New Contemporary DVC

[Tiffer]

I saw the architectural plans that someone here on the boards posted a link to. It loko slike it will be fabulous!

I tried a search, to no avail as the search is ALWAYS to busy to help me...anyonw know ehen this DVC will open? Will there be a pre-sale? What the cost wil be? when the "ownership" will expire?

 

[Tink10]

I personally think that the CRV will happen, but until an official announcement is made, nobody can be sure if it will ever come to fruition. That said, the completion date for the Contemporary was listed as 2008 (according to the info that was listed with the building designs). Right now, we can only take a wild guess when & for how much the points will be sold.

IF the announcement is made in October, then I would think that points may go up for grabs in early to mid 2007.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

There are several things that give circumstantial evidence that DVC is getting ready to start a new resort. First, sales at SSR (according to our guide, anyway) will probably be complete within the next year. They're not going to want a lapse in sales. Second, the construction walls going up around the theater at SSR last week, supposedly for new model rooms. Why build models of a resort you're already touring? Third, the speculation and rumor here on the boards. Even the DVC employees themselves will tell you that DISers will probably know before they do.

I'm personally hoping for CRV over some of the other rumors. (Disney wouldn't be silly enough to call them the Villas at Contemporary Resort, would they? I'll be staying at the VCR?) I'm also hoping the purported architectural concept drawings that were "found" on the internet aren't just a hoax. It does look like an interesting building. It certainly fits in with the style of the CR a lot better than the convention center building does.

I'm not entirely convinced, though, that it isn't a hoax. For one thing, the location and height of the buildings in the drawing would cause some problems for the Magic Kingdom. The backstage areas are all masked from the Contemporary; but only just so. I wasn't expecting anything quite so tall. When you'd look out the windows of one of the rooms in the CRV tower, instead of a beautiful view of the castle, you'd see employee parking lots, staging areas, and other nasty backstage stuff. Wouldn't you?

I'll hold out hope, but I'm not putting any eggs in the proverbial basket until I see an official announcement.

 

[spiceycat]

yes but some thought that was the design completion date -

I would hope no sooner than 2009 - so I can buy.

lots of folk think a DVC at AKL - AKLV will be announced first.

some people think Oct - but it could also be announced in Dec at the annual meet.

remember so far nothing has been done on the north wing CR at all. they would have to tear down this section FIRST. until this is done - don't hold your breath.

if it looks like they are doing to it what they did to the South wing - tear out the gusts but leave the structure then it will still be part of the Cr and not a DVC resort.

only if the entire building is torn down - will there be a chance of a DVC resort.

oh forgot Tink10 is the one who found the designs - so thank him!!!

 

[spiceycat]

I'm not entirely convinced, though, that it isn't a hoax. For one thing, the location and height of the buildings in the drawing would cause some problems for the Magic Kingdom. The backstage areas are all masked from the Contemporary; but only just so. I wasn't expecting anything quite so tall. When you'd look out the windows of one of the rooms in the CRV tower, instead of a beautiful view of the castle, you'd see employee parking lots, staging areas, and other nasty backstage stuff. Wouldn't you?

you see a horrible parking lot now - the CR parking lot with a MK view....(which aren't cheap)

with the BCV you see the service areas.... try to get a villa at BCV - even with the horrible views....

 

[Tink10]

I'm also hoping the purported architectural concept drawings that were "found" on the internet aren't just a hoax.

I'm not entirely convinced, though, that it isn't a hoax. For one thing, the location and height of the buildings in the drawing would cause some problems for the Magic Kingdom. The backstage areas are all masked from the Contemporary; but only just so.

Dave,

As the one who "found" the pictures, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that unless Gwathmey-Siegel decided to pull a fast one on both DVC, DVC members & the general public, the concept art is not a hoax.

Believe me, when I first found them, my first thought was "these can't be real". Then, after a bit of looking into the company & it's long standing history with Disney, I realized that yes, they were the real deal.

If Gwathmey-Siegel (or a representitive of the company) posted those on their website as a hoax, they would be jeopardizing, if not excluding themselves from any future work with Disney. I think that their appearance on their website was entirely accidental & they were a little too quick to show-off high profile work.

The question that I have isn't whether the Contemporary DVC will happen, it's is that what it will actually look like? I'm sure that other companies submitted designs, but the Gwathmey-Siegel design had a completion date, which leads me to believe that that's the design that was chosen.

