Downtown Hilton (1001 Cass St)

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Wed Mar 24, 2004 9:35 pm

However you feel about the Hilton (being selected by Fahey over the Marriott)... this is a great addition to downtown Omaha.

World Herald stories:

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u ... id=1044958

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u ... id=1044883

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:56 pm

Wow. The Hilton does seem like it will be an exeptional hotel. I'm really excited to see the inside. I hope they'll let us see the Presidential Suite at the open house. Holy Schnowza!!

Although, after THEY lost my original application, and I called THEM back and did ANOTHER interview, those bastards never called me back about the valet job. Well, it's their loss

. Actually the guy said he would probably call me after the hotel opens, to see if they need me to "fill any gaps".

Now I'm thinking about applying at some of the restaurants in Midtown.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:17 pm

It is a grand addition to downtown.

Post by **Brad** » Thu May 14, 2009 6:16 pm

The Liberty Tavern is remodeling their patio, There is a huge new fireplace sitting out by 10th street.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:22 pm

Is time right to add rooms?

Maggie O’Brien WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The city-owned Hilton Omaha will have 150 more rooms if Mayor Jim Suttle gets his way. Several sources close to City Hall have told The World-Herald that the mayor plans to publicly announce plans for an expansion next week. The hotel was designed with the potential to add 150 rooms on its north wing. The hotel has experienced consistent growth in revenues and occupancy since it opened in April 2004. It has pulled in enough money to make its debt payments.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 11:37 pm

150 Rooms May Be Added To Downtown Hilton
City To Consider $35M Bond Request For Financing

KETV wrote:A plan to be presented Tuesday will outline the city's effort to expand the size of the downtown Hilton hotel adjacent to Qwest Center Omaha. The plan would add 150 rooms to the downtown Hilton, as well as renovate individual rooms and corridors and add another ballroom to the facility. Sources tell KETV NewsWatch 7 the goal is to increase the size of the downtown hotel before the 2012 College World Series and U.S. Olympic Swim Trials.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 8:04 pm

Hmmm. I know we're all thinking, why didn't we build a 600+ room hotel in the first place - one with a bit more height and with some mixed uses at the ground level.

I'm sure this will be a nice, squatty, three or four story addition with nothing on the ground level and no orientation to the street.

I'd love to be proved wrong.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:05 pm

Omaha World Herald wrote:The rooms would be built on top of the hotel’s parking garage, which is on the north side of the hotel along Cass Street. The Hilton’s garage was designed with such an expansion in mind, Kratz said. The project also will add 100 parking spaces to the hotel garage.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 1:35 am

I agree they should have started out bigger, but that's in the past. I am excited to see the expansion at the point.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:55 pm

Awesome design! In terms of active uses, they might as well have built a brick wall all around the property (I know there's liberty tavern, but it basically functions as an extension of the inside of the hotel.

Gosh, except for the Slowdown block, North Downtown is fast becoming the land of single-use, dead mega blocks!

Way to go Omaha Planning Board and Omaha by Design!!! :?

"Two steps forward, one step back." New Omaha city slogan?

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:09 am

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:Awesome design! In terms of active uses, they might as well have built a brick wall all around the property (I know there's liberty tavern, but it basically functions as an extension of the inside of the hotel.

Gosh, except for the Slowdown block, North Downtown is fast becoming the land of single-use, dead mega blocks!

Way to go Omaha Planning Board and Omaha by Design!!! :?

"Two steps forward, one step back." New Omaha city slogan?

I think you've been proven wrong at least a little; they are building on top of the parking garage, which won't add any to their land-use footprint.

I do agree, however, that the Hilton and Qwest blocks aren't exactly inviting to pedestrians. There is so much wasted space filled with spread-out sculptures and other space-fillers that it feels like hiking across a parking lot even when you're in front of either place. I'm surprised there isn't demand for more restaurants and bars nearby (like the empty lot just south of the Qwest), but I suppose the sporadic big-time events aren't enough to consistently support them.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:30 am

Seth wrote:
StreetsOfOmaha wrote:Awesome design! In terms of active uses, they might as well have built a brick wall all around the property (I know there's liberty tavern, but it basically functions as an extension of the inside of the hotel.

Gosh, except for the Slowdown block, North Downtown is fast becoming the land of single-use, dead mega blocks!

Way to go Omaha Planning Board and Omaha by Design!!! :?

"Two steps forward, one step back." New Omaha city slogan?
I think you've been proven wrong at least a little; they are building on top of the parking garage, which won't add any to their land-use footprint.

I do agree, however, that the Hilton and Qwest blocks aren't exactly inviting to pedestrians. There is so much wasted space filled with spread-out sculptures and other space-fillers that it feels like hiking across a parking lot even when you're in front of either place. I'm surprised there isn't demand for more restaurants and bars nearby (like the empty lot just south of the Qwest), but I suppose the sporadic big-time events aren't enough to consistently support them.

