The Urban Design Commission failed to grant an initial approval request for the Edgewater Hotel's revised redevelopment plan late Wednesday night.
Instead, the UDC overwhelmingly voted to refer the request to a future meeting, while also recommending a joint meeting with the Landmarks Commission.
The majority of the commission felt the new designs for the hotel were moving in the right direction but that there were too many unanswered questions preventing them from moving ahead.
""I applaud the applicant for moving in the right direction, but I'm not sold yet,"" commission member Todd Barnett said.
Barnett also said he thought it was troubling that the architect for the project had not yet visited. He said the new building was not ""uniquely Madison"" and he would like the chance to have an open dialogue with the architect about the designs.
Commission member Mark Smith said although he was encouraged by the redesigns, he would like to see a 3-D rendering of the proposed changes to better visualize the space.
The majority of the community members present at the meeting said they felt this could be a good project, but they did not feel it met the requirements for residing in the center of the Mansion Hill Historic District.
A resident of the 600 block of East Gorham Street who spoke in opposition to the redevelopment said the proposed eight-story tower was still too high and that it would violate the historic district ordinances.
Still, several other residents showed support for the new designs.
Susan Schmitz, president of Downtown Madison Inc., spoke in support of the development and said this was the city's opportunity to ""get it right.""
Rosemary Lee, a long-time resident of the Capitol neighborhoods area, said she was enthusiastic about the opportunity and that Madison should be constantly allowed to evolve and grow.
