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metro
01-19-2006, 08:12 AM
1305 N. Hudson (http://goo.gl/maps/VTnx)
owner=Marva Ellard
cost=$8,000,000 renovations
start=1926 originally
finish=2006 renovations
height=6 story hotel space, 2 story grocery annex (predates hotel actually)
30 apartments and 8 lofts.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/wikiphotos/sieber.jpg
Information & Latest News
Robert Sieber He was a noted purveyor of fine meats and sausages which was distributed in a 4 state area. The grocery building was built first in 1924 and the 6 story hotel followed in 1928. Both buildings were listed on The National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

The two buildings have undergone an extensive renovation beginning the fall of 2006. When complete, there will be 5,000 of ground floor commercial space, 30 apartments and 8 loft style units.
Links
Project Website (http://www.thesieber.com/)
Doug Loudenback article (http://www.dougloudenback.com/maps/vintage_sieber.htm)
Gallery

Midtowner
01-19-2006, 08:26 AM
This has been in the works for years. I've known about the recent plans for sometime and the funding coming together finally, and now you have it folks, its now official!



Council approves loan for Sieber Hotel

By John Sutter
The Oklahoman

The Oklahoma City Council approved Tuesday a $1.5 million loan to renovate MidTown's boarded up and gutted Sieber Hotel into an apartment complex with ground-floor business space.
The approval came after the city first rejected the loan in 2002 and then passed a "resolution of intent" to make the loan a year later.

The Sieber Hotel, 1305 N Hudson Ave., is considered one of the biggest eyesores in MidTown, an area just north of downtown that the city has been working to revitalize in recent years.

Part-owner of the hotel, Marva Ellard, said renovations of the Sieber Hotel would not be possible without the city loan.

"We've always planned on their (the city's) participation, but it's very gratifying, and a big relief, to have that behind us," Ellard said.

Construction on the hotel should start in about six weeks, Ellard said.

Money to back the loan comes from a community development block grant intended to help renovate the Oklahoma City area devastated by the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building.

The Sieber Hotel, which was built in 1928 and is considered a historical landmark by preservationists, has been boarded up for almost 20 years. Ellard said she and four business partners plan to transform the hotel into 38 apartments for rent with about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, possibly including a restaurant.

Ellard said it will be a "huge step" and could fuel a surge of money spent by property owners to improve MidTown.

Costs of Sieber Hotel renovations will total about $8 million, with $2.7 million from federal and state historic tax credits and $3.2 million in loans from a private individual, backed the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city expects to have its loan paid back in about 20 years.

Pete
01-19-2006, 08:26 AM
Great news!

Midtown really needs the help and has so much potential.


It will be interesting to see what they charge for rent... We need some reasonably priced units in that area.

metro
01-19-2006, 08:33 AM
Wouldn't you like to know if I know about plans for the Marion? mwah ha ha ha ha ha

Midtowner
01-19-2006, 09:08 AM
Wouldn't you like to know if I know about plans for the Marion? mwah ha ha ha ha ha

Actually, yes... yes I would.

metro
01-19-2006, 10:49 AM
it wouldn't be a secret if I told you MidTowner or perhaps I know nothing

Midtowner
01-19-2006, 10:54 AM
Oh come on.. if you told me, who would I tell?

Midtowner
01-19-2006, 10:54 AM
Oh come on.. if you told me, who would I tell?

Midtowner
01-19-2006, 10:54 AM
-- for future reference, only hit the reply button once with this new software.

metro
01-20-2006, 09:45 AM
From the OKC Business, you can also view photos on www.okcbusiness.com

Sieber approved for $1.5 million
View the pictures
Posted: Tuesday, January 17, 2006



By Pamela Grady

pgrady@okcbusiness.com

The Oklahoma City Council today approved a Murrah District Economic Development loan from the Supplemental Community Development Block Grant funds in the amount of $1.5 million to Sieber Holdings LLC.

The loan will be used to assist in financing the rehabilitation of the Sieber Hotel building, 1305 N. Hudson Ave., which has been boarded up and empty for more than 20 years.

"This is a big milestone for us to get this [financing] finalized and for HUD to know that that part was in place, and so now we can finish up the rest of the pieces," said Marva Ellard, principal of Sieber Holdings LLC.

Total cost of the project is $8.01 million and will be funded through a combination of federal and state historic tax credits, private debt insured by HUD Section 220 loan guarantee and Murrah Economic Development loan program funds.

