Whenever I hear that something I’ve grown used to is changing, I become immediately skeptical. I know what you’re going to say: change is good.
When I first heard that the old Bollinger Tower (750 N. High St.) in the Short North was going to become a hotel, I was sad. When I was a young whippersnapper, we used to go to Gallery Hop. Every month, we’d sit on the low wall outside of Bollinger Tower, right near a portion of the sidewalk that was being pushed up by a massive tree.
We’d settle in for the best entertainment in town: people tripping and falling over the pavement. I’m not proud of it, but I will say that we got a pretty good kick out of it, as did some of the residents of Bollinger who would sit out on the lawn.
But all good things must end. After doing a little more research about the new hotel coming in, I have to say, I wasn’t quite so disappointed.
Taking the place of Bollinger Tower will be the Graduate Hotel Columbus. Graduate Hotels are amazing. Owned by the Chicago based AJ Capital Partners, the different Graduate Hotels all have one thing in common. They are all located in quintessentially “college” towns.
The theme and decor of each hotel are largely based off of the predominant university in the area. They capture the spirit and essence of their local colleges and celebrate the energy of a college campus.
The Graduate Hotel Columbus will have 171 guestrooms, 4,000 square feet of meeting space, and two food & beverage outlets. Additionally, the ground floor of the hotel will offer retail space along N High Street.