Why aren't there any hotels in Uptown?

[audadvnc]

The hotel I work at has very low business in the summer. Spring and fall are the money makers for meetings.

Part of the problem is that there was so much high end hotel construction in the past decade that facilities are having trouble breaking even. One of the prime results of the disastrous "Gateway Project" of the 1950's and 60's was the downtown Sheraton, which never broke even due to excess room availability in town, and they razed the building in the late 70's (I think the downtown library is on that plot now).

[Mason3000]

I'd like to see a handful of boutique style hotels Uptown, positioned within a few blocks of each other in a row down Lake St, a la Collins Ave in South Beach, Miami. Uptown has become the "Las Vegas" of the Twin Cities with the shiny-happy people flocking there on weekends to see/be seen. I'm not talking about drunk crash pads, but also not family/business hotels. Let's not kid ourselves, Uptown is not about families/business, it's about beautiful young people & recreation let's embrace it & play to it's strengths.

[Mason3000]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I don't agree. Many of the spots in Uptown are NOT youth-oriented; there's far more to the area than Drink and Cowboy Slim's. (not to mention that there are decent dining options; not necessarily the "best" in the Twin Cities, but restaurants like Lucia's can certainly hold their own in the quality department, barbette is a popular wine option, the rooftop bars are hopping, and places like Chino Latino are trendy and have a draw that goes beyond just the college crowd) In any case, developers have come very, very close to building a hotel in recent years (2007), and now that building is once again going on at rapid pace in Uptown I would assume that building a smaller boutique hotel will soon be in the cards. The appeal is obvious -- proximity to the lakes, a busy neighborhood with a lot going on. Those looking for a young party scene are more likely to stick downtown and its clubs, not Uptown. I don't think the Uptown hotel would be focused on those strictly looking for a place to crash after a night of hard partying. Those with business strictly in the downtown offices will stick downtown. An Uptown hotel would be more along the lines of the boutique neighborhood hotels found in most other cities: not a classic "business" hotel, not a crash pad for the party set. As recently as 2007 there were THREE hotels in the works in Uptown (here's one then-proposed plan), so one of these days I think it's a safe bet that one will open. I would also guess that the audience is geared to the standard boutique traveler crowd -- those who prefer to stay in an interesting neighborhood to the central business district,, whether they're business travelers or traveling for fun. It's also one of the densest neighborhoods in the city, and from personal experience I can say that many local residents would like a convenient hotel for friends and relatives to stay while in town. For that matter, a hotel like that could probably also do a good wedding/reunion business. It's a far more "diverse" location than the suburban chain hotels or the downtown business hotels.

Good post. Weddings, reunions, family visiting all good and needed guests. Don't discount the party crowd though, if it's built Uptown they will come.

[plain and simple]

I used to know the answer to why there aren't any hotels in Uptown. I've honestly forgotten the specifics but it absolutely has everything to do with politics and purposely restrictive building ordinances. It's certainly not for a lack of desire, need, business or ingenuity.

[DaPerpKazoo]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

There's been a great deal of talk about a hotel in Uptown in years past. I believe one was very close to being built (memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think there was going to be a boutique hotel where Solheim is located, and there was also talk of a hotel going in as part of the Mozaic project, although I assume that specific project is long dead),

There was also a proposal a few years back to build one on the Bennet Lumber site, where apartments *should* star going up by fall.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by plain and simple

I used to know the answer to why there aren't any hotels in Uptown. I've honestly forgotten the specifics but it absolutely has everything to do with politics and purposely restrictive building ordinances. It's certainly not for a lack of desire, need, business or ingenuity.

And I'm sure it's just as restrictive, someone converting a large home around that area into a luxury hostel, like one of those huge homes on Lake of the Isles.

I believe, when I scanned for hostels in Minneapolis, there was one listed in south Minneapolis.

But even in NYC, the neighborhood opposition groups can shut these down for a variety of reasons. I stayed at a luxury hostel in Harlem a few years ago, was planning to stay at it again last year, and it's now closed due to opposition from the neighbors. What a sad loss, as this place had a rooftop deck with great views of Harlem.