New rendering of the Crowne Plaza Hotel [[former Ponch. Hotel) WOW!

[buckster1986]

Walked around it today and snapped a few photos...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=4bcba0ded9

[Rocko]

Thanks for the update photos Buckster, great to see the progress[[and I live 12 hours away so its even better to see). I'm not sure how long that cheap looking fake brick panel will last given the prevalence of lose hubcaps, rollinh shopping carts and/or trash cans down windswept Detroit sidewalks, but maybe that stuff is a little more solid than is looks [[though I doubt it). The new green windows and valet overhang are nice modern improvements. I like that they're keeping the historic Ponchartrain name, as well.

[gthomas]

Check out the pics, I see there might be signage atop the hotel. Nice photos of interior here :http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotel...l/photos-tours

[gthomas]

Awesome... just awesome. Do you now when it is scheduled to open?

According to the site :
http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotel...l/photos-tours it says, April 12, 2013 you can check in, looking at the current renovations...seems a few more months of work to me. I could be wrong...

[401don]

According to the site :
http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza/hotel...l/photos-tours it says, April 12, 2013 you can check in, looking at the current renovations...seems a few more months of work to me. I could be wrong...

The site currently states accepting reservations after August 1.

[stinkytofu]

Happens all the time in rehab work. Cobo Arena's conversion just got bumped back from a June completion date to August...they had to move some events out.

[Zug]

I really like the new windows...and have hopes that the inside will look just as nice once renovated. Although, I must admit, I wish the Crown Plaza chain used a different color than medium-light purple, lol. That is such an ugly color to me.

[artds]

Nice pics, Buckster. The new glass looks better than I expected. I no longer want that building to be torn down .

[subsidized]

This would be cool but it's not very likely.

Looking ahead, developer Gabriel Ruiz plans on building the hotel's second tower, which was part of the original Pontchartrain's design though never built, and connecting both towers via skywalk to Cobo Center. These plans are at least three years out.

http://www.modeldmedia.com/devnews/t...pofpontch.aspx

[Gistok]

Well the 2nd 400 room tower has been a topic for over 30 years... just never got off the ground. But I am happy to see the Top of the Ponch being reborn. It would be nice to have some of the old sky restaurants again [[besides at the RenCen). The Top of the Flame is one I remember from when I was a teen.

Another would be the wonderful Savoyyard Club high above the Buhl Building [[26th floor). It would be a spectacular addition as well [[currently it's just storage spece). I remember being up there for a wedding back in 1986... absolutely stunning views from the huge windows up on top of the Buhl... with wonderful views of the top of the Guardian Building and neighboring buildings, as well as the waterfront...

[dtowncitylover]

I can't believe how fast the Pontch has come around. I know it wasn't in as a bad of a shape as the Book Cadillac, but it seems like just yesterday it was closed and there was no chance of revival. Now it's opening in June with two restaurants, a bar, and a cafe with talk [[just talk though) of a second tower, plans I have never heard of. Most times things work slow in this town, but other times they happen with haste.

[AuburnSpeedster]

This Developer is so speedy and efficient! Hopefully the Pontch is successful and he picks up more Detroit projects! We need more people who renovate and actually do things when they say they're gonna do them!

[gnome]

Another would be the wonderful Savoyyard Club high above the Buhl Building [[26th floor). It would be a spectacular addition as well [[currently it's just storage spece). I remember being up there for a wedding back in 1986... absolutely stunning views from the huge windows up on top of the Buhl... with wonderful views of the top of the Guardian Building and neighboring buildings, as well as the waterfront...

It is my understanding the Savoyyard can't be used as a public space because it is not handicap accessible. The elevator stops a floor short and you have to walk up some stairs to gain entrance.

For those who don't know the Savoyyard was named for a old creek that drained out of Black Bottom/Eastern Market across the northern edge of downtown, across Clifford and down Washington Ave. Clifford St is named for a tavern that stood outside the then city limits as it was on the wilderness side of the Savoyyard. To get to Cliffs you had to ford the creek via some well-placed rocks. As the Savoyyard was really used as a sewer, slipping into the creek gave you a stink. It was covered over when Fort Shelby was torn down and they used beams from the stockade to contain the flow.

sorry for the thread jack