NEWS
3A
THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2009
Ryan Waqgoner/KANSAN
Construction continues on the Oread Inn as developers prepare for the hotel's opening in January. The building has nine stories above ground and four more stories below.
NEIGHBORS ADJUST TO INN'S PRESENCE
The Oread is now well on its way to completion. But before construction even began, developers had to ensure the hotel, which has nine stories above ground, would be accepted by neighbors and concerned students.
Sam Schlageck, Manhattan graduate, founded a Facebook group called Students Against the Oread Inn more than a year ago. At the time, he said he would be sad to lose The Crossing and Yello Sub, where he and his friends liked to hang out. He said that his opposition to the hotel was a learning experience, but that he has now given up.
"I don't really care anymore," Schlageck said. "There's nothing I can do now; they already built the damn thing."
Carol Von Tersch, board member for the Oread Neighborhood Association, collaborated with designers of the hotel to ensure it wouldn't disturb nearby property owners. Six months of discussion had many results.
"We wanted to make sure they were compatible with the historic nature of the neighborhood,"Von Tersch said.
The developers will also renovate the stairs leading up the hill from the stadium, repair all the curbs on Jayhawk Boulevard and along Indiana Street, and will organize all outdoor parking so that car headlights will not face any of the residences.
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and fun."
The entrance to "The Cave" will be a four-flight stairwell located behind the hotel that will lead down to the club entrance. The line to enter the club will extend up the stairwell and out to the north end of the building. There will also be a private club and a series of smaller bars that bring the total capacity of the club up to 600 people.
A corridor will connect the private club directly to the rooms. Three smaller bars throughout the hotel will be used for special purposes, such as wine bars or martini nights.
BUSINESSES
Along with parking garages, the first underground floor, P1, will be home to a hotel-owned spa called Lemon Bliss, Jimmy John's and a hotel-owned pizza restaurant called A Slice of History.
Lemon Bliss will offer massages, manicures, pedicures and tanning booths.
A Slice of History will have a salad bar and a pizza bar. Posted on the walls of the restaurant will be photos from University and neighborhood history, with captions explaining their significance.
"It'll be things people know about and they'll see them and wonder." Longhurst said.
Each of these businesses will have entrances along Indiana Street.
THE LOBBY
A revolving door will open into the first floor lobby. The whole building is meant to have a very
open feel, Longhurst said
Arched doorways will line the interior, and visitors will be able to see into every restaurant. A private dining room in the lobby will be enclosed with blue glass, to preserve the open feel of the architecture.
Immediately to the right upon entering the lobby will be a KU bookstore. To the left will be The Bird Dog Bar, open for lunch and dinner. The bar will serve typical bar food, such as sandwiches and fries, and seat about 80 people. It will also feature an outdoor terrace where the owners plan to hold sports broadcasts, particularly helpful after football games.
"We hope this will become the after-game party site for fans, families, and students." Longhurst said.
Just outside the bookstore will be a candy and snack shop featuring 12 flavors. A hostess near the check-in area will lead guests to a hotel-owned restaurant called 521 that will serve "good, hearty food," Longhurst said.
CONFERENCE ROOMS AND THEATER
The lower lobby will feature a 270-capacity conference room called the Griffith Room that will be used for conferences, receptions, dinners, and other events. The room gets its name from the Griffith House, the first building to stand on the Hotel's property.
"We gave historical names that have to do with the Mt. Oread site and KU to rooms throughout the hotel," Longhurst said.
Three smaller breakout rooms, one accommodating 40 people and two accommodating 60, will also
have historical names.
Floor P1 will also contain a 40-50 capacity theater. The theater will have a bar near the entrance, plush seats and a large projection screen. Longhurst said the theater would be used for movie nights, PowerPoint presentations during conferences, sports watch parties and even as a location for sports teams to review plays.
This floor will also contain a small exercise room for guests, with 6-7 exercise machines.
FIFTH FLOOR TERRACE AND OBSERVATION DECKS
On the fifth floor, an outdoor terrace overlooking the football stadium will be open to the public. The terrace will be equipped with a restaurant, bar and restrooms, as well as tents and heaters to protect guests during the rainy season.
