Say bye to Anders bookstore

[aubiefifty 16,774]

oanow.com

 

Graduate Hotel receives first review from downtown Auburn design committee

Tim Nail

5-7 minutes

---

Plans for a new boutique hotel in downtown Auburn are moving forward after members of the city’s Downtown Design Review Committee viewed a proposal for the design of the building at a Tuesday meeting with few criticisms.

Representatives from Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture of Chicago presented the DDRC a rendering and architectural drawings of the Graduate Hotel, which will be a five-story hotel spanning 144,000 square feet. It’ll have 177 individual lodging units, or keys, in addition to an event space, coffee shop and several other amenity areas for guests.

“The goal of this design was to create a new building that feels as if it has always been there,” said Jillian Agdern, principal of the firm, to committee members. “We feel that the size and the scale of this project is commensurate to the surrounding buildings in the downtown area.”

Agdern told the DDRC that Hartshorne Plunkard tried to follow the Georgian architectural style for design with the hotel having a largely brick and cast stone construction, featuring symmetrical windows and columns and some trim and cornice work. She said the aim is to mimic other structures downtown and on Auburn University’s campus that have similar architecture.

“We’ve taken cues … from things like contact and materiality that you view throughout the downtown core,” Agdern said.

The Graduate Hotel’s first floor will include the lobby which features the coffee shop and event space as well as administrative and hotel staff support spaces. Agdern said the coffee shop will be open to the public and won’t be limited to hotel patrons.

On the second floor, a fitness center will be adjacent to an elevator, with the rest of the floor and the third and fourth floors being mostly lodging units. The fifth floor will have a food and beverage area with an open-air outdoor terrace making up the south side of the hotel facing West Magnolia Avenue.

The terrace will consist of a wraparound “porch” with a trellis, which was the subject of comments from the DDRC.

“I’m not quite comfortable with the architectural language of that trellis element in that it’s really trying to take elements of a Georgian architecture and apply them in a scale that’s not a Georgian kind of application,” said committee member David Hinson to architects. “I think there’s a lot about this project that the city is going to be very happy with … so my feedback on specific elements should be understood in that context.”

Committee member Dan Bennett called into question the idea of having the trellis be open to the sky noting that Auburn’s average annual rainfall could pose an issue.

“We have 53 inches of rain here and so typically in weather when you’re going to use the outside, we have a lot of rain and you might want to consider that circumstance,” he told Agdern and the rest of the firm, adding that he thought there could also be more columns on the porch.

In addition, DDRC members weren’t sure about Hartshorne Plunkard’s idea to use simulated divided-light windows instead of true divided-light windows. True divided-light windows have multiple panes of glass divided by muntins, the bars seen in windows. Simulated windows are made of only large panes of glass with the bars either glued on or between two large panes.

“That’s really not something we’d like to see, (so) if it’s going to be a divided-light window it needs to look like a divided-light window,” Hinson said.

Agdern thanked the committee for its comments and said Hartshorne Plunkard will revise the design. Despite the critiques, Bennett said the DDRC was overall pleased with how “well developed” the design was for the committee’s first viewing of the project.

Auburn’s City Council approved a conditional use request in May 2020 for the hotel to be built after recommendation by the Auburn Planning Commission, though at the time, there was concern from council members and planning commissioners about the number of parking spaces that would be available to hotel guests.

Now, developers have told the DDRC there will be 111 parking spaces in the hotel’s basement and 10 spaces on the north side exterior of the building, with both areas being valet parking.

The Graduate Hotel will be the newest of the Graduate Hotel brand, which builds hotels in college towns and areas across the United States and in the United Kingdom. It’ll be the chain’s first location in Alabama, with other regional locations in Athens, Ga.; Oxford, Miss.; and Nashville, Tenn.

“What’s unique about the brand is that each property is very specific to the campus itself and really tries to take the character and uniqueness of any college campus and tie it into not only the building design but also the room design as well,” Agdern told the DDRC.

The Graduate Hotel is set to be built at 202 W. Magnolia Ave. where Anders Bookstore is located, which will be demolished to make way for the hotel. The bookstore has occupied the property since the mid-1960s, where it opened in January 1966.

Hartshorne Plunkard hopes to meet with the DDRC again in February after making changes based on the committee’s suggestions for improvement. Agdern said the firm expects to apply for a building permit in the spring.

 

i guess it is good for auburn but i hate this as i have been in Anders a couple of dozen times in my life.so many things i loved as a child are gone now. it does not say but i can only assume Anders will relocate? Proud you have any info?

[aucom96 1,618]

Auburn is turning pretty generic. Inevitable, I guess, but yeah. It’s sad.

[Prester John 15]

Hey, just was a guest at the Oxford, MS Graduate Hotel.  Until last week I was not familiar with this brand.  All I can say is my experience was delightful.  While change is often difficult, I feel sure this is a plus for Auburn.  

[aubiefifty 16,774]

3 minutes ago, aucom96 said:

Auburn is turning pretty generic. Inevitable, I guess, but yeah. It’s sad.

when i was roughly ten i had grandparents that lived on east glenn and i had the run of the town. i doubt i would recognize it much now. i often wonder if the old tiger cafe is still there. from what i have been told several coaches used to eat there pretty regular. i miss the flush. a friend and i both pulled used gum stuck under the picnic tables and had so much in our mouths we could barely chew. the barber shop on the corner of the old sears building had the best collection of comics around. and when a todler i slipped away from my mother and when she heard a lot of laughter so she started looking foe me. i had slipped off and and went number two in a toilet display. my mother almost died she was so embarrassed. true story. the memories still remain but so many places are gone now.sad

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

3 minutes ago, Prester John said:

Hey, just was a guest at the Oxford, MS Graduate Hotel.  Until last week I was not familiar with this brand.  All I can say is my experience was delightful.  While change is often difficult, I feel sure this is a plus for Auburn.  