Ellard, former chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Commission, along with Robert Magrini and Todd Scott d/b/a Sieber Holdings LLC, has owned the property since 1998. In September 2005, the Sieber Grocery and Apartment Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Ellard said their plans are for the six-story, 48,000-square-foot former Sieber Hotel and the two-story, 10,000-square-foot former Sieber Grocery store to be converted into 38 rentable units.

The hotel building will contain 30 traditional-style apartments, ranging from 750 to 1,200 square feet, and the former grocery building will contain the remaining eight units, ranging from 840 to 1,440 square feet.

Ellard said the eight units in the smaller building will have a loft-style look to them with 14-foot ceilings, and the owners plan to keep the storefronts with Hudson Ave. openings.

The main hotel building, Ellard said, will contain approximately 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and she is hopeful a restaurant and retail establishment will decide to occupy some of that space.

"There was always a food establishment on the first floor, and at one time there was a cafeteria," Ellard said, adding there also once was the Sieber Coffee Shop. "We've talked to a few people and we'd definitely like a nice restaurant in there that would cater to the downtown/midtown health clientele in the neighborhood. That would be our goal, to put businesses in there that would be assets to the surrounding area."

If plans stay on schedule, renovations will begin in late February.

"HUD won't let you start until you close everything," Ellard said. "That's why this was so important. We're hoping to close in February but we still have some work to do."

BDP
01-20-2006, 12:53 PM
Here's the pic from the OKC business article:

http://images6.theimagehosting.com/6952022_4707106.jpg

Edit: wow, the OKC business pic was way too big, so I resized it.

metro
01-20-2006, 01:07 PM
Thanks BDP for posting the pic, I couldn't get it resized and compressed enough to post it

Pete
01-20-2006, 01:20 PM
That's such a great-looking building in a very good location.

It will be wonderful to have lots more life in Midtown.

jbrown84
01-20-2006, 02:40 PM
There are so many neat buildings like that just waiting to be restored into housing. I drove through that area the other day and if I remember right I noticed some work being done.

There is another cool building like this near the PHF Research Park and the Beacon of Hope, just to the east of 235.

citizenkane
01-20-2006, 04:01 PM
That really is a cool building. I wish they would have converteed The Guest House Inn into apartments before tearing it down.

OKCMann
09-04-2006, 08:22 AM
Anybody have an update concerning the Sieber? Are they working on the building?

Pete
09-07-2006, 08:11 AM
Developers ready renovation of Sieber Hotel after purchase

By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman

The Sieber Hotel, a longtime MidTown eyesore, is undergoing a long-awaited renovation that developers promise will return it to its heyday as a gathering spot for nearby St. Anthony Hospital and Heritage Hills.



Sieber Holdings, led by local preservationist Marva Ellard, recently began an $8.5 million renovation that has been on the drawing board since her group first bought the boarded up, six-story hotel at a sheriff’s auction in 1997.

“It’s been our baby for a long time,” Ellard said. “I can understand anyone who might have gotten impatient. I’ve been working on this hard since 1998, and everything just finally came into place.”

Ellard said she and partners Robert Magrini, Todd Scott, Mike McDonald and Tom Stapleton encountered numerous challenges, including qualifying for Murrah revitalization loans, historic tax credits and HUD financing.

With everything lined up, crews started removing debris last month. Ellard said a new timetable calls for the hotel to reopen as a 38-unit apartment complex with first-floor restaurant, shop and office space by late 2007.

The site is one block south of the historic upscale Heritage Hills neighborhood, and a short walk to St. Anthony Hospital and downtown’s Arts District and Central Business District.

“From the top couple of floors, you can see the Capitol, the health sciences center, downtown, Heritage Hills - it’s a really nice view,” Ellard said. “The type of tenants we’ll be appealing to will be complementary to Heritage Hills. We’ll probably see medical residents from St. Anthony, business people and probably an older resident similar to the retirees and empty nesters at the Aberdeen (downtown’s oldest apartment tower).”

Ellard said the building’s best features haven’t been seen for years by the public. A tile mosaic floor and curved ceiling with skylights create a lobby that she thinks is unmatched anywhere in the city.

The Sieber is a dream project for Ellard, but she admits MidTown is a better bet for the project than it was eight years ago. Back then, MidTown was littered with abandoned, boarded-up buildings, including the large former Mercy Hospital at NW 12 and Dewey, the old Wesley Hospital at NW 12 and Harvey, and a 10-story former hotel at NW 10 and Walker.

