The Edgewater project is now in jeopardy after members of the city’s Landmarks Commission shot down redevelopment plans for the downtown hotel on Monday – but Bob Dunn and Hammes Company aren’t giving up hope just yet.
Dunn appealed the decision to the City Council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Wednesday, and the council will consider the plans at its meeting on Tuesday.
The commission denied the plans based on concerns that the new structure would be too voluminous and not in visual accord with other buildings in the Mansion Hill Historic District.
In a letter submitted Wednesday to the city, Dunn appealed to the City Council to overturn the decision at the scheduled meeting Dec. 8. He said in the letter the company believes the project plans meet the requirements for a certificate.
In a letter to the city Wednesday, Hammes said it hopes the council recognizes the project is worthy of approval, despite the historic nature of the neighborhood.
“(The current Edgewater plan) is our last, best effort to respond to concerns,” said Amy Supple, development director for Hammes Company. “We believe we have a plan that is good for Madison and the district. We hope that the council will think the same.”
Supple added significant reductions in the originally planned size — and therefore significant reductions in revenue — have been made to the plans, and it would not be economically feasible to downsize the building any further.
Under Madison ordinance, a supermajority of votes is needed to overturn the commission’s decision, meaning 14 of the city’s 20 alders must vote in Hammes’ favor.
One centerpiece of debate at the Landmarks Commission meeting was whether the ordinance governing the construction of buildings in an historic district dictated whether the hotel had to be visually compatible with the building immediately near the hotel or the entire historic district.
Supple said the ordinance is very subjective. While she said she thought the commission thought the plans met all other criteria, she acknowledged the commission was hung up on the volume of the building and its fit within the district.
“That’s a very difficult criteria to judge,” Supple said, adding the ordinance was “poorly worded.”
Supple said she was hopeful the City Council would look at the project as a whole — weighing the total benefit and good it can bring the city — and not just the narrow criteria the Landmarks Commission reviewed.
Cieslewicz spokesperson Rachel Strauch-Nelson, said the mayor was disappointed by the commission’s decision – the mayor has been a supporter of the plans for much of the process. The mayor, she added, encouraged Hammes to take the decision to the City Council.
Strauch-Nelson also said the criteria the commission had to review was subjective and had concerns with how the current city approval process now requires a supermajority vote of the City Council.
Strauch-Nelson added the mayor is hopeful the City Council will take into account the wider picture of what the project will give the city — $1 million in tax revenue each year, more jobs and improved access to Lake Mendota.
Suzanne Voeltz, a member of the Mansion Hill Steering Committee, said she hopes the City Council considers the integrity of the city committee process and the “humongous” amount of work they put into reviewing the plans.
“I very sincerely hope our elected officials will take a careful look at the individuals on the Landmarks Commission and their rationale,” Voeltz said. “This was not a frivolous decision.”
The council will discuss the matter Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the City-County Building.
