Madison's Urban Design Commission debated over the revised design model for a proposed hotel on West Johnson Street Wednesday.
Six months ago, architects proposed the building, which would be at 434 to 454 W. Johnson St. and consist of two towers, one for residential housing and the other for the hotel guest rooms. Both towers would reach twelve stories high.
However, the new design eliminated all residential housing and both towers from the design. The revised model consists of a nine-story structure that will house a parking structure and hotel guest rooms.
Committee members said they were concerned with the modified design model and they preferred the earlier design. They said the previous model was better designed for an urban setting and the newer proposal resembled a more suburban hotel.
""A lot of what you have right now is very similar to what we would see in a suburban situation … but that's not what you have here [in Madison],"" committee member Mark Smith said. ""We have a number of ten to fourteen story buildings, I would pick up on that theme.""
Committee members also critiqued the lack of design detail for the entrance of the hotel.
""From a pedestrian standpoint, the design could be a lot stronger,"" committee member John Harrington said.
As a new hotel in the area, committee members said a strong and appealing street design was essential, and the revised model lacked this type of design.
Smith said committee members are going to want to see the first story in large scale.
""We'll want eye level perspective,"" Smith said. ""We want to be looking at the hotel like a pedestrian on the street and be able to know what it's going to look like.""
Pending its approval, the hotel would replace the building that once housed Casa Bianca, a pizza restaurant that closed in 2007.
""What the restaurant provided was interaction … that aspect is important for this site,"" committee member Richard Slayton said. ""This spot in Madison is one of the remaining sites where you can do something special and the design needs to respect that.""