Now only the old Wesley Hospital remains, and it is being renovated into lofts. Urban Renewal Authority razed the Mercy Hospital building and is seeking bids to redevelop the site into housing, and the old hotel was demolished by St. Anthony and is now part of the hospital campus.

Dozens of other properties are being renovated by developer Greg Banta.

Ellard never doubted MidTown was due for a rebound.

“It’s a block away from Heritage Hills,” Ellard said. “And there was a trend in other cities toward downtown housing. Oklahoma City usually lags behind those trends, but we come around eventually.”

Sieber descendants, meanwhile, await a personal tour of the hotel that was both a family business and home.

German immigrant Robert G. Sieber built the adjoining two-story building first in 1922, operating it as a butcher shop and grocery. He and his wife, Nora, then built and operated the six-story, u-shaped Sieber Apartment Hotel starting in 1928.

Their granddaughter, Joanie Elder, still cherishes memories of summer visits at the hotel. One aunt ran a beauty shop in the hotel’s north wing while her grandparents operated a coffee shop on the south wing. An underground tunnel between the butcher shop and the hotel was used to deliver meats to the restaurant.

Elder’s mother, DeLois, and her twin sister, Delrose, kept the hotel’s books, and helped in the shop. “It was a family business,” Elder said.

After Robert Sieber’s death in 1962, the sisters tried to continue operating the hotel through the early 1970s - but the area was quickly declining.

“There were a lot of vagrants in the area because a lot of the other places nearby had closed,” Elder said. “And the sisters were nearing retirement age, and nobody was left to take over the business.”

The first owners went bankrupt. Other owners attempted renovations throughout the 1980s, only to suffer the same fate. The building had been gutted, vandalized, and damaged by at least two fires when Ellard beat 30 other bidders at the sheriff’s auction.

Ellard has worked closely with the family, sharing development plans, compiling their history for a successful nomination of the hotel to the National Register of Historic Places. She has the family’s blessing to keep their name on the building, and some of their memorabilia will be on display when the renovation is completed.

“Marva has been wonderful,” Elder said. “Her enthusiasm is contagious .. We always knew this area would someday turn around.”

trison
09-07-2006, 07:20 PM
Midtowner....I here there are plans to convert the Marion into 6 condos and that work is suppose to start by the end of the year.

OKCMann
09-07-2006, 08:07 PM
Thanks for the update Malibu! I wondered what was going on with this. This too will be a great project for Midtown.

metro
11-02-2006, 10:39 AM
anyone catch the article in the JR on Friday? I'm surprised no one has posted it yet. They will be apartments for the first 5 years (part of the financing requirements) then they have the option to put them up for sale. Remodeling is already under way. There will be 30 apartments in the main building and 8 in the attached 2 story building. There will also be a restaurant/ coffee shop and retail in the main building. If someone has online access to the JR please post the article.

Midtowner
11-02-2006, 11:54 AM
Midtowner....I here there are plans to convert the Marion into 6 condos and that work is suppose to start by the end of the year.

Trison, do you have an approximate $/sq. ft. yet? Estimates on the size of your condos?

The wife and I are very interested in something like that in the not-too-distant future.

metro
11-02-2006, 03:02 PM
To my knowledge some work has already began on the Marion.

Midtowner
11-02-2006, 03:17 PM
Driving by the Sieber several times each day, I can see the work being done.

I can't say the same for the Marion, although I don't go that way as often.

I'd be interested in a condo at either property though.

jbrown84
11-05-2006, 05:52 PM
They are definitely doing a lot of work on the Marion. I was in a car accident at that intersection and had to stand around for almost an hour. There was a lot going on.

Midtowner
11-05-2006, 06:01 PM
The building looks like it's in pretty bad shape -- but so was the Clarion. I don't know the first thing about these sorts of projects, but to me, it looks like they are reinforcing the structure with steel support beams from the inside. These buildings should be very nice when they're finished.

I also think it's great the way Banta is doing this -- they bought a lot of projects which need similar work done. I'll bet they get a lot better deals on the bids considering the volume of the work -- also, those completing the projects are apt to become very efficient.

metro
11-06-2006, 12:24 PM
I agree, the Marion is coming along nicely.

