After hearing rumor after rumor that Ian Schrager's Edition will rise in what was a former church in the Adams Morgan section of DC, the Washington DC Business Journal has confirmed it will really happen. But you just have to wait until 2012 for it's opening.
DC's Advisory Neighborhood Commission has approved the plans from developers Brian Friedman (Friedman Capital) and Beztak Properties who are working with Marriott and Schrager to build this Edition.
Friedman will present his concept for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, at Euclid and Champlain streets NW, to the Historic Preservation Review Board on June 26. The property is up for historic landmark designation later this month.
Friedman will then begin the planned unit development process. He expects to break ground on the $100 million, nearly 180,000-square-foot project in December 2009.
The developers need to wait until December 2009 because part of the hotel will be located on an adjoining property whose tenant isn't moving out until that date.
We think Schrager/Marriott should just ask the tenant nicely to move out earlier. We are very impatient and don’t like to wait!!
So a while back we heard some rumors that the Edition Hotel from our older-man crush Bill Marriott and boutique pioneer Ian Schrager would open in Washington DC in a former First Church of Christ Scientist church at Columbia Road and Euclid Street.
It looks like those rumors are getting closer and closer to truths. Again our tipster Lee W wrote us to say that the Dupont Current interviewed a developer who has plans for the site.
The details of the project is a 9-story boutiques hotel rising behind the First Church of Christ Scientist, with 150 guest rooms, a restaurant, one-to-two stories of penthouse condos, and "4,000 square feet of community space" to be able to build more on the site. The church itself will remain intact as the lobby and restaurant area.
While the developer Brian Friedman wouldn't name the hotel brands that he was working with, the reporter surmises it could be an Edition Hotel.
Interestingly, the building behind the church currently houses the Washington City Paper which is fitting for the Edition Hotel brand.
However, Lee W is psyched that:
Either way, DC might finally get an actually cool hotel!
Edition Hotels was formally announced this past January at the ALIS conference in Los Angeles and Marriott has created a news video on the event and uploaded it to YouTube. (Notice their customized page!)
There's nothing much new here that we haven't heard before about Edition Hotels but we do see a lot. Bill and Ian both speak on camera and are extremely excited about the project. Btw, Ian has found a perfect tan shade. And Marriott's Chief Financial Officer Arne Sorenson gets some screen time to talk about the planned nine locations and expects half of the Edition Hotels to be outside of the U.S.
The developers of Edition Paris and Edition Chicago also speak out, (the young one uses the word "synergy!) which makes us wonder if these two will be the first to open.
Then there's just a lot of party shots. Marriott threw a pretty swank party at the Ace Gallery in Beverly Hills with Cristal champagne, caviar on ice blocks, exotic flower arrangements and servers and bartenders pretty enough to work in some of Ian's hotels.
We can't tell if it's because we actually heard Bill Marriott talk instead of blog or if we just like a good party, but now we're excited again about Edition Hotels. (Which after the logo reveal was much-needed.) Now, if only we could jump in our time-travel machine to 2010.
It's been a while since we checked in with Edition Hotels after an initial flurry of hotel announcements and today Andrew Calvo has discovered the logo for the Bill Marriott-Ian Schrager love child.
And....here it is.
And...we're kinda bored.
Sure the sideways O is a nice touch but it does look like old newspaper font. Maybe in 20 years it will be nice to stay at an Edition Hotel and reminisce about the golden age of newspapers but for now this is pretty dull.
It's actually something we expect from Marriott but not from Schrager. Then again, Marriott's footing the bill. Here's hoping the hotels are better than this.
Last week we linked to an article from USAToday that said Washington DC's first Edition will be located on the "18th Street Corridor", well thanks to a great tip from Lee W, we juuuusssttt might have an idea as to exactly where Washington DC's first Edition Hotel will be located.
Apparently the locked down and closed First Church of Christ Scientist located at 1770 Euclid Street NW (a block away from 18th Street) was supposed to be converted into a condo building, but since the District's Historic Preservation Review Board wouldn't allow it, the developer, Brian Friedman, decided to build a boutique hotel instead.
Lee W writes:
A church would be quite a dramatic place for a boutique hotel in Washington, and really bring a lot of class to the neighborhood, though there are some great restaurants and bars in the area. But this site seems to make the most sense.
The plans include demolishing the Washington City Paper building located next to the former church then expanding the church building, while keeping its appearance on par with the church's aesthetics.
We'll see if this site does end up being an Edition or not - but one thing is for sure - converting a church into an Edition Hotel would fit perfectly with Ian Schrager's goal of making each Edition unique.
Does this mean we'll get morning church services along with our complimentary continental breakfast? I think that's one Schrager innovation Bill Marriott would go for.
Details are scant but USA Today reports that the new brand Edition Hotels from Ian Schrager and Bill Marriott is planned for the city's 18th Street Corridor.
In other news:
· Worst Bartender Ever.: A two-year-old girl is severely ill after a bartender at the Curium Palace Hotel in Nicosia mistakenly made her a drink of orange juice mixed with cleaning fluid. [Times UK]
· Best in Show:The Hotel Pennslyvania is hosting the competitors in the 132nd annual Westminster Dog Show on Feb. 11 and 12th. The hotel is rolling out some new amenities for its furry guests including greeting the dogs in the hotel lobby with live piano music that "sounds healthy." [Fox Business]
· Honeymooners in Hawaii: Katharine McPhee who managed to cling to her last minutes of fame by getting married this weekend is now honeymooning in Maui. We're guessing they are shacked up at the Four Seasons.[US Weekly]
· Oakland Upgrade: The landmark Waterfront Plaza Hotel in Jack London Square will get a makeover. [Mercury News]
With the Super Bowl room scramble over, it looks like Scottsdale continues to bask in the tourism-gods glow. The sunny city is the home of the latest announced Edition Hotel from team Marriott-Schrager.
Set for a 20-acre parcel in North Scottsdale (adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley Resort and residential complex), the upscale boutique hotel will include 150-225 rooms, and, according to the announcement, will have a design and character befitting its social and cultural surroundings. In addition, all Edition hotels will be designed to be "the most aesthetically pleasing in their markets" and "the most environmentally responsible."
With signed development agreements and support of the city council, the project is expected to open in 2010 -- beating out the previously announced Chicago Edition opening and possibly the South Beach Edition as well.
Here's what Bill Marriott asked his secretary to type up and hand to the tech department to put on his blog about the buzz surrounding Edition:
We have other agreements in the works for hotels in more U.S., European and Caribbean destinations, but we're not ready to talk about them yet. In fact, interest from developers has been overwhelming right from the start and it's gaining momentum.
You know we were really skeptical about this partnership at the start. But then we realized it's something being put together by the two biggest hoteliers in the world. So it should be good. And we confess, we are really liking the name Edition.
