Archive for the ‘Real Estate’ Category

Cited: The Baltimore Sun

Holiday Inn moves into the Old Town National Bank after receiving $11.5 million in renovation to the 70 room hotel creating the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Biltmore. You will not find teller windows anymore but walnut-grain registration desk where guests will register. The bank presidents’ office is now a conference room and one of the vaults no longer story money but is a storage area for sheets and towels.

Just about every corner of the former Old Town National Bank building has been put to use in its $11.5 million transformation into Baltimore’s newest limited service hotel, the Holiday Inn Express.

The seven-level, 70-room building at 221 N. Gay St. reopened this fall as part of a wave of hotels planned for Baltimore, and a two-day grand opening has been scheduled for Jan. 13 and 14. According to the developers, this is one of the first times that a Holiday Inn Express has been created inside a historic structure instead of being built from the ground up.

“We were able to utilize the entire building, which was a big bonus,” said Nicholas Piscatelli, the Baltimore developer who started the project. “We played around with it a lot, and it worked out really well.”

It’s not like a “typical hotel” that you might find in the suburbs, said general manager John Blake. But “no one has complained about the uniqueness of it,” he said. “They love it.”

The hotel is owned and managed as a Holiday Inn Express franchise by an investment consortium known as the Old Town Hotel Group. Designed in a Classic Revival style by Frederick Fletcher, and known to many for the Utz potato chips sign that stood on its roof for many years, the building has a stately exterior with Corinthian pilasters flanking the main entrance and an ornate lobby with terrazzo floors and bronze doors salvaged from the exterior. It was built in 1924, housed a bank until the 1960s and then was converted to offices, most recently for a state agency. It had been vacant for the past five years.

Piscatelli said he bought the building in 2004 with the thought of turning it into condominiums. When the housing market cooled, he considered offices. Before any tenants signed on, investors approached him with the idea of creating a hotel.

Visible from the Jones Falls Expressway, the hotel is one of several planned for the east side of downtown along the Fallsway and President Street. A 144-room Fairfield Inn and Suites opened this year at 101 President St., and a 63-room Sleep Inn and Suites is scheduled to open next year at 300 N. Front St.

As designed by Kann Partners — principal in charge Cass Gottlieb, project architect Becky Bass and interior designer Carol Currotto — the building has common areas on the first level and basement, and guest rooms above. The conversion complied with federal preservation guidelines and qualified for state and federal tax credits for preservation, plus a 10-year delay in any increase in property taxes. Without the tax credits, “it wouldn’t have worked” financially, Piscatelli said.

Since it opened, the hotel has drawn a wide range of visitors, including business travelers, tourists, football fans, concertgoers, marathon runners and conventioneers. Because of its configuration, the hotel has some large suites, including one that sleeps eight. That one has been reserved through the end of March by a company that needed to house construction workers building a Burlington Coat Factory branch in Baltimore County.

Piscatelli and Blake said the hotel gets many of its guests through the Holiday Inn Express reservation system. It also provides rooms for relatives of patients receiving care at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Mercy Medical Center, and it offers a shuttle service to the two locations.

Blake said the hospital-related market is an important niche for the hotel because families will come from great distances for health care, even on holidays. For example, he said, one couple is checking in today because a child is having an operation at Hopkins.

The Holiday Inn Express is a “limited service” hotel, with no restaurant or bar. But it offers a continental breakfast, exercise room, business center and on-site parking. Nightly rates range from $139 for a single room to $279 for the largest suite.

Sam Rogers, executive vice president of Visit Baltimore, an agency that promotes the city to tourists and conventioneers, said the hotel is a valuable addition to the city.

“We are always happy to see hotels opening in the city,” particularly when they can meet specialized needs such as serving guests with relatives in area hospitals, he said.

“It’s also good when you see the reuse of historic buildings for other purposes,” Rogers said. “The more we can reuse older buildings, the better off we are.”

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My Take: Everybody seems to be renovating something nowadays. Some people are doing it to avoid foreclosures so they can sell our house. Others are getting KY refinancing just to make their house sell faster. Like I said, everybody seems to be doing these days.

Across the country, from AZ refinancing to Louisville mortgage companies, people are scrambling to restyle their house so they can sell it before foreclosure hits. However, there are some people who have put up their homes for rent to help them pay for investment property. Many property management companies have seen an increase in business from people who do not want to lose their investment properties and decide to rent them.

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Cited: The San Francisco Chronicle

The problem with trends as any interior designer will tell you are that a trend is often considered when you buy one year and throw out the next. The good news is that some trends do not get thrown out. Not long ago, “going green” was the hottest trend around and now it is considered an industry standard.

So we asked around and pulled together a list of 10 trends for 2010 that have some staying power.

1. Texture

If West Elm’s spring collection, which launches this week, is any indication, texture will be big in 2010. “We are spending a lot of time researching new natural materials and unusual techniques with a lot of rich, textural interest,” said Alex Bates, creative director for the retailer. New products include a woven natural bamboo headboard, a crocheted floor cushion, recycled glass candleholders and storage made of kooboo.

