Re: W Hotel
I've just decided that I like it. Maybe a bit too wide along Stuart, but I like the shiny/translucent facade. The area is a bit over-(soot stained) bricked and this building really pops in part of town that for being an entertainment district is amazingly drab thanks to the Radisson, Tranportation Building, NEMC, etc, and sporadic but plentiful surface lots.
Stick some gaudy vestibule lighting on there and call it a day. The problem with the Ritz, is aside from the theatre, it tries too hard to be unoffensive at the street level, which has translated into really poor lighting and pedestrian interaction along Essex and Washington.
I'm predicting that this corner will see a more substantial reduction in drug deals than the corner of Essex and Washington simply due to the sheer volume of light that will be projected into the intersection.