The Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission it getting more comfortable with the design of the proposed Bald Mountain Lodge as the developers gear up for a planned-unit development application before the end of the year.
At a pre-application design review workshop with the P&Z on Monday, Gary Wakatsuki, design architect for the Seattle-based firm Callison, went over some changes to the high-end hotel that resulted from a previous workshop in April.
If approved, the five-story luxury hotel would be built on the west side of Main Street between First and River streets. It would be operated by Rock Resorts, a subsidiary of Vail Resorts.
The site has been under consideration for a new hotel for about seven years. Former owner Brian Barsotti won approval for a hotel on the site after a long, drawn-out set of negotiations with the city but then had difficulty financing the project. The property was later sold to Seattle-area developer Steve Burnstead, who developed a new plan for the site. That proposal was rescinded after negotiations for approval broke down.
Burnstead and co-owner Mike Kerby formed the company Bald Mountain Lodge LLC, and resubmitted an application following the successful applications for Hotel Ketchum and the Warm Springs Ranch Resort.
Responding to commission comments at the first pre-application meeting, Wakatsuki explained that the fourth and fifth floors had been pulled in by about eight feet from the original design to break up the façade of the building.
In its current rendition, the project would include 82 high-end hotel rooms on the second and third floors, and 26 residential units on the top two floors. As well, there would be retail space on the ground floor, along with a restaurant, bar, ballroom, conference room and spa. The building would have two levels of underground parking.
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The hotel would total 225,387 square feet, of which 137,701 square feet would be above ground. The southwest section of the block, at the corner of River Street and Washington Avenue, would be mostly open area with a pool and landscaped terrace.
"I think the new design does lessen the scale on the western flank," Commissioner Michael Doty said.
The P&Z still had a few criticisms, most notably the size of the chimney chases on the roof, as well as how far the dormers and roof hang over the sidewalk.
Wakatsuki said those features would be scaled back in the design submitted with the planned-unit development application.
Satisfying Ketchum's workforce housing requirement also remains an outstanding issue for the developers. According to city code, the developers would need to provide housing for about 25 employees, a figure based upon the number of "hot beds," or rooms available for short-term rental.
The development team said it is in discussions with the Blaine County Housing Authority and ARCH Community Housing Trust, but no plan has been put together.
If the developers obtain a building permit before June 2010, as they said is their intention, they would be exempt from the city's community housing requirements.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
