most of the other buildings have standard glass windows, or at the very least SQUARE glass of whatever sort. Isn't the glass on this building curved? It's probably going to take quite a bit longer and be MUCH more expensive.

There was a building in Ft. Worth, Texas that was damaged by a tornado in March of 2000 and wasn't fully repaired until 2005. It had plywood windows for several years and was called the "Plywood Skyscraper".

Mishap · 07-13-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by samiwas1

The difference is that most of the other buildings have standard glass windows, or at the very least SQUARE glass of whatever sort. Isn't the glass on this building curved? It's probably going to take quite a bit longer and be MUCH more expensive.

There was a building in Ft. Worth, Texas that was damaged by a tornado in March of 2000 and wasn't fully repaired until 2005. It had plywood windows for several years and was called the "Plywood Skyscraper".

According to Wikipedia, it's about 5,600 pieces of glass which were 1/4" thick uninsulated and flat. I think a big issue they're facing beyond buying that glass is re-engineering the building to hold double pane insulated glass to meet code, moving in that much material, erecting cranes, all while minimizing disruptions to guests.

They probably could have built the entire tower in less time but they're a working hotel this time around.

BobKovacs · 07-13-2009, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mishap

According to Wikipedia, it's about 5,600 pieces of glass which were 1/4" thick uninsulated and flat. I think a big issue they're facing beyond buying that glass is re-engineering the building to hold double pane insulated glass to meet code, moving in that much material, erecting cranes, all while minimizing disruptions to guests.

They probably could have built the entire tower in less time but they're a working hotel this time around.

They're not going to be using insulated glass- the curtainwall mullions aren't able to accept it. The city originally was requiring that to meet the new energy codes, but they agreed to let them just replace the glass with 3/8" single glass that meets higher wind/impact loads.