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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFORT COLLINS HOTEL (DOWNTOWN HOTEL) - PDP - PDP150008 - MINUTES/NOTES - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGFort Collins Hotel Neighborhood Meeting June 11, 2015 | 5:30-7:30pm Mountain Room, 1st Bank Attendance: approx. 50 (not including staff and applicants) Staff: - Seth Lorson, City Planner - Meaghan Overton, Planning Intern - Joe Olsen, Traffic Engineer - Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager City Presentation: • Overview of development process, where we are today. This meeting is before applicant submits an official application. • Preliminary Design Review (PDR) already completed, went to LPC • Submitting application on June 23 • Looking for P&Z approval in September • Parking will be lot or structure. If structure, 200 of 300 spaces for public use. In conversation with applicant right now. • Site context – close to Old Town Square, close in to historic fabric • Proposing 162 rooms, bar/rest/lounge, meeting space, 98 parking spaces in lot Applicant Presentation: • Stu with Bohemian Companies + Sage Hospitality + McWhinney + 4240 (did Crawford Hotel at Union Station in Denver) • Context: unique opportunity, catalytic to River District, Old Town Square, etc. • History: First hotel in Fort Collins, Auntie Stone’s mess hall and hotel – a hub for everyone in the city. How can we create a “modern version of something that’s beloved?” • Galvanizing and activating a neighborhood and community • Hotel wants to be inviting – to guests, residents…a “living room” to the community and an ambassador (of sophistication, design, culture) • Questions: How can a grand building can be intimately scaled? How can a grand building feel hand-crafted? How can a grand building be humane? o Detailed and refined architecture – from the street to the guest room o Activated pedestrian scale (e.g. FC alleys) • Old Firehouse Alley will be maintained, improved, activated as part of project • Hotel lobby and bar faces alley • Includes retail tenant space, ideally breakfast/lunch – accessible from both hotel and street • 5,000 sf restaurant space – not a hotel restaurant. Can’t be accessed from hotel. • Outdoor roof deck accessible through lobby bar/alley area – dedicated elevator • Height-very comparable to Mitchell Building across the street • Predominately masonry construction, brick meets stone with more glass to let light in Q: Flagging the hotel – has there been consideration to going toward a more “signature” collection approach? A: It wants to not be branded, designed around the patterns that come out of Fort Collins. What brand it is doesn’t influence the architecture. Q: 2nd floor mezzanine area – what’s that about? A: A quiet guest amenity – events, functions. Capacity for 50 people, so not large. More of a lounge/oasis elevated off street level. Q: BizWest – this project will be a boutique hotel vs. Holiday Inn. I’m behind that and this project. Is that a fair statement? Will this be a hotel of that caliber? A: Architecturally, yes. We did the Julian hotel too, so that’s a measure of our craft and sensitivity. Q: What’s the city’s parking requirement for a project like this? A: .5 spaces per room min, 1 space per room max. 162 rooms, so 98 surface lot does meet city requirements. Q: Banquet and meeting space 20,000 sf on ground floor (read in paper) – renderings don’t look like that. Does it have the capacity to bring in conventions and new business to downtown? A: I don’t know where the 20,000 came from. We’ve always been around the 5,000 sf range. This was not intended to be a convention center. Q: More of a comment. Have had businesses in downtown since the 70s. Parking is, as far as we’re concerned, one of the primary concerns. Wholeheartedly encourage you to consider as big a parking garage as you can. Third structure (as Old Town Leaders planned in years past) has never been built. The idea of TOD is good, but a hotel is getting people coming by car. All I can do is encourage the parking structure because you’ve seen the problems (e.g. the Summit). Have you given thought to a 4-level with one level underground? A: There’s a lot of water under there. Cost prohibitive to go underground, either for parking or hotel program. A: (Staff) City will be rolling out a city conversation about parking in the near future. We recognize that it’s a problem and want innovative solutions. Q: I second what that gentleman just said. And in the drawing, looks like some spaces will be taken from Chestnut. Also Armadillo is acting like a parking lot, and it will lose spots too. Seems like 98 is insufficient. Encourage anyone involved to build as large a structure as you can. Physics is there’s not enough parking spots in Old Town – worth every penny, even though they’re costly. A: Thank you. Q: Massing on the parking- would it step down to Jefferson? A: It’d be 2.5 stories on Jefferson. Not all that tall when you look at what’s happening in the vicinity. Q: Any retail like Civic Center Garage? A: We’re talking about that – when you add retail you take away parking, but this is something we’re discussing. Q: What is the size of the restaurant? A: 3500 sf front-of house Q: We have two big-box hotels already. What’s your target market for the hotel? We’re at 60% occupancy with what we have now. A: Good question. If someone from Sage was here they’d have a better answer. I can follow up with you about that. Q: Can you make an estimation? Are you trying to make a nicer, more upscale property than the Hilton? A: I would love to answer, but I just don’t know. That’s Sage’s expertise. Q: I’d like to thank Bohemian Companies, McWhinney Enterprises, and Sage Hospitality for carrying forward this vision and getting it this far. DDA is available and ready to explore partnerships to make sure it gets across the finish line. 10 years ago when the first alley enhancements were underway, never thought that a significant project like this would be talking about putting their front doors on the alleys. A significant gesture, and a signal that this alley enhancement concept is worthy of investment. Q: Jeff Mihelich: Heard comments about parking. Heard about need from property owners. We agree that this is an opportunity to do a shared parking structure. We are having good, fruitful conversations about that. It’s more than just talk and hope we can get it to the finish line. Q: What are your decision points for lot vs. structure? A: Jeff Mihelich: From an urban design standpoint makes sense, opportunity to share cost with applicant as partnership. At the end of the day it’s about the agreement and financing. Hope to have more info later in the summer. Q: What is expected build time? A: About a 12 month build from when we begin. Potential to break ground in January 2016 (first quarter). Q: Entryway into City on Jefferson - any consideration to “Quonset Row” as a source of parking? Is this the time to address that again? A: At this point, this is the general location for these two hundred extra spaces in the plan. That area doesn’t allow for a parking structure, so we’re not looking there right now. Q: What about a ped bridge from Jefferson to parking garage? Jefferson is a tough road to cross. A: We encourage people to cross at Linden. There will be some improvements coming to Jefferson. As far as ped bridge goes, that’s more of a CDOT project.