There will be two rooftop observation decks: one atop the eighth floor, and a much smaller observation deck atop the ninth floor that will be open by appointment only.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Condos and hotel rooms will be located only on the nine floors above ground. Floors 2 through 5 will contain 100 rentable guest rooms, and floors 6 through 8 will have privately-owned condos. Rates for the rooms will range from $99 to $250 per night.
Rooms will range from queen doubles to king suites. The king suites will be located just above the revolving door entrance to the lobby, and will connect to
Illustration courtesy of the The Eldridge & The Oread
This is an artist's rendering of the terrace and observation deck, found on the fifth floor.
Illustration courtesy of the The Eldridge & The Dread
This is an artist's rendering of a suite in The Oread. The hotel will have 100 rooms for guests.
Illustration courtesy of the Eldridge & The Oreat
This is an artist's rendering of a banquet room on the first floor.
Illustration courtesy of the The Eldridge & The Oread
two large windows overlooking Jayhawk Boulevard and the Campanile.
The four condos on floor 6 and three condos on floors 7 and 8 have already been sold to alumni, both from Kansas and around the world.
use them as a convenient location from which to attend sports games. Condo owners will have special key cards that will allow them access to the floors they live on.
These buyers each designed their own homes, and many will
-Edited by Sarah Kelly
GRANTS (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
who, as part of their coursework, volunteer in struggling communities, Matthew Lindsey, executive director of the Kansas Campus Compact, said.
Any student who receives one of the awards must first serve a struggling community for a minimum of 300 hours in one of three focus areas - education, health care and non-profit support, Lindsey said.
Lindsey said the half-dozen colleges and universities in Kansas that participated in the program first had to request how many of the grant awards they would like to offer.
“This year, we have 400 total slots," Lindsey said. "KU requested 200 slots. It is the largest that is going to any school in this program. There's probably three or four that are in the 50 to 100 range."
"It's wonderful to tell students you can go to these public interest employers, you can do good work, and you can also get compensated through these educational awards." Rogers said. "To be able to tell them there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, there may be some monetary reward for this is a great thing."
Todd Rogers, assistant dean for career services in the law school, said he hoped the award would help law students with an interest in public service accept unpaid internship opportunities without going into debt.
Andi Witzczak, director of the Center for Service Learning, said the non-profit support area of the program allowed her to open it up to graduate students in the law and pharmacy schools and allow more students to participate.
Lindsey said he hoped the growing student interest in the program meant that it would continue to make a positive difference both in the lives of the students and in the underprivileged Kansas communities they serve.
"There is strong evidence that service benefits the economy," Lindsey said. "The more we can encourage students to pursue public good careers, the better off the state is going to be. They're also getting education dollars that they can spend later that are also stimulative."
Witzak said many of the recipients last year chose to save their award to pay for graduate school because, unlike scholarships, which usually must be used immediately, the grant awards give students a window of seven years to choose when they wish to use their money.
"I felt lucky, glad that I was given the money," O'Malley said. "I was ecstatic when I heard about. It helps people who are trying to help others."
O'Malley said she chose to use her award immediately to help pay off a student loan.
Edited by Sarah Kelly
TEXTILES (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
year. She said she was thankful for the money and thought it was a step in the right direction for the department.
Gurenney said the scholarship would be used to help bring in more student recruits. She said it would also be used to provide travel opportunities for current students to allow them to get more experience and build their portfolios.
"Our professors are more able now to go and promote the department," Fallis said. "They will be able to look for people who are really going to improve the department. It will encourage better work."
"Because there is so little money and support for the arts, it was easy to want to spread the wealth." Guernsey said. "But we want to honor the gift. It's a kind gift and at last it's doing what the donor wanted."
— Edited by Sarah Kelly
GOVERNMENT Kentucky can't require office to mention God
FRANKFORT, Ky. — A judge says it's unconstitutional to require the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.
The AP was unable to get a copy of the ruling Wednesda
Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ruled Wednesday that the requirement in a state law violates the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions.
The Courier-Journal of Louisville reports that Wingate said the General Assembly created an official government position in the law that requires the office to acknowledge "the dependence on Almighty God."
Ten Kentucky residents and American Atheists inc.challenged the statute in a the lawsuit last winter.
A spokeswoman for Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says he has not yet decided whether to appeal.
Associated Press
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