OKCMann
07-11-2007, 09:26 AM
Anybody have an update on the Sieber. Pictures would be great if available!! Thats a great area and the Sieber will be a nice boost.

Midtowner
07-11-2007, 09:33 AM
I haven't seen much going on over there lately.

OKCMann
07-11-2007, 09:38 AM
Ugh, thats always scarry when a project like this goes quiet? I hope everything is still a go!?

Pete
07-11-2007, 10:20 AM
The last Skyline Snapshot said it was still scheduled to be completed in late 2007.

Here's some January 2007 photos from J.L. Walker's (contractor) website. Clearly, that building is requiring a tremendous amount of work:

http://www.jlwalker.com/projects/sieber/2-7/DSCN1191.jpg

http://www.jlwalker.com/projects/sieber/2-7/DSCN1193.jpg

http://www.jlwalker.com/projects/sieber/1-7/DSCN0332.jpg

http://www.jlwalker.com/projects/sieber/1-7/DSCN0338.jpg

http://www.jlwalker.com/projects/sieber/1-7/DSCN0340.jpg

jbrown84
07-11-2007, 12:11 PM
Yeah, this one's taking a looooong time.

metro
07-11-2007, 02:31 PM
It is a hard rehab. It was in pretty bad disrepair. I drove by last night and it appears they are still working on it. It looks like it has been completely gutted finally. I know they are going to have to make it structurally stable, add new plumbing and wiring and such. I'm confident this one will go through, especially since they've got federal money.

Misty
07-11-2007, 02:35 PM
Hmm, really curious how much they will rent for. Hey Metro where is the Cottage District? I've not seen any cottages downtown?

OKCMann
07-11-2007, 02:48 PM
Wow, the pictures show a pretty in depth renovation. I had no idea the building structure was so bad off!

Pete
07-11-2007, 03:21 PM
Yeah, it looks like all that is remaining is the exterior brick, which they've had to prop up while they gut the inside! Rehabs are always more expensive and extensive than estimated, and that building had been in very bad shape for quite some time.

Here's what was originally included in an article over a year ago:


The apartments will range in size from 800-square-feet to 1,400-square-feet and will likely rent for between $900 and $1,650 a month.

Midtowner
07-11-2007, 04:05 PM
That's steep rent for someplace which is across the street from Northcare. No thanks.

metro
07-11-2007, 04:06 PM
Hey Misty, I'll tell you about the Cottage District at tomorrow nights Urban Neighbors meeting!

metro
08-29-2007, 08:29 AM
Old hotel home to new apartments

By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer

Marva Ellard is preparing to enjoy one huge "I told you so.”
As a preservationist, she helped lead the charge to save historic landmarks. The Gold Dome at NW 23 and Classen Boulevard is one example. And when she bought the burned-out hulk of the old Sieber Hotel in MidTown, she encountered skeptics who ridiculed her plans to restore the landmark to its former glory.

The $8.5 million renovation at NW 13 and Hudson began one year ago, but for months all passers-by could see was debris being hauled out from the six-story hotel and adjoining two-story storefront.

But within the last few weeks, that picture has changed. Most of the new windows are in place, crews are busy installing wallboard, electrical and plumbing systems, and apartment floor plans are taking shape. Ellard promises the bracing in place on the two-story structure doesn't hint the building is in danger of collapsing.

"If anybody has driven by while we're working on it, seeing all the shoring and bracing, they can tell it's been difficult,” Ellard said. "This building had a wood frame in it and over the years, the roof deteriorated, and a lot of the wood was rotten. There wasn't much structure left ... but it could have stood for quite a few years, barring a fire or something like that.”

Ellard still holds no grudges against those who doubted her. She admits even her own partners in the venture had their doubts. They bought the property in 1997 at a sheriff's sale and spent the next decade refining their plans, obtaining financing and meeting requirements for historic tax credits.

She's also the first to admit that most developers would have at least torn down the older two-story storefront. German immigrant Robert G. Sieber built the two-story building first in 1922, operating it as a butcher shop and grocery. He and his wife, Nora, then built and operated the six-story, u-shaped Sieber Hotel starting in 1928.

"My partners tease me, and they question my sanity in wanting to save this building and spend as much money as we have,” Ellard said. "This building is significant in its context. This is the original Sieber building. His grocery was in it and his family lived upstairs. And with money he made from that business, he built the bigger building.”

