>> Hmm. I know of a brand-new never-been-used Travel Lodge that's sitting fully furnished but closed, empty and unlikely to ever be used, thanks to the Tories cancelling the northern leg of the new HS2 railway (and thus leaving the hotel high & dry without a reason for existing) <<
Ugh, people are so inept and wasteful.
I hadn't really thought of "stranded" new hotels like this, but it's a great category.
Same with strip malls or office buildings if they are the type where each unit has a bathroom. You'd probably need to add a shower in each, unless the employee one in the back has that, but it's not hard once there's already a half-bath in place. If there's a closed office area in back, that becomes a bedroom; if not, it's easy to build interior walls or even just make "walls" with tall bookcases or freestanding closet modules. You'd need to add a kitchen, but there are one-piece kitchenette inserts made for apartments. And the whole front is usually picture windows.
Hmm, the view depends on whether there's any landscaping yet (some have green strips for flowers and trees) or it's all pavement. Honestly I'd leave the nice wide sidewalks. You'd have a fabulously accessible place with all roll-in units, especially if you make all the new showers roll-in ones. All the units are open floor plan unless you build interior walls -- and if you're making "rooms" with bookcases, those can be moved as desired. You could turn most of the parking lot into a wheelchair park, skatepark, food truck park, or use it for booth events like a farmer's market or flea market. Save some parking for residents and guests, then either tear up part of the pavement for landscaping (expensive but good for drainage) or build roll-under raised beds for a residential community garden.
Speaking of drainage, where's the borrow pit or runoff pond for all that pavement? It's likely nearby, though it may be on a different property. If it's on this one, however, for a very little extra money you could turn it into a fabulous park and probably gain more than you spent in increased property value. 1) Put out at least one picnic table and trash can, preferably on a path with a concrete pad. If you want to get fancy, put them in a pavilion and maybe add a grill. 2) Run a boardwalk to the pond and add a pier that people can roll or walk out on with a bench at the end. 3) Put a few native plants around the pond, like willows or cattails. If you want to get fancy, make a riparian guild. You don't need to landscape the whole pond because natives will spread. 4) If you want to get fancy, add some fingerling fish such as bluegill, crappie, bass, or catfish (depending on pond size) so residents can fish. Amphibians will add themselves.
Depending on how much space you have, you might want to save a slot or two for business. Our local outlet mall, which is emitting its death rattle, has dozens of slots. Originally it had a food court but that barely lasted a few months. I think the playground is still there, though. Many strip malls are smaller, just 4-8 units, but sometimes those are huge and could be subdivided into multiple apartments. Another option would be to put down modular outbuildings, which is often done for things like a hotdog stand. Then residents would have live-work options as well as useful businesses to visit.
Wow, this is turning into a great neighborhood. :D It's the kind of thing that Boss Blaster would do. Right, I'm saving these notes for the South Haymarket expansion of neighborhood revitalization after the Big One.
>> It's on the outskirts of Leeds, which has a chronic lack of housing, and I think I might know who to send an email to, to suggest this idea.<<
Do it! Even if that person doesn't pursue it personally, they might know who else to ask.
Feel free to throw in some "what to do with the parking lot" ideas since residential use may need less than a business. Hmm, and check the ground floor -- some hotels have like a restaurant or salon or necessities shop in addition to things like a pool and meeting rooms. The huge ones are basically self-contained villages.
>> If it gets picked up, that's 300+ apartments easy... <<
Even if they're just bedsits, that's a huge improvement, and some hotels have larger suites.
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dancing_serpent
Thoughts
Date: 2024-02-23 08:00 pm (UTC)Ugh, people are so inept and wasteful.
I hadn't really thought of "stranded" new hotels like this, but it's a great category.
Same with strip malls or office buildings if they are the type where each unit has a bathroom. You'd probably need to add a shower in each, unless the employee one in the back has that, but it's not hard once there's already a half-bath in place. If there's a closed office area in back, that becomes a bedroom; if not, it's easy to build interior walls or even just make "walls" with tall bookcases or freestanding closet modules. You'd need to add a kitchen, but there are one-piece kitchenette inserts made for apartments. And the whole front is usually picture windows.
Hmm, the view depends on whether there's any landscaping yet (some have green strips for flowers and trees) or it's all pavement. Honestly I'd leave the nice wide sidewalks. You'd have a fabulously accessible place with all roll-in units, especially if you make all the new showers roll-in ones. All the units are open floor plan unless you build interior walls -- and if you're making "rooms" with bookcases, those can be moved as desired. You could turn most of the parking lot into a wheelchair park, skatepark, food truck park, or use it for booth events like a farmer's market or flea market. Save some parking for residents and guests, then either tear up part of the pavement for landscaping (expensive but good for drainage) or build roll-under raised beds for a residential community garden.
Speaking of drainage, where's the borrow pit or runoff pond for all that pavement? It's likely nearby, though it may be on a different property. If it's on this one, however, for a very little extra money you could turn it into a fabulous park and probably gain more than you spent in increased property value. 1) Put out at least one picnic table and trash can, preferably on a path with a concrete pad. If you want to get fancy, put them in a pavilion and maybe add a grill. 2) Run a boardwalk to the pond and add a pier that people can roll or walk out on with a bench at the end. 3) Put a few native plants around the pond, like willows or cattails. If you want to get fancy, make a riparian guild. You don't need to landscape the whole pond because natives will spread. 4) If you want to get fancy, add some fingerling fish such as bluegill, crappie, bass, or catfish (depending on pond size) so residents can fish. Amphibians will add themselves.
Depending on how much space you have, you might want to save a slot or two for business. Our local outlet mall, which is emitting its death rattle, has dozens of slots. Originally it had a food court but that barely lasted a few months. I think the playground is still there, though. Many strip malls are smaller, just 4-8 units, but sometimes those are huge and could be subdivided into multiple apartments. Another option would be to put down modular outbuildings, which is often done for things like a hotdog stand. Then residents would have live-work options as well as useful businesses to visit.
Wow, this is turning into a great neighborhood. :D It's the kind of thing that Boss Blaster would do. Right, I'm saving these notes for the South Haymarket expansion of neighborhood revitalization after the Big One.
>> It's on the outskirts of Leeds, which has a chronic lack of housing, and I think I might know who to send an email to, to suggest this idea.<<
Do it! Even if that person doesn't pursue it personally, they might know who else to ask.
Feel free to throw in some "what to do with the parking lot" ideas since residential use may need less than a business. Hmm, and check the ground floor -- some hotels have like a restaurant or salon or necessities shop in addition to things like a pool and meeting rooms. The huge ones are basically self-contained villages.
>> If it gets picked up, that's 300+ apartments easy... <<
Even if they're just bedsits, that's a huge improvement, and some hotels have larger suites.