Prius is new standard unit of measure for steel.

Here is an article about the new Nines Hotel being built in the restored historic Meier & Frank department store building in downtown Portland, OR. There will be new Macey's first two or three floors and 8 hotel floors above.

The news video story was not available to link on KGW.com, but I had to do a DVR double take when I heard them say, the amount of steel removed in the renovation was enough to build 2200 Priuses. The reporter did not know the proper plural is Prii.

How would you spell Priuses? Priuses looks weird, but Prius' would indicate something was owned by a group of Prii. Oh I am SO CONFUSED!


'The Nines' to be Portland's newest luxury hotel

04:25 PM PDT on Thursday, July 19, 2007

By JOE SMITH, Special to kgw.com


If you walk around Pioneer Courthouse Square, you can't miss the non-stop sounds of progress in and around the historic Meier and Frank building.

Macy's is getting a make over and just a few floors above Portland's newest luxury hotel is being built.

It's called The Nines, as in 'dressed to.' It's an homage to the history as a fashion department store then and now.

"It will be a very high-end luxury experience", said Ken Geist the Executive Vice President with Sage Hospitality. Sage operates some 50 hotels in 25 states across the country.



KGW

The downtown Portland Meier &Frank building.

Demolition began on the top nine floors above Macy's just about a year ago. So far it looks like a war zone.

The center of the building is gone. Twenty-four million pounds of material has been removed from the site. Most of it in the center of the building to make way for an atrium.

All 331 rooms will surround the atrium. Some will overlook Pioneer Courthouse Square.

The Nines will be the first Starwood Hotel luxury brand.

"We're going four stars, maybe a little higher", said Geist.

Sage became impressed with Portland at a time when the hotel industry in America took a downturn in 2003. After reading an article in the Portland Business Journal about another company pulling out of its commitment to redevelop the building, Sage became interested.

But, without some $35 million in tax credits the project would not have happened. The entire project will cost around $118 million.

"We're trying to preserve and redevelop the property to historic standards" said Geist. That adds about 30 percent to the projects total cost.

"The combination of historic, luxury and has been quite a challenge" said Chris Ziegler, project manger for the Nines.

Blending yesterday with today means, among other things, seismic upgrades, preserving the integrity of the exterior of the building.

As part of Sage's agreement with the Portland Development Commission, the Nines must go green. It's going for Leed silver certification. Just a handful of hotels in this country have that designation.

Despite what looks like a lot of work ahead, The Nines will open about this time next year creating almost 200 new jobs.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KMO @ Jul 20 2007, 07:17 AM) [snapback]482189[/snapback]</div>

I absolutely agree. The quip about Prii was Tongue and Cheek. Now, I must go to Wikipedia to look up the origen of Tongue and Cheek to make sure I used that properly.