of downtown
Houston into a carrier hotel. "It will expand from the
NFL cities."
Eventually, these carrier hotel chains could spread out across the
land, just like Hyatts and Super 8s. "Every community ultimately
needs connectivity," says Past-reich. "Otherwise it'll be the city
by the river that got left behind."
AW
face-lift for fading stars
the white elephants of inner-city america have become the stars of
commercial
real estate. from hollywood to
boston, high-tech
developers are taking advantage of the sturdy construction of
former factories, department stores, banks, and corporate
headquarters to house the computers and switching equipment that
push phone calls, e-mail messages, and online stock purchases
around the corner and coast to coast. here are a few notables:
albany
11 n. pearl st.: the former headquarters of albany's home savings
bank, mostly vacant for several years, is now a successful carrier
hotel. the building's 21-story height makes it a perfect location
for
radio antennas as well.
los angeles
600 w. seventh st.: the enormous former robinson's department store
building in downtown l.a. had been shuttered for several years
until developers invested $30 million to increase the available
electricity and to reinforce it against earthquakes. good move. the
400,000-square-foot building was completely leased as a carrier
hotel months before the rehab was even finished.
newark
market and halsey streets: the former bamberger's department store,
later macy's, received its last customers in 1992. now, racks of
computers line the floors where racks of men's suits once stood. a
few blocks away, the former krementz & co. building, once home
to the city's most-famous jeweler, will also soon be converted into
a carrier hotel.
new york