Fairmont Copley Renovations

[whighlander]

the BBJ reports $20 M in renovations to the Fairmont Copley Plaza one of the Grande Dames of Boston Hotels including a sidewalk cafe that will requie replacing window with a door --- this is apparently a spreading phenomenon in Boston -- first the IS Gardner now the Copley Plaza -- next perhaps the Filenes Building

Copley Plaza proposes outdoor cafe
Boston Business Journal by Thomas Grillo, Real Estate Editor
Date: Monday, February 13, 2012, 11:54am EST - Last Modified: Monday, February 13, 2012, 3:14pm EST
Fairmont Copley is seeking approval for an outdoor cafe.

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/re...door-cafe.html

[bbfen]

Oh, whi. Have you read the latest revisions to code? Sometimes, it's necessary to provide a second means of egress, even if the "spreading phenonmenon" means replacing a window with a door.

[whighlander]

Originally Posted by bbfen

Oh, whi. Have you read the latest revisions to code? Sometimes, it's necessary to provide a second means of egress, even if the "spreading phenonmenon" means replacing a window with a door.

BBf -- understood -- But these replacements of window for door are to provide access to a space not previously accessible (e.g. Copley Plaza sidewalk cafe on St. James) or to change circulation patterns (e.g. Isabella Stwart Gardner's new entrance) or to open a previously limited access wall (e.g Filene's >)

as the Copley Plaza folks said about the $20 million being spent to update the hotel in celebration of its 100 birthday this year -- including: a new roof-top fitness center with roof deck; new mechanicals; renovations to the famous Oak Room restaurant; renovations to the elegant lobby; and the new outdoor cafe:

"Paul Tormey, the hotel’s general manager, said the plan includes replacing a window with a door onto Saint James Avenue...to animate the new restaurant and bar and bring some life to that corner...We are such a large and imposing facade and this will soften it up a bit.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/re...door-cafe.html

"The Fairmont Copley Plaza will also be adding a new state-of-the-art fitness center on the roof of the building, which will include 2,400 square feet for machines and free weights, as well as a more than 700 square foot outdoor deck perfect for relaxing before or after a workout. The fitness center is scheduled to debut in August of 2011.

The hotel’s signature function space and elegant lobby will receive some enhancements as well. The project also includes upgrades to mechanical and electrical infrastructure, as well as heating ventilation & air-conditioning improvements, including a new sidewalk on the St. James Avenue façade of the building..... The guestroom part of the project will begin in the fourth quarter of 2011, and the hotel anticipates completion by the celebration on its centennial in summer 2012.

The Fairmont Copley Plaza is owned by Texas-based FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE: FCH), which owns interests in 82 properties with approximately 23,000 rooms in in the US and Canada. Parker/Torres Interior Design, whose past design projects have included The Willard in Washington, D.C., The St. Regis in New York, The Bentley in London and The Waldorf=Astoria. Colliers Meredith & Grew is the Project Manager and Suffolk Construction General Contractor for the first phase of work at the hotel. The project will employ over 200 construction trades people.

Since its prestigious opening in 1912, The Fairmont Copley Plaza has stood as a landmark and symbol of Boston’s tradition of culture, history, elegance and hospitality. Designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, architect of The Copley Plaza’s sister hotel, The Plaza in New York, as well as The Willard in Washington D.C. and The Dakota apartment building in New York, the palatial quality and opulent décor create the feeling of a bygone era and of life lived on a grand scale...."
http://www.fairmont.com/copleyplaza/...estoration.htm