It's not a plus for Auburn. I say this as a minority investor in the Athens Graduate hotel too. Yeah they're great compared to other hotels but I wish they were not doing away w Anders book store. 

[aubiefifty 16,774]

2 minutes ago, Prester John said:

Hey, just was a guest at the Oxford, MS Graduate Hotel.  Until last week I was not familiar with this brand.  All I can say is my experience was delightful.  While change is often difficult, I feel sure this is a plus for Auburn.  

i am all for progress and my complaints are selfish. there was an old concrete building a few short blocks down past anders that was a bar with live music and my mom and dad used to frequent it often as my mother loved to dance. i bet it will not last long if it is even still there. she even told me i was named after the best dancer in the club that time that was a friend of theirs.

[aubiefifty 16,774]

Just now, ThurstontheWelshCorgi said:

It's not a plus for Auburn. I say this as a minority investor in the Athens Graduate hotel too. Yeah they're great compared to other hotels but I wish they were not doing away w Anders book store. 

i hope anders relocates and can maybe enlarge from their old store. i really loved the store and they always had the best looking ladies working as well. grins

[jenn4AU 24]

Anders now is not the same as it used to be. Basically more of a bookstore minus the gear, apparel, and souvenirs as in the past. 

[nurbis 572]

Just my opinion but downtown Auburn is really starting to look kind of awful. I hate to see all of the large apartment buildings. I guess it is "progress" but the buildings are an eyesore to me. 

[selias 2,398]

JMO, but Ander's was just a bookstore. I can't say I have any real attachment to it beyond buying some books for classes there.

[aubiefifty 16,774]

1 hour ago, selias said:

JMO, but Ander's was just a bookstore. I can't say I have any real attachment to it beyond buying some books for classes there.

man they always had the best bumper stickers and buttons slamming bama.

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

 I mixed up Anders with JandM bookstore -- this isn't the end of the world I suppose.. I was just picturing a huge brick monstrosity where jm is across from Samford hall and was thinking.. "what a shame".

[AU North 164]

Downtown reminded me of a university's version of a Mayberry RFD. Sad to see it all go down the road of progress. But I understand. wde 

[gr82be 14,423]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

friend and i both pulled used gum stuck under the picnic tables and had so much in our mouths we could barely chew.

Fifty, this almost made me throw up. 

[DAG 33,980]

[steeleagle 2,945]

4 hours ago, selias said:

JMO, but Ander's was just a bookstore. I can't say I have any real attachment to it beyond buying some books for classes there.

Does anyone have pictures of the preliminary building of the Graduate Hotel? 

And any idea what Anders will do? relocate?  Do they have another store? 

[woodford 3,655]

5 hours ago, nurbis said:

Just my opinion but downtown Auburn is really starting to look kind of awful. I hate to see all of the large apartment buildings. I guess it is "progress" but the buildings are an eyesore to me. 

“Progress” does not equal “positive” such an Orwellian twist of a word.

 

[cole256 17,051]

5 hours ago, selias said:

JMO, but Ander's was just a bookstore. I can't say I have any real attachment to it beyond buying some books for classes there.

Absolutely. And then on top of that their books were more expensive. 

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

9 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 

 

i guess it is good for auburn but i hate this as i have been in Anders a couple of dozen times in my life.so many things i loved as a child are gone now. it does not say but i can only assume Anders will relocate? Proud you have any info?

Not anything except the article. But Anders is not the old Anders you knew. Same name but the original was sold to some company several years ago that kept the name. I can tell you what remains of older places on West Magnolia will be gone before too long including the Lambda Chi House and maybe even McDonalds. The land is just very valuable.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Proud Tiger

[cole256 17,051]

Imo it's way past time for Auburn to update. You can change and still maintain yourself. You just have to be intelligent and have a plan. It's not smart to be stagnant.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

6 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

when i was roughly ten i had grandparents that lived on east glenn and i had the run of the town. i doubt i would recognize it much now. i often wonder if the old tiger cafe is still there. from what i have been told several coaches used to eat there pretty regular. i miss the flush. 

Tiger Cafe and the Flush have been gone for a very long time. You probably wouldn't recognize much of Auburn now. You were 10 how many years ago?😀

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

Killer location for a hotel, but sad for Anders. I guess they are coming out well on the whole deal though.

I would buy my textbooks and Anders and them sell them back to Anders after the semester. Always fair prices both ways. Decent selection on apparel as well. 

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

5 minutes ago, AuburnEagle79 said:

Killer location for a hotel, but sad for Anders. I guess they are coming out well on the whole deal though.

I would buy my textbooks and Anders and them sell them back to Anders after the semester. Always fair prices both ways. Decent selection on apparel as well. 

Yep and I hope the value of my condo at Legends of Magnolia just down the street keeps going up.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Proud Tiger

[slot canyon 1,333]

Something like this might be a great addition.  Ahh, the memories.

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

7 minutes ago, Proud Tiger said:

Yep and I hope the value of my condo at Legends of Magnolia just down the street keeps going up.

I don't see how it won't. Auburn just keeps on growing. Heck of an investment.