Much to our delight, Harlan Crow this morning invited local media over to the renovated Old Parkland Hospital for a tour of his favorite project -- the new headquarters for Crow Holdings. Patrick Michels and I took the short walk across the street and were quickly greeted by Crow executives Gina Norris and Anne Raymond, along with Crow himself.
The hospital, which we last saw September 10, has been beautifully restored, highlighted by its mahogany veneer panels, limestone flooring and open spaces. It's so open, in fact, that Crow's office has just one wall. Before the press conference, Crow led Unfair Park on a brief tour, which included a look at the two conference rooms adjacent to his office. Both rooms featured fireplaces, and one had a bizarre ram's head sitting on a table which is supposed to hold tobacco, but he described it simply as "a conversation piece."
See the ram's head and other photos from our tour after the jump.
At the press conference, Crow spoke very briefly, thanking everyone involved in the renovations and saying he was happy to be moving in next week. After his comments, he leaned to me and said, "No questions about the hotel," expecting that I was about to corner him for some convention center hotel chitchat.
Later on, Patrick and I got the full tour, and he's put up a slide show right here, which includes pics of the statue of Trammell Crow, outside fire pit, barber shop, fitness center and all the other goodies.
The Nurses Quarters next to the hospital is still under renovations and already has tenants waiting for its opening in June 2009. Around the same time, the first new building on the land, Woodlawn Hall, is also scheduled to open.
So how much did all this cost? "I know it's your job to ask, but they won't be releasing the number," says Crow's media contact, Rita Cox. "What I can tell you is that it cost much more to renovate Old Parkland than it would have been to tear it down and build it from scratch."
Perhaps most satisfying for Crow is all the letters he's received from people who had worked in the hospital and have seen the renovations, some of which were on display. "I've received hundreds of them," he says, "and it makes all this worthwhile."
We've also got a set of vintage photos, with shots of the hospital before the renovation.--Sam Merten