JMHO

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

As the one who "found" the pictures, I can say with a fair amount of certainty that unless Gwathmey-Siegel decided to pull a fast one on both DVC, DVC members & the general public, the concept art is not a hoax.

Thanks, Tink. Having you come back and defend that you were the one who actually found them adds a lot of credibility. I thought they were being passed around as somebody found these on the architect's site. Now I'll allow myself to actually get my hopes up.

 

[Tink10]

I really couldn't believe it myself, but the morning that I found them, I did an exhaustive search of the internet to find anything & everything that I could to see what the next DVC would be.....(Troy had posted a poll about the subject & I didn't want to wait for his reveal....I'm not the most patient person)

I found 2 pieces of info, the first was info on the company who was contracted to handle the emergency sprinkler design (Hired in Jan 06) & then buried several pages down on Google, was the Gwathmey-Siegel designs.........

Anyway, I got the info directly from Gwathmey-Siegel's site and after I posted here, I also emailed the info to a couple of other Disney sites that I frequent. If this was a hoax, I would imagine that the culprit behind it would have posted the info in a more public arena rather than buried in Google.

If I had any suspicions that it wasn't on the up & up, I would have included that in my original post........Regardless, the info that I got from the 2 hits that I did find, really did lead me to believe that the CRV is going to happen & it's beyond the initial planning stage.

My biggest fear is that someone got into trouble for having the pictures out there in the first place, no matter how hard they were to find. After a bit of thought, I did decide to post the info because I felt that there was too much guessing & DVC members around here needed a little something to look forward to.

 

[Tiffer]

I agree that nothing is etched in stone as far as we know. But I personally followed the link to the architect's web-site and if it a hoax, it is quite elaborate. There are several other designs, other than CVR. Also, it is a full web-site, not just a one page thing. So you still have the link? Can you re-post it?

And thanks for finding it! I have re-thought my purchasing plan for BCV or BWV

 

[spiceycat]

Tink10 your hard work at finding the design was very much appreciated!!!

I happen to like the design - I think it will go very well with the Cont.

Tiffer don't bother - the architect removed the design from the website the day after Tink10 first posted it here.

 

[pilferk]

remember so far nothing has been done on the north wing CR at all. they would have to tear down this section FIRST. until this is done - don't hold your breath.

We (meaning the institution I work for) are currently engaging in a large, long term construction project that involved the "removal" of an existing structure roughly the size of (and maybe a bit larger than) the North Garden wing. Demolition took roughly 8 weeks, from start to finish. And that included some tricky asbestos removal and preservation of existing substructure (basement areas and corridors) which I would guess is comparable to the wetland preservation precautions theyll need to take with the NG wing. So I wouldn't worry too much about THAT holding up the process very long.

 

[keishashadow]

Assume my thinking is probably faulty but, why is it a "given" that the north bldg. be torn down? Is there a law prohibiting turning a resort or portion thereof into a timeshare in FL?

Think CRV has enough "cachet" to merely combine 2 guest rooms (think AS mu resorts suites) and create a whole new point category, call it...studio deluxe? Certainly, a palatable trade off for the location.

Not sure how many rooms are in the building and whether that would make it a stumbing point but, feel it's a relatively cost-effective way to rehab a property & sell it out quickly.

Of course, we are satisfied (not happy ) with staying @ a studio, it would eliminate certain guests who want more space.

Can see this working @ AKL too (non-deluxe savannah, opposite side of resort from pool rooms?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Tink,
I also want to thank you for taking the time to search for that info and then post it here.

 

[pilferk]

Assume my thinking is probably faulty but, why is it a "given" that the north bldg. be torn down? Is there a law prohibiting turning a resort or portion thereof into a timeshare in FL?

Think CRV has enough "cachet" to merely combine 2 guest rooms (think AS mu resorts suites) and create a whole new point category, call it...studio deluxe? Certainly, a palatable trade off for the location.

Not sure how many rooms are in the building and whether that would make it a stumbing point but, feel it's a relatively cost-effective way to rehab a property & sell it out quickly.

Of course, we are satisfied (not happy ) with staying @ a studio, it would eliminate certain guests who want more space.

Can see this working @ AKL too (non-deluxe savannah, opposite side of resort from pool rooms?

I believe there are only about 250 rooms in each of the Garden wings (so 500 total). So, if you could do as you suggest, you'd only get 125 total rooms...not really worthwhile in a DVC setting.