2. Keeping it real

Forget faux. (No more fake antlers, please!) In 2010, we want to see a movement toward the natural patina of woods, metals and other materials. We don’t even mind a water mark or a hint of rust. After all, those imperfections may be the result of generations of wear and come with a good story or two.

3. Layered flooring

According to Marilyn Incerty, trend director for Cost Plus World Market, layering floor coverings adds richness and warmth. She suggested “overlapping several smaller, lightweight rugs with patterns and colors that are complementary - a striped runner on top of a larger geometric rug - or overlapping multiples of the same rug in a variety of colors.” Those with wall-to-wall carpeting can still get in on this trend. Place “a rug over existing carpet for an instant splash of color or pattern,” said Incerty. “This is a great trick for avoiding the hassle and expense of ripping out existing carpeting when you want an update.”

4. Bolder design decisions

“In the last year, people were looking to be calmed and comforted by interiors,” said Melanie Coddington, right, who was recently named one of House Beautiful’s 20 interior designers to watch. “I hope the burgeoning sense of optimism will translate into sparkle, glamour and lots of risk-taking in design. In with color!”

5. Old is new again

“Antiques and vintage pieces add soul to any space,” explained interior designer Jay Jeffers, “and these types of items are negotiable and plentiful in today’s markets, so our clients are able to invest in key pieces for their home.” From sites like 1stdibs.com to consignment and thrift stores, there are indeed sources out there for any budget.

6. Wallpapered ceilings

We’ve all seen the wallpapered accent wall. In 2010, look for wallpapered ceilings as an increasingly popular option for creating visual impact in a room.

7. Artisanal goods

Just as artisanal foods have taken off, expect the same for home furnishings and accessories. “Artisanal work will continue to be strong,” said interior designer Benjamin Dhong. “Even modernists want to see natural materials or the hand of the craftsman brought into their homes.”

8. The well-traveled look

The Sundance Channel series “Man Shops Globe” follows Anthropologie buyer-at-large Keith Johnson as he visits country after country, looking for special pieces and inspiration for the company’s 135 stores worldwide. Whether you’re scouring the stalls in Paris or browsing shops during a quick weekend getaway, incorporating souvenirs in a space can give it a bit of personality.

9. Palette

Speaking of color, Melanie Coddington is “having a purple moment that will continue into 2010,” she noted. “Gray also continues to figure largely as well - in particular purple and gray, yellow and gray, and matte and shiny gray together are great combinations.” Fellow interior designer Kimberly Ayres concurred: “Gray is the new beige,” she said, adding that she anticipates “rich and unexpected combinations - like gray with teal or magenta or tangerine. It’s a very mercurial color.”

10. Mix it up

“In general, I see a trend to a carefully edited ‘anything goes’ approach,” said Ayres. “Going forward in 2010, it’s all about the mix and how you combine individual, disparate elements. The right classic 19th century piece will mix with certain vintage finds from the ’70s and ’80s and with pieces designed this year.” She added, “Graphic modern print textiles work with traditional chairs and sofas.”

7 trends we’d love to see go

Interior decorator Albert Hadley may have said it best: “The essence of interior design will always be about people and how they live.” Indeed, personal taste and decor that meets your needs are always in style.

That said, there are some trends we’ve come across in the past few years that we wish hadn’t been so widely adopted.

Homes that look like taxidermy shops. Enough with the wall of antlers and animal skins all over the floor!

Flat-screen TVs mounted so high above the fireplace mantel, you get a neck cramp before the first commercial break.

Home makeover shows that set unrealistic expectations about decorating a space. There are usually scores of people working behind the scenes whom you never see on screen. Plus, we’re firm believers that good design takes time.

Shallow sink basins that result in water splashing everywhere.

Outfitting a room top to bottom with reproduction designer furniture. We’ve seen too many homes filled with so much Eames, Bertoia and Saarinen they look like soulless showrooms.

The phrase “man cave.”

Watch any house-hunting program on HGTV and, chances are, granite countertops are on the buyer’s wish list. But there are so many options now available when considering redecorating your home. These options include recycled paper and glass products. For 2010, it would be nice if anyone embarking on a remodel to think beyond the infamous granite and stainless steel that everybody uses.

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My Take: Redecorating your home can be fun and expensive at the same time. One thing people are doing when they redecorate is upgrade their network security software. Of course, if you have a home business you might want to look into managed security services just keep your business safe.

I do disagree there with interior decorating on granite and stainless steel. You can navigate granite in a variety of colors and it is so durable that you will not have to worry about it for a long time. And stainless steel sinks give the kitchen or even a bathroom clean and sterile look to it.

Besides, when you redecorate your home, it should be what you want not what is in style. You are the one that has to lose with the, not your neighbors, friends or extended family.

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