There are just a couple of new things to report and follow-up about the upscale Hilton based on the 8AM presentation. No sense repeating the blah blah.
You may remember the DP report which highlighted that the Campus Inn (not the Extended-Stay Hospital Inn) would be a less expensive option for Penn parents. It may have seemed odd at the time to cover the hospital hotel that way. Someone asked about the Hilton rates this morning. Lussenhop responded that rates are different for "OVERNIGHT" stays or longer. But why would they have an overnight rate for something dedicated as an extended stay hotel? Clearly, you can dismiss any promises based on the Campus Hilton being "extended stay." All hotels give extended stay options. All that extended stay stuff, preventing parking and trash concerns, is called a red herring. It's a type of fallacious argument strategy often used to distract attention from real issues. In my opinion, for the first year or two, it's gonna be like any Hilton in this new style, "the boutique hotel." Secondly, I asked directly for an explanation about why they secretly attempted to get the mansion de-listed from the historic registry. I know a lot of people are angry about that! The architect responded with that stuff about no one knowing it was a historic property. Hahaha! But he did not answer the question. Why did they try to secretly have the property de-listed if the big concern was always restoration? There was an interesting mention, at another time, that the 11 stories had to be in that slab shape because the part Penn mothballed was standing there. In my opinion, this refusal to explain this de-listing attempt suggests the mansion was simply a nuisance. I believe they tried to secretly go for demolition, before they tried the current thing. They won't have that block when they try to level other parts of the neighborhood, once this precedent is set. (I think the architect was mad at me because I pointed at his drawing and said that I didn't believe it. I asked how we could trust the process with deceptive drawings? ) Regardless of their feelings about me, it appears that they will continue to refuse any information about their de-listing attempt. Did anyone else from the list hear anything new? Glenn
