Finally Chambers hotel starts

Tomorrow I'm starting chambers hotel in downtown Minneapolis the chambers hotel will be located at 901 Hennepin Ave. This hotel is a sister to the chambers in new York city. I'm thinking fancy schmancy. This project has been in the works at least a year I found a notice about it in a September 04 webzine

MINNEAPOLIS | RWB Development Company today announced plans to more than double the size of the Minneapolis' Chambers hotel. RWB also announced that it had selected the world-renowned architecture firm, Rockwell Group,(rockwellgroup.com) as the lead designer and architect;Shea, Inc. will serve as the local architect of record.

sounds extra luxury don't it? But can a schlub like me pull it off? I mean there are going to be tapers cryin before this is finished,I'm just warning you now.

I've been looking forward to this project since I was first told about it and that I may get to build it for berg drywall. I mean I don't build the building. No we do the steel framing drywall taping plastering trim carpentry etc.... When I say me I mean the berg drywall team.
I will be the berg foreman, running the men, ordering material interacting with subcontractors. I'll be pushed around by the general contractors, asked to perform the seemingly impossible. But we will do it and perform in a mostly professional manner.
I haven't been onsite yet but I've heard a few things from another sub-contractor mason-cutters. The tool representative told me about a kevlar bonding? Of the slabs in this older building. He asked me how I was going to fasten my track and drywall to this kevlar. I said good question, I haven't seen a plan yet and I bet someone has already figured this out. If they haven't then I guess I'll start to deal with it in the morning when I start my recon.

tomorrow I figure out the lay of the land see what everybody wants done first, where I can park where to unload my truck etc.

I'm going to look for more information on this Chambers hotel for awhile.......... a little more i found, i couldn't get the currant version of the article it kept saying disabled so i just grabbed it all enjoy.

Minneapolis Chambers hotel plans to double in size
By IndUS News Wire
Published: Wednesday, September 15, 2004
MINNEAPOLIS - RWB Development Co. has announced plans to more than double the size of the Minneapolis' Chambers hotel.

RWB also announced that it had selected the well-known architecture firm, Rockwell Group, as the lead designer and architect.

"We had always planned to expand the hotel as part of a 'phase two' development," said Ralph Burnet, lead partner of RWB Development Co. "However, as we got further into the planning we realized it would be far less disruptive to guests, and far better financially, to do everything at once."

The hotel will now have 27 luxury suites, three more than originally planned, plus an additional 26 deluxe rooms. Its footprint will expand to include not only the former Fairmont Hotel building at 900 Hennepin Ave., but also the adjacent parking lot and ProColor building at 909 Hennepin Ave. Finished square footage will be almost triple the originally estimated 30,000 square feet at more than 85,000.

"Things for this project just keep getting bigger and better," said Burnet. "It's an incredible coup for us to be the first site that the Rockwell Group will design for the Twin Cities."

Rockwell is the design firm behind such acclaimed sites as the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Calif.; W New York and W Union Square hotels, in New York City; Nobu restaurants in New York and Las Vegas; Coors Field in Denver; and Chambers' sister hotel in New York City.

With the expanded plans, the hotel is now expected to open sometime in early 2006. As a result, it will no longer be the new home for restaurant La Belle Vie, which had previously been announced. Owners, Josh Thoma and Tim McKee have opted out of the project and will seek an alternative site for the restaurant. Thoma and McKee already own another restaurant, Solera, which is next to the hotel.

"Chambers is going to be a great hotel and we're looking forward to the business it will bring to our end of Hennepin Avenue," said Thoma. "However, with the changes and delays it is simply no longer the right fit for La Belle Vie."

With the new construction and revised opening date, RWB Development does not anticipate finalizing new plans for foodservice and hospitality until sometime in 2005.

Like its critically acclaimed sister hotel in New York City, the Minneapolis Chambers will be a small, intimate, luxury hotel featuring highly personalized service, contemporary fine art and fine quality cuisine, according to RWB. One of the most distinctive features of the boutique hotel will be a collection of contemporary art displayed throughout its public spaces and individual suites. The sister hotel in New York features more than 500 pieces of original art, including a minimum of four original artworks in each room.

Ira Drukier, internationally recognized for leading the boutique hotel movement, is a partner in the new venture and will manage the new hotel's operations. Drukier, and his company, BD hotels, also operate the Chambers and Mercer Hotels in New York City, two of the most visible boutique hotel operations in the country.