In fairness, there are Farrell's, Farrell's Deli (can't remember if it's opened to the public, though? thought once it said 'residents only'), Rick's, Spencer's, Goodnight's, Liberty Tavern, Union Sports Bar & Pizzeria, Barley's, and The Old Mattress Factory. With the exception of a few, people would argue that they are not considered restaurants, but they do have full menus and don't change over to to just bar until 9ish.

That's 9 of them within a 4-5 block radius. The restaurants will fill in as the rest of the area does. Frankly, i didn't think there were that many until i looked it up.

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:45 am

thenewguy wrote:That's 9 of them within a 4-5 block radius. The restaurants will fill in as the rest of the area does. Frankly, i didn't think there were that many until i looked it up.

I wonder if the Hilton has a directory showing all of them? I would doubt it. If they're only known to locals, they're missing out on a lot of visitors. Of course, I know quite a few people who think 5 blocks is too far to walk anyway.

S33 · Post by **S33** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:13 am

TheNewGuy, Love the new avatar picture. :yes: Bob Saget!

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:19 am

S33 wrote:TheNewGuy, Love the new avatar picture. :yes: Bob Saget!

haha thanks. There's so much funny stuff he says; too bad none of it would pass here.

annad · Post by **annad** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 6:02 pm

Seth wrote:
thenewguy wrote:That's 9 of them within a 4-5 block radius. The restaurants will fill in as the rest of the area does. Frankly, i didn't think there were that many until i looked it up.
I wonder if the Hilton has a directory showing all of them? I would doubt it. If they're only known to locals, they're missing out on a lot of visitors. Of course, I know quite a few people who think 5 blocks is too far to walk anyway.

I'm sure the Hilton has local restaurant information - it's a standard for hotels. Sure, they want people to eat at Liberty Tavern, but at the end of the day, they want happy guests, even if that means losing a few (or $40) to a nearby establishment. We refer guests to local places all the time, even though we have a pretty good on-site restaurant.

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:20 pm

There was an article in the World-Herald Monday which I'm surprised no ones talking about. It's about the Hilton expansion with quotes from a private developer complaining about the fact that the city owned Hilton pretty much has a fail safe lock in that area due to the fact if the hotel doesn't produce the needed revenue the tax payers will bail them out. Can someone link that article? The article was very interesting.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:24 pm

Is time right to add Hilton rooms?

Maggie O'Brien WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:Yet the proposal comes on the heels of a tough year when the hotel booked fewer rooms and brought in less money. It comes at a time when the private sector is not taking similar risks in the hotel industry. And skeptics worry that taxpayers could end up on the hook if the Hilton didn't bring in enough money to make the debt payments. One hotel developer says private investors wouldn't dream of taking on a new project right now, given the decline in occupancy rates across the local hospitality market.

Tornado · Post by **Tornado** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:06 pm

Thanks

ItsAllAboutMe · Post by **ItsAllAboutMe** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:36 pm

Its a done deal

Coast clear for expanded Hilton

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100726/N ... ded-hilton

Maggie O'Brien WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The mayor's proposal to add 150 rooms to the Hilton Omaha has the City Council votes its needs for approval.

Four council members — Ben Gray, Chris Jerram, Franklin Thompson and Pete Festersen — said Monday that they were likely to support the plan when it comes before the council Tuesday.

The measure requires four votes to pass.

Post by **Brad** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:58 pm

Rendering from omaha.com

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 8:36 pm

ItsAllAboutMe wrote:Its a done deal

Coast clear for expanded Hilton

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100726/N ... ded-hilton

Maggie O'Brien WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:The mayor's proposal to add 150 rooms to the Hilton Omaha has the City Council votes its needs for approval.

Four council members — Ben Gray, Chris Jerram, Franklin Thompson and Pete Festersen — said Monday that they were likely to support the plan when it comes before the council Tuesday.

The measure requires four votes to pass.

Diane Marie Hayes must be having a cow. If you don't know or remember her, she was a fixture on the OWH comments (when they were unlimited) when the Qwest Center was being debated.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:33 pm

Brad wrote:Rendering from omaha.com

You'd think they'd show the rendering from the side that will be built and not the side already constructed..

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:43 am

It is? The right third of that rendering isn't there now. Unless you wanted a rendering of the |expletive| end of the hotel?

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:53 pm

the1wags wrote:It is? The right third of that rendering isn't there now. Unless you wanted a rendering of the |expletive| end of the hotel?

.....