The two-story building actually includes a third "half-floor” that will have multilevel apartments with an elevated walkway. The building will be home to eight apartments.

"We thought this space was very interesting and that we could do something different with it. It's a lot bigger building than it appears from the street,” Ellard said. "It's pretty deep.”

The entire complex will feature 38 apartments, ranging from 843 to 1,401 square feet. Each unit will have washers and dryers, while oversize machines will be offered in a laundry room for tenants.

The lobby, meanwhile, is being restored so that visitors will step onto the same mosaic tile floor that greeted guests decades ago. And Ellard has high hopes a restaurant will return to the space that was once home to the popular Woods restaurant a quarter century ago.

"I think people are really going to like it,” Ellard said. "We're trying to do everything first class.”
http://static.newsok.biz/article/3113007/biz-a29seiber1_08-29-2007_5A4F2DQ.jpg

Pete
08-29-2007, 09:09 AM
Great job here by Marva Ellard.

OKC is lucky to have several developers with a passion for preservation.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

AFCM
08-30-2007, 10:29 AM
Great job here by Marva Ellard.

OKC is lucky to have several developers with a passion for preservation.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Ditto. Any other major city you visit, you can spot dozens of historic buildings downtown, all with the Est. 18XX sign on the front. I'm glad OKC is stepping up and embracing the preservation of our city's history.

Pete
08-30-2007, 04:11 PM
Here's the larger photos from that recent Steve Lackmeyer article:

http://olive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/2007/08/29/22/Img/Pc0220800.jpg

http://olive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/2007/08/29/22/Img/Pc0221000.jpg

http://olive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/2007/08/29/22/Img/Pc0221100.jpg

metro
09-19-2007, 09:38 AM
I was just reading in the Sept. issue of downtown magazine that the Sieber Hotel will be in this year's tour of the "Heritage Hills Homes and Garden's Tour". This may be a good opportunity to preview the Sieber as well as nice homes in Heritage Hills.

metro
11-07-2007, 09:20 AM
Anyone know how far along this is coming? It was scheduled to be open sometime this month.

tuck
11-07-2007, 10:10 AM
Not a chance!!

mecarr
03-09-2008, 11:28 PM
I agree, the Marion is coming along nicely.

Anyone know the status of this project? The building looks really nice (at least from the picture on the banta website) and like it would be a cool place to have a condo.

metro
03-10-2008, 07:46 AM
they are saying they will open this month, i guess we'll see.......

jbrown84
03-10-2008, 08:17 AM
I doubt you saw it on Banta's site. It's not one of his projects.

I think it's almost done. They recently did a tour of it, so it must be close.

mecarr
03-10-2008, 10:46 AM
I doubt you saw it on Banta's site. It's not one of his projects.



The project is on Banta's website. Here's the link
Banta Development Corporation (http://www.thebantacompanies.com/listings6.php)

jbrown84
03-10-2008, 11:25 AM
Not on that page it isn't. Look again. Perhaps you are thinking of the Osler.

mecarr
03-10-2008, 02:53 PM
Not on that page it isn't. Look again. Perhaps you are thinking of the Osler.

It's the third listing from the bottom...We're talking about the Marion right?

jbrown84
03-10-2008, 04:21 PM
Seiber Hotel. It's in the tread title.

mecarr
03-10-2008, 06:49 PM
Seiber Hotel. It's in the tread title.

yea, but there has been discussion in this thread about the Marion, which was the subject of my first question. Anyway, both Marion and Sieber look nice.

jbrown84
03-10-2008, 07:57 PM
I apologize. Didn't see where you quoted about the Marion.

mecarr
09-03-2008, 09:42 AM
I drove by the Seiber apartments yesterday because last I heard in June was that they were planning on opening in July. After looking into the place, they have a long way to go. The flooring was all ripped up, and the walls obviously need some paint jobs too. It looked like they were still in the early stages of remodeling the lobby area.

metro
09-03-2008, 10:58 AM
Actually, I think they have a few people moved in the renovated units, although they do have a lot of work to go in the public areas, such as the lobby as you mentioned. Glad to see such an historic landmark being restored.

metro
01-29-2009, 07:20 AM
Owner sees Sieber Hotel as MidTown’s pivotal site
Oklahoman
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: January 29, 2009

After listening to plenty of doubters over the past decade, Marva Ellard’s face is a mix of satisfaction and wear.

