Don't Drink The Toilet Water!

Well, look who's back.

Haven't read it yet, answering Roger, I'm here now, you can all rest easy (sniggers).
Hmmm, make that snickers.

Interesting comment, Roger, about water delivery/disposal. The city meters water coming into a property but can not meter sewage going out. They use a formula to estimate. Some water is consumed by humans but ends up in the toilet. Some water gets boiled off in cooking. And a lot of water from rain runs off into the storm drains (water that hits the asphalt is contaminated).
The city folks and one of my architect's staff members had a series of spirited discussions about our project across the street. She used to work for City Planning. Their goal: develop a new formula for properties that are heavily into water harvesting/recycling. I attended one meeting for about 10 minutes until I realized that the discussion was way over my head.
I described this to one of my kinfolk/partners as being "contentious." My brother (a graduate in architecture/urban design but now a musician. Go figure) said we should tread lightly.
In fact, I heard later from my spy at City Planning that they were happy to have this discussion with someone local who understood that the city was working on setting future policy as opposed to (excuse me) some Yankee lawyer who would threaten to sue.

Read the first page, egads.

Signage matters.

Our sanitary facilities use up to date ecological processes to save the environment (fill in the yadda). Do not slurp the toilet water.

On footage, ex and I lived with something like 680 for decades and plenty of kids were raised in similar places in that neighborhood. We are living in a housing balloon era.

Can I pass you an atrium?

By the way, our Sycamore House - An Extended Stay Hotel, will be up for its first meeting in front of the Board of Architecture in about an hour. It is being billed as a "discussion" with no vote to be taken. My architect likes to do a series of these rather then attempt to ram it through. He will make a brief presentation on the exterior design and then sit back and listen to the board critique it. They have been told in advance that we will be looking for their comments.
I don't go to the meetings. I can watch it on the computer.
I don't particularly like the design. It is not as edgy as I hoped it would be. It drew on some other projects the hotel company has. But it is a start.

Whew. That was kind of fun.

There were only a half a dozen items on the agenda. We were scheduled for next to last. Earlier items were either deferred or voted on quickly. We came up 45 minutes ahead of schedule and Bill the Architect wasn't there. They agreed to move on to the last item and come back to us if he pitched up. He did, with 3 minutes to spare.
It was a lively discussion with some unexpected comments from the board.
All in all, favorable in the concept.
Bedtime.

Good. And you know I hope you can wedge in some edge to the scenario.

In my discussions with Tim the Hotel Guy, I said that there are 3 issues of paramount importance to me (and my kinfolk/partners):
1) The location is on a corner of W Main and an underdeveloped strip of land towards downtown 6 blocks to the east east. To the west is UVA. This building, in use and design, should say: UVA ends here and "midtown" and downtown start here.
2) Water, water, water. It must be collected. His response was that the hotel chain he works with doesn't have a grey water recycling policy. If that is true, they better get one.
3) Tim, in their design, did not include any retail element on the 1st floor of the West Main elevation. I won't accept that and we quietly asked the BAR to help us there. They are not supposed to look beyond the exterior design, but they did manage to get our point across by talking about the "Pedestrian Experience."

Tim and I have not signed any kind of development agreement. I think he now knows that the city is not going to roll over for him and, if push comes to shove, we will walk away. Big meeting on Monday.
My architect was going to email me pictures of the building. I have not gotten them yet.

I agree with you on all points, not a surprise. I'm wild about the third, having gotten some traction re my thoughts on pedestrian culture in the days when I thought I could write. Lessons have been learned with city edifices negating the population except for the twice daily inflow and outflow - but even for hotels, good stores at the front can (if not always) be a positive. For a community, they matter. I'm reminded of the Bonaventure in LA, a total community offput, unless it has changed.
On the second point, absolutely, they'd better get in line. Weird that they aren't already..
On the first, I don't know personally your city, hub-ex and I were there for an afternoon at the university - wish we knew you then ('87).

Going back to toilet water for a bit, here are 2 equations I worked up. The data, believe it or not, came from what I consider to be reliable sources.
Shower Water Harvested: 120-room hotel with 75% occupancy per night by 2 people for 365 days who each take a 5-minute shower at 2 gallons of water per minute = 650,000 gallons of water a year.
Toilet Water Used: 120 rooms etc...with 4 flushes a day by each person using 1.6 gallons per = 450,000 gallons a year.
That leaves 200,000 gallons available for landscape maintenance.

I think I may have entirely too much time on my hands!

I think you have entirely too much time on my hands.

20o,ooo available from what? (Ok, I'm slow)

650K from showers - 450K going to toilets = 200K for landscaping.

You are right, Dys, in whatever it is you said. But the government will be sending you care packages of powdered water (Instructions: "Just add water") there in the SW .

ACME powdered water?


meep meep...