Columbia Hilton & new Pendleton St Garage

[Spartan]

Thats sharp. I still don't like the "lawn"

[CorgiMatt]

Thats sharp. I still don't like the "lawn"

Spartan, how many times do you have to be told, dear friend, that the grass is the median in the middle of the street, not a lawn? There are two lanes of traffic between the grass and the hotel. You just can't see them from that angle.

[krazeeboi]

Maybe this shot will help:

[Spartan]

Spartan, how many times do you have to be told, dear friend, that the grass is the median in the middle of the street, not a lawn? There are two lanes of traffic between the grass and the hotel. You just can't see them from that angle.

I know what it is. I'm making fun of myself for my stupid mistake

[krazeeboi]

LOL, ok.

Imagine how Senate and Lincoln will look once those trees mature.

I can definitely say that the Hilton has grown on me. It looks quite classy, actually. I wish they would have emphasized glass a bit more in the architecture so as to play off the convention center, but it turned out really good--very fitting for its context.

[krazeeboi]

The base is almost finished. The closer this building is to completion, the better it looks. The finer architectural details give it a classical appeal and it's nowhere near being bland. Another job well done, Bo Aughtry!

[krazeeboi]

The opening of the hotel has been pushed back a week to August 8. Ruth's Chris will also open on that date or possibly a few days later. This won't affect any reservations or bookings, since they were only accepted starting the 15th of August. This is just a minor setback.

[BrasilnSC]

One of the commercial spaces in the parking garage (the larger one) has been occupied by the Convention Center Visitors Bureau offices, the other smaller space is still being worked on.

Also, crews have been working in front of the convention center tearing up sidewalk and fixing the settling problems that occured after the center opened.

[krazeeboi]

The Free Times has a write-up about the opening of the Hilton in this week's edition. It basically just reiterates the fact that an anchor hotel makes the convention center more competitive in landing meetings.

Here's a shot of the hotel from the article. As you can see, the base is almost near completion:

[krazeeboi]

One of the commercial spaces in the parking garage (the larger one) has been occupied by the Convention Center Visitors Bureau offices, the other smaller space is still being worked on.

I'm wondering if it might have been better to have the commercial spaces fronting Park instead of Lincoln.

[Spartan]

Nah, lets not put too much emphasis on Park St. Its a lost cause once you get south of Senate St. Maybe Innovista will turn things around, but thats (very) long term. Near term it will be better for businesses to face the convention center.

[krazeeboi]

I guess it depends on if Ruth's Chris would also have an entrance along Park, which is what I was thinking. Also, something may come to that parcel east of the hotel/garage, but that would be sometime in the future.

[BrasilnSC]

I like that they are on Lincoln St, it will hopefully give that area some more foot traffic. However, I don't like the fact that there is no sidewalk on that side, from Senate St. to the garage.

I think the Ruth's Chris entrance will face Senate St., I haven't seen any doors facing Park.

[krazeeboi]

The official word, according to The State, is that Ruth's Chris won't be opening until Aug. 20th, but room service will be available from the restaurant when the hotel opens on Aug. 8th. The delay was caused by more comprehensive city inspections after the Charleston Super Sofa store fire.

[krazeeboi]

Good story today in The State about the highly anticipated official opening of the Hilton on Wednesday. Once again, it's reiterated how having an anchor hotel will make the city more competitive in landing multiday and regional/national meetings. The article also includes a timeline, from when a conference center was first proposed downtown in the 1960's until today. So I can see why this is treated like such a milestone event.

Here's the picture accompanying the article:

[803metlife]

I also checked out the Columbia Hilton..very nice. Can't wait unitl Ruth Chris opens.. The Ruth Chris sign on the Hilton makes it recognizable so passing travelers can't miss it.

[krazeeboi]

Got a chance to view the finished product today, and it looks awesome. It fits its surroundings perfectly. Once again, Bo Aughtry has given Columbia something to be proud of.

[krazeeboi]

Taken 9/1:

[waccamatt]

I had lunch at Ruth's Chris on Friday and was not disappointed. They are also open for breakfast and dinner (of course). One of my co-workers got the quesadilla and didn't care for it, but I think you order steak if you go to a steak restaurant. Lunch can be affordable, though still higher than most places. The filet was outstanding.

[krazeeboi]

Nice night shot from the hotel's website:

[krazeeboi]

I was looking over the renderings of the Pendleton St garage recently, and now I see why the finished product looks so different:

The renderings give a false impression of the window grates. They don't significantly shadow or darken the beige of the parking levels like the renderings suggest, and they are much thicker than depicted in the renderings. The grates also aren't double units like the renderings depict.

[mr. chips]

I was looking over the renderings of the Pendleton St garage recently, and now I see why the finished product looks so different: The renderings give a false impression of the window grates. They don't significantly shadow or darken the beige of the parking levels like the renderings suggest, and they are much thicker than depicted in the renderings. The grates also aren't double units like the renderings depict.

Yes, I am very disappointed with the look of this garage. The color doesn't match the Hilton - they could have made them look like they belonged together. And the grates on the window look very bizarre - they might be enhanced with some dark glass or something. But what I find more upsetting is that there are no shops or any activity on the street level. This part of the city is becoming gray and lifeless. Why is it so hard for our leaders to "get it" that they are repeating the mistakes of other cities in building ugly, sterile parking garages without street level attractions. The other garage down the street will have the USC String Project on the street level, but the building is just a massive, cold and gray hulk. Looking at the photos of the garages in Charleston and Greenville reminds me that it is possible to build garages that actually look pretty nice, and enhance or fit into the surrounding areas.

[krazeeboi]

This garage does indeed have 3 retail spaces built in on the Lincoln Street side facing the convention center, and I think that functionally, Columbia actually does a good job with its parking garages as retail space is mandated to be built in on the ground floor (think of the garages at Assembly and Lady, on Washington between Assembly and Main, along Sumter, etc.). I only have a problem with this garage architecturally; unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be as great looking as the rendering. And I agree that the pre-cast panels should been a brick-red color so as to match the Hilton and convention center.

[Spartan]

Functionally it appears to be ok, but I am having a hard time distinguishing where the retail is in those photos. I see one spot in the first one. I hope that it stands out more in person. The design looks about like I expected it. The brick is a bit off, but thats not a big deal. I'd rather the entire district NOT look like it was all built from the same brickyard.

[krazeeboi]

The retail spaces are indeed in the first real photo; two of them are unfurbished, and the Midlands Regional Convention Center Authority occupies the third spot. It would have been better to see all three spots occupied by retail or restaurants though, something that would generate some pedestrian activity across the entirety of that small stretch.

I agree with you about everything in the Vista not having the same "Vista brick" look, but in this case, I think it would have looked better that way.