It was in October 1997 that Ellard submitted the low bid for the Sieber Hotel at an auction in an adjoining parking lot. The building was a shambles — windows boarded up, the interior scarred by numerous fires set by transients the previous 15 years.

A prior group had tried to turn the hotel around in the early 1980s and was in the midst to installing carpeting and doors when the failure of Penn Square Bank ground everything to a halt. Ellard took her time; she carefully plotted how to rebuild the landmark while staying within guidelines to capture historic tax credits and loans from the Murrah district revitalization fund.

Now Ellard and partners Robert Magrini, Todd Scott, Mike McDonald and Tom Stapleton are celebrating the project’s completion.

"It wasn’t for the money,” Ellard said. "My background is preservation, but with much smaller projects. I just never thought this part of MidTown would be what it could be unless the Sieber was rehabilitated. It was a pivotal property in this part of town. And we’ve torn down way more than we ever should have.”

Magrini, who has law offices nearby, is stunned by the progress of not just the Sieber, but MidTown as a whole. He said a business acquaintance recently observed that with the opening of hip restaurants and shops in MidTown, the city has come around to a vision that most thought was crazy.

Ellard recalls an early visit with one banker who lived in Edmond.

"He said ‘who would ever live there?’ I thought he was teasing,” Ellard said. "But I could tell the banker wasn’t teasing.”

A recent tour of the renovation shows a building that has been completely rebuilt; the hotel that once featured more than 80 rooms is now home to 38 apartments and space for ground floor restaurants and shops.

Apartments designed by Michale Stapleton offer modern amenities and yet reflect the Art Deco era of the hotel’s heyday.

Since leasing began in the fall about half of the apartments have been rented without any publicity or advertising (units start at $1,000 a month). Incoming president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., Jane Jenkins, is among the incoming residents. Those touring the building include a top executive with Hinz, which is developing the new Devon Energy tower.

Ellard said the waiting, the hard work, the uncertainty was all worth what she sees today.

"It was a beautiful building and somebody needed to do something,” Ellard said. "And it was us.”


There are pics in the Oklahoman.

metro
01-29-2009, 07:25 AM
Sieber grandchildren recall darker times for building
Oklahoman
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: January 29, 2009

Ray McMinn and Joanie Elder are stunned as they tour the top floor apartment of the Sieber Hotel that was once home to their grandparents, Robert and Nora Sieber.

They can still picture their aunt, Del Rose, at the piano that stood under the east window. They can hear their grandfather whistling a happy tune as he did every morning before starting work.

They recall large family gatherings in the hotel — good times that ended when Mercy Hospital moved away from MidTown and the area was overrun with blight in the 1970s.

McMinn and Elder recall their grandfather as a hardworking entrepreneur who built the adjoining two-story building first in 1922, operating it as a butcher shop and grocery. The Siebers then built and operated the six-story, U-shaped Sieber Apartment Hotel starting in 1928.

McMinn called the hotel "home” in the 1950s and has high praise for the recent renovation by developer Marva Ellard.

"It was a regular hotel back then,” McMinn said. "People were living here — it was packed. With all the hospitals around here, there were a lot of people in from out of town.”

McMinn said his grandfather, while a serious businessman, was a lot of fun when out on family picnics, fishing trips or gatherings.

Elder stayed at the hotel, as well. Her mother, DeLois, and her twin sister, Del Rose, kept the books and helped in the shop. When Robert Sieber died in 1962, the sisters took over operations that included a theater.

Times changed and by the 1970s, Elder said.

"I remember my aunt was afraid to go out on the street,” Elder said. "The whole area had gone down so much. It was dangerous to take money to the bank.”

After selling the hotel and moving to Bethany, Del Rose Sieber became despondent over the property’s demise.

"She said she wanted the Sieber name taken off the hotel because she didn’t want it to be something that dishonored my grandfather,” Elder said.

Touring the hotel, Elder thinks her aunt would think differently today.

"I think she would be so happy,” Elder said. "She would be out of her mind with gratitude.”

mecarr
01-29-2009, 07:59 AM
Glad to see this has finally opened. I think it's a beautiful building.

Pete
01-29-2009, 09:33 AM
What about the restaurant/retail space?

Congrats to Marva Ellard for doing things right and sticking with a very challenging project. We need more developers like her and her partners.

jbrown84
01-29-2009, 03:18 PM
I love the Sieber. I wish I could afford to live there right now.