Uh, I meant I wanted a closer perspective to the portion of the building that is in the right third of this rendering. I'd like to view the rendering looking in a southeasterly direction.

windsor · Post by **windsor** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 7:37 pm

I can not wait to see the tower crane go up. I hope the first year of the CWS in the new ballpark we see a tower crane in the skyline on national TV.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 10:43 pm

Are they building a hotel expansion, or the Berlin Wall? Nice dead mega block.

windsor · Post by **windsor** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:09 pm

Absolutely not. This Berlin wall as you call it will be a nice view block of the 480 freeway. It will be a fantastic addition to the area.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:14 pm

did anyone see a timeline for construction? All I've seen is "estimated completion of spring 2012". I was hoping we'd see a date for going out to bid and construction starting by now, given that the $ is approved....

Bob from Omaha · Post by **Bob from Omaha** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 8:45 pm

I know it would cost a lot more but 150 rooms with 15 rooms per floor would have meant a 10 story addition.

ItsAllAboutMe · Post by **ItsAllAboutMe** » Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:21 pm

Site preparation / construction has begun.

Post by **Brad** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 12:27 pm

ItsAllAboutMe wrote:Site preparation / construction has begun.

Thats for the update ItsAllAboutMe. I drove by last night and noticed a construction fence around the site.

Bobcat · Post by **Bobcat** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:42 pm

I am happy to see the expansion moving forward. This should help the Qwest convention center better compete for large conventions since so many rooms will be attached directly to the convention center. I would've liked the Hilton to place their Waldorf Astoria brand on the expansion to distinguish it. I would like to see a true full service, four star hotel locate in Omaha.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sat Oct 09, 2010 3:47 am

Bobcat wrote:I am happy to see the expansion moving forward. This should help the Qwest convention center better compete for large conventions since so many rooms will be attached directly to the convention center. I would've liked the Hilton to place their Waldorf Astoria brand on the expansion to distinguish it. I would like to see a true full service, four star hotel locate in Omaha.

:lafcry: :lafcry: :lafcry:

There is no way we will ever get a Waldord Astoria brand here. That is one of Hilton's most exclusive brands. We don't even have a Conrad, the closest being in Indianapolis. The Waldorf brand is for super exclusive locations where people drop $1,000,000 for a wedding package routinely. Not going to happen here.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:10 am

DTO Luv wrote:
Bobcat wrote:I am happy to see the expansion moving forward. This should help the Qwest convention center better compete for large conventions since so many rooms will be attached directly to the convention center. I would've liked the Hilton to place their Waldorf Astoria brand on the expansion to distinguish it. I would like to see a true full service, four star hotel locate in Omaha.
:lafcry: :lafcry: :lafcry:

There is no way we will ever get a Waldord Astoria brand here. That is one of Hilton's most exclusive brands. We don't even have a Conrad, the closest being in Indianapolis. The Waldorf brand is for super exclusive locations where people drop $1,000,000 for a wedding package routinely. Not going to happen here.

DTO, we gotst like 15 Maccy D's in the metro, that ain't big time enuff?

S33 · Post by **S33** » Sat Oct 09, 2010 5:53 pm

lol Waldorf Astoria in Omaha = funny.

Excuse me while I go eat Burger King in my Bentley.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 2:28 am

Linkin5 wrote:
DTO Luv wrote:
Bobcat wrote:I am happy to see the expansion moving forward. This should help the Qwest convention center better compete for large conventions since so many rooms will be attached directly to the convention center. I would've liked the Hilton to place their Waldorf Astoria brand on the expansion to distinguish it. I would like to see a true full service, four star hotel locate in Omaha.
:lafcry: :lafcry: :lafcry:

There is no way we will ever get a Waldord Astoria brand here. That is one of Hilton's most exclusive brands. We don't even have a Conrad, the closest being in Indianapolis. The Waldorf brand is for super exclusive locations where people drop $1,000,000 for a wedding package routinely. Not going to happen here.
DTO, we gotst like 15 Maccy D's in the metro, that ain't big time enuff?

But only 1 Cheesecake Factory.

Omababe · Post by **Omababe** » Mon Oct 11, 2010 3:54 pm

DTO Luv wrote:There is no way we will ever get a Waldord Astoria brand here.

What I think might be more appropriate for an upscale expanded hotel would be to resurrect a name from Omaha's history, such as the Blackstone or the Fontenelle. Of course I might win the lottery too.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 5:00 am

I doubt Omaha will have a more exclusive hotel chain from any of the big hoteliers than what we already have. We're not that level of city yet.

TitosBuritoBarn · Post by **TitosBuritoBarn** » Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:04 pm

DTO Luv wrote:I doubt Omaha will have a more exclusive hotel chain from any of the big hoteliers than what we already have. We're not that level of city yet.

I'm glad you ended that last sentence with "yet". It's a huge pet-peeve of mine when people say "we'll never have [whatever] because we're not [big enough/capable of being at that level]". That implies that forward progress is impossible and will not continue; that time has basically stopped. And that's ridiculous. It might be a while, but to say "never" is to be blind to what change can bring.