The existing NGW structure just doesn't have the abiltity to house anything like a DVC environment, IMHO. It wouldn't lend itself well, structurally, to addition, and it's layout doesn't really lend itself well to the "standard" DVC room types, for a remodel like you suggest. They could, if pressed, stick with the same general footprint, I think, but the building itself would almost have to come down. And since it has to come down, and if they've gotten the wetland variance they needed in order to NOT use the existing footprint, it might actually be more cost effective to start over, rather than use what's in place and adapt it.

AKL, because of it's sheer size and structurally friendly shape would be MORE likely to have something like this happen, but, even then, I think the mods you're seeing at AKL are for models only. I think, if VAKL does happen, it will be a seperate structure, too...or an addition to the existing structure, rather than a remodel.

 

[Tink10]

I remember reading something, somewhere awhile back about the infrastructure for a DVC was put in place at AKL when it was first built.....Anyone know anything about this???

 

[spiceycat]

while DVC was tearing down DI to built SSR I asked this question.

I got told that DI was not up to the standards acceptable in a DVC building. If DI wasn't acceptable then Cont would be even worst.

I don't what they are talking about - might be the plumbing or wiring or the building structure itself.

I think the last one - because I just think that the DVC building are better build than the normal WDW building.

I am not presitige or anything.... yea right!

 

[pilferk]

I remember reading something, somewhere awhile back about the infrastructure for a DVC was put in place at AKL when it was first built.....Anyone know anything about this???

I do remember reading that provisions were made, during site preparation and building of AKL for the addition of a DVC resort. Now, whether they meant internally to AKL (as in a remodel would create VAKL), itself, or just on the property itself (as in utilities were run, plans were made, land contouring and prep was done, etc for a new structure to be built), I don't know. I"m not sure they were specific and if they were, I don't remember. Heck, I don't remember exactly where I even read it.

 

[pilferk]

while DVC was tearing down DI to built SSR I asked this question.

I got told that DI was not up to the standards acceptable in a DVC building. If DI wasn't acceptable then Cont would be even worst.

I don't what they are talking about - might be the plumbing or wiring or the building structure itself.

I think the last one - because I just think that the DVC building are better build than the normal WDW building.

I am not presitige or anything.... yea right!

Yeah, I mean...you're talking about a major addition or modification to a building that was put up 35+ years ago. I'm sure, based on infrastructure alone, that you could make some (and might need to make some) drastic improvements by demolishing and rebuilding. Not to mention the 35 years of improvement to building technology, fabrication, utilities, etc...and the fact you'd have to just about double (to get BCV size) and probably triple it's size to make it really viable as a DVC option.

 

[vonpluto]

I remember reading something, somewhere awhile back about the infrastructure for a DVC was put in place at AKL when it was first built.....Anyone know anything about this???

This was info that was part of a thread on RADP awhile back. The poster works for WDI and is known to other Orlando RADP'ers.
Basically, the thread provided this info:
All WDW resorts(except the POLY) have agreements with DVC for expansion
AKL-DVC would be located behind the bus stop
Some site work is in place, what that means is unknown. It could be as simple as having the main sewer lines in, or it could mean that there is foundation work in place.

If no AKL-DVC info is released by the time of our November trip, perhaps I'll pack my entrenching tool and Indiana Jones hat and do some prospecting.

 

[vonpluto]

while DVC was tearing down DI to built SSR I asked this question.

I got told that DI was not up to the standards acceptable in a DVC building. If DI wasn't acceptable then Cont would be even worst.

I don't what they are talking about - might be the plumbing or wiring or the building structure itself.

I think the last one - because I just think that the DVC building are better build than the normal WDW building.

I am not presitige or anything.... yea right!

Most of the original LBV Resort were structures were wooden frame garden apartment type buildings. They were built as part of a planned residential community. Garden apartments, single family homes (remember the Grand Vista Homes/Suites?, they were originally intended to be model homes.) Another part of the original concept was to sell blocks of apartment units to Disney's corporate sponsors and clients.(one of the two original conference facilities at WDW was located at LBV)
This whole concept was dropped in part because no one could figure out at the time what to do if the owners at LBV voted to repaint Main Street.
The whole (long winded) point being, the LBV resort was not up the DVC requirements.
As far as the CR North Wing goes a few observations.
The CRNW is a steel frame structure designed and built to accommodate pre-fab dwelling units. It is most likely more cost effective to tear it down.
There are about 350 units in the wings. To design the new to fit the structure and to rework the structure to fit the new would probably only produce 200 units. not worth the effort.