Town looks at hotel design
Planning Commission asks architect to tweak some details
By Jeff Kearns
Planning commissioners took their first look at the architectural and site application for Diane Ogilvie's proposed hotel on E. Main Street last week and, although they said they liked the design, they still asked the architect to tweak a few aspects of it.
Ogilvie was given the green light to build the hotel in January, but she still needs to get the final design approved.
Since it was approved, she has decided to decrease the number of rooms from 83 to 72, which will give the hotel an extra 29 parking spaces. The remaining rooms were slightly enlarged, architect Jim Starkovich said.
Starkovich also softened the hotel's Spanish Mission or Spanish Revival style architecture "to be more compatible with the town," he said, by incorporating clay tile roof, deeply recessed windows, balconies, wrought-iron railings and exposed wood rafters on the inside. He also added trellis work on one side of the building that will face a neighbor's home.
Most of the handful of residents who addressed the project were there not to oppose the project but to speak in favor of it. Another resident expressed concerns that prolonged construction might tie up E. Main Street. Starkovich said construction would take about a year.
Commissioners, however, weren't quite ready to approve the project. They voted to continue the hearing to their May 26 meeting. They also asked to have a slightly warmer tone of off-white paint on the building, see other possible façades and finishes and remove a window.
"It's pretty close, but I believe there should be some alternatives," commissioner Paul Bruno said. Bruno also asked for larger meeting rooms, which were named as one of the community benefits when the hotel's zoning application was approved.
The current plan shows three conference rooms, one of which can be divided into three smaller rooms. Commissioners said the town has a lack of conference rooms, especially with the scheduled closing of Villa Felice.
The design splits the building into two structures. The front building, along E. Main Street, contains the lobby, front desk, and a restaurant, with rooms on the second floor. A U-shaped driveway surrounds the front building.
The rear building, which would be built on top of an underground parking garage, is also two stories tall and contains the bulk of the guest rooms. It would have a gazebo, pool and spa in front.
To keep traffic off Villa Avenue, which runs behind the hotel site, the design doesn't include any pedestrian or auto access from the back. The design shows a wall running along the rear of the project.
Starkovich says construction will get underway as soon as final approval is granted by the town.
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