No. Only the sign and not the building. Unfortunately those boneheads did the opposite. 
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I think every single iteration has been uglier than the last lmao
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Would it be too much to ask that the windows of the restaurant actually go all the way around?
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Good news: no one is “forced” to return anything. For a designated local historic landmark, new/proposed exterior changes are viewed against the City’s Design Guidelines. They do not, in any way, make you go back with Ye Olde Stuff, and neither interior changes nor use are regulated. If designated, they get 50% off their property taxes for forever. Pretty darn tasty carrot.
Same thing goes for state and federal tax credits - it only applies to new plans/changes. If the historic wood windows were replaced with vinyl, they don’t force you to put wood windows back in to get tax credits…but if you want to reverse changes made over time - like returning balconies, etc., then that’s reviewed, and that’s the work/project cost that’s eligible to receive the tax credits (doesn’t cover additions).
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Okay I don’t hate ours as much now!
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I don’t advocate saving the round Holiday Inn because it was a chain hotel but because it has been a part of the Raleigh skyline for over 50 years. Not to mention reusing an old building in lieu of imploding it to make a bland glass building. Downtown Raleigh has multiple sites zoned for much taller builders and yet none are going up. The new Omni will be great addition to the skyline but a refurbished Hotel Indigo a hipper brand from IHG would be a great addition to the city’s lodging needs.
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I evaluated that adaptive reuse concept multifamily concept at my previous firm. Last I heard, there were still unresolved ownership issues—some of the units are held by different entities, which has stalled any progress of it even being torn down. The building itself has suffered significant damage from vandalism and prolonged neglect (the inspection report was fascinating to review), and the pizza-slice-shaped units make it a tough fit for many redevelopment approaches.
At the end of the day, for properties like the downtown Holiday Inn or other high-rise structures, the feasibility really hinges on the condition and quality of the concrete superstructure—and whether an engineer is comfortable signing off on it. I’d imagine TRE thoroughly explored all possible scenarios, and this path likely presented the strongest ROI, especially since they can’t return the asset to the seller.
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I guess the fact that all 16 of the OG round Holiday Inns that I was able to track down are in use and still regularly getting renovated/updated in spite of being 50+ years old, must mean that they are generally fairly well built?
Seems apartments would be a workable model, given the conversion in Denver and such? Marina City in Chicago has stood the test of time as well, although that building has a few other things going for it such as an A+ location on the Chicago River and the massive balconies.
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My neighbor mentioned that the first revision happened right after his fraternity brother at State leaped from one of the balconies available with the original design - they removed the balconies.
I don’t follow them closely enough to say whether the renovations are just cosmetic updates to boost remaining cash flow till they cannot or if they’re making meaningful upgrades to extend the building’s useful life another 30+ years (hotels often go through a franchisor-mandated property improvement plan (PIP) every ~10 years).
The highest and best use of underlying land can lead to very different outcomes. A mid-1980s building might get torn down, while a late-1960s tower stays in operation. Look at the 22-story Sheraton in Mahwah was recently demolished to make way for a 4 million square foot redevelopment.
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Weird. If the guy had already jumped it seems like the problem solved itself. Kind of too late at that point. But always acquiesce to the lowest common denominator.
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that Foshay tower in MInneapolis has an admission fee based ride to the top for photo-ops. may something similar can be applied here.
allow for purchase of some themed shot-glasses and post card sales?
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Look’s like a new TPO roof! (they are also removing the foam insulation so maybe a rooftop amenity 
)
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Very doubtful it will be amenity space. They would need a new access point since the current roof access is through the penthouse mechanical room.
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They are likely installing new elevators as part of the major retrofit, and the building core with stair access already extends to the rooftop. If a modern trackless MRL (machine room-less) elevator is selected, it could enable rooftop access and allow the hotel to offer a rooftop amenity comparable to other downtown Raleigh hotels like Hyatt’s High Rail, Tempo’s Urban Oak, and The Willard AC’s rooftop bar.
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Could they put mechanicals on top of the core and add a cool cupola on top? That wld wreck their historical bid, but could be awesome!
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If they ever start the Creamery, you are gonna have an